Analysis of modern media texts in Swahili language using the methods of corpus linguistics

Abstract

This article examines the application of corpus linguistics techniques for analyzing modern media texts in Swahili language. The language of mass media is representative and productive for the analysis and extraction of terms referred to the various spheres of speech use. The subject of this research is the peculiarities of determination of simple and compound medical terms and phrases in the Swahili language media texts by analyzing data on the frequency of using n-gram. To undertake this study, the author comprised the body of media texts based on the materials of Mtanzania newspaper published in 2014-2019. The methods of corpus linguistics and computer analysis were applied for collection of materials and analysis of the acquired data. The results of the conducted research demonstrated the effectiveness of the use of extraction technique if the relevant simple and compound medical terms by analyzing the body of media texts of the section Afya na Jamii, healthcare and social sphere using the UNIX system. An undeniable advantage of analysis of the body of media texts is the use of a “living” language with lexical saturation relevant for the present time. The obtained results may find future practical application: after processing by the lexicographers and experts in the area of medicine, the discovered terms and phrases can be used for composing specialized thematic dictionaries in Swahili language.