license: creativeml-openrail-m
language:
- en
tags:
- Linguistics
- Metalanguage
- Metadata
pretty_name: MetaLing Corpus
size_categories:
- n<1K
Dataset Card for MetaLing Corpus
Dataset Summary
The MetaLing Corpus is a historical corpus focused on the metalanguage of English linguistics from the 16th to the 18th century. It collects texts that describe, discuss, and conceptualise language before the emergence of linguistics as a formal academic discipline.
The corpus brings together a wide range of early modern texts that reflect how language was analysed, classified, and explained in grammatical, pedagogical, and descriptive works. It is designed as an open-access resource to support research in historical linguistics, corpus linguistics, and the history of linguistic thought.
Dataset Description
MetaLing Corpus was created within the PRIN 2022 research project “MetaLing Corpus: Creating a corpus of English linguistics metalanguage from the 16th to the 18th century”.
The project is funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) with support from the European Union through the NextGenerationEU programme (PNRR Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.1; Project reference: 202233C93X).
The main objective of the corpus is to document and analyse the terminology, conceptual frameworks, and discursive strategies used to talk about language in early modern English texts. By focusing on metalanguage, the corpus provides insight into how linguistic knowledge was constructed and transmitted prior to modern linguistic theory.
Uses
Direct Use
The dataset is intended for:
- diachronic analysis of linguistic terminology and concepts
- research on the history of English linguistics
- corpus-based studies of metalinguistic discourse
- lexicographic and terminological research
- teaching and training in historical linguistics and digital humanities
Dataset Creation
Curation Rationale
Historical English linguistics lacks large, structured, and machine-readable resources dedicated specifically to metalanguage. MetaLing Corpus was created to address this gap by systematically collecting and processing texts that explicitly reflect on language, its structure, and its use during the early modern period.
Source Data
The source material consists of early modern English texts such as grammar books, language manuals, pedagogical treatises, and other writings that include explicit discussion of linguistic phenomena. The texts were selected to be representative of different genres and approaches to language description between approximately 1500 and 1700.
Data Collection and Processing
Texts were collected through archival research and digital sources. The processing pipeline includes text cleaning, normalization, tokenisation, and computational analysis using standard corpus-linguistic tools and Python-based libraries. Particular attention was paid to preserving historical language features while ensuring usability for computational analysis.
Annotations
The corpus may include analytical or descriptive metadata related to linguistic categories, genres, or thematic areas. Any annotations are produced by domain experts following shared methodological guidelines.
Personal and Sensitive Information
The dataset contains historical texts only. It does not include personal, sensitive, or private data relating to living individuals.
Bias, Risks, and Limitations
The corpus reflects the linguistic, cultural, and ideological perspectives of early modern authors, which may include biases related to gender, class, geography, or language prestige. Coverage is limited to texts that have survived and are accessible, and therefore cannot be considered fully representative of all linguistic practices of the period.
Recommendations
Users are encouraged to take into account the historical and sociocultural context of the texts when interpreting results. The corpus should be used with awareness of its temporal scope, genre selection, and inherent historical biases.
Citation
If you use MetaLing Corpus, please cite the project and relevant publications, for example:
Andreani, A., & Russo, D. (2023). Building a Corpus of the Metalanguage of English Linguistics 1500–1700: Methodological Issues. Linguistica e Filologia, 43, 151–174.
Dataset Curators
The MetaLing Corpus is curated within the PRIN 2022 project by:
- Angela Andreani, University of Milan
- Daniel Russo, University of Insubria
The project involves collaboration with researchers specialising in historical linguistics, corpus linguistics, and the history of linguistic thought.
Dataset Card Contact
For information about the dataset, please refer to the MetaLing Corpus project website or contact the project coordinators through their institutional affiliations.