Corpus studies and functional linguistic theories

This paper discusses the relationships between corpus linguistics and functionalist theories, specifically in the light of the distinction which has been proposed between ‘corpus-based’ and ‘corpus-driven’ approaches. It argues that functional theories must take on board the findings of corpus-driven linguistics if they are to fulfil the aims they set for themselves. It also presents a selective survey of corpus work in two functional theories, Functional Grammar and Systemic Functional Grammar, and concludes that although much valuable work has been and is being done to make particular aspects of lexicogramamatical description more sensitive to attested linguistic data, more should be done to test the fundamental theoretical claims of such theories rigorously against what corpora can tell us, these claims being modified or even abandoned where necessary.