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Article published In: International Journal of Corpus Linguistics
Vol. 24:2 (2019) ► pp.229–244

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An introduction to the ANAWC

The AAC and Non-AAC Workplace Corpus

 | Texas A&M University-Commerce
 | Sapienza Universita di Roma
 | Georgia Institute of Technology
 | Georgia State University
 | Southern New Hampshire University
 | Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
Published online: 5 August 2019
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.17088.pic
Abstract
This paper presents an overview of the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Non-AAC Workplace Corpus (ANAWC) (Pickering, L. & Bruce, C. (2009). The AAC and non-AAC workplace corpus (ANAWC) [Collection of Electronic Texts]. Atlanta, GA: Georgia State University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). The corpus is the first resource of its kind that makes it possible to systematically study the typical language patterns of both AAC users and comparable non-AAC users in the workplace. We discuss the origin of the corpus and give an account of the methodology used for its collection and transcription. We also introduce several publications that demonstrate the novel qualitative and quantitative findings that can be generated on the basis of the corpora. This kind of research will be crucial to guide future developments in AAC development for workplace applications.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Existing corpora of spoken workplace English
  • 3.Collection and transcription of the ANAWC
    • 3.1Participant recruitment
    • 3.2Participants as data collectors
    • 3.3Data retrieval
    • 3.4Transcription procedures
    • 3.5Corpus cleaning and annotation
  • 4.Examples of ANAWC-based research
    • 4.1Linguistic characteristics of AAC and non-AAC discourse
    • 4.2Mapping small talk in the workplace
    • 4.3The use of vocalization by AAC device users in the workplace
  • 5.Conclusions
  • References
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