Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1996. Vol. 1. Eger Journal of English Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 24)

Ramesh Krishnamurthy: Change and continuity at COBUILD (1986-1996)

RAMESH KRISHNAMURTHY CHANGE AND CONTINUITY AT COBUILD (1986-1996) 1 Introduction The COBUILD project was set up jointly by the University of Birmingham and Collins Publishers (now HarperCollins) in 1980 with two main aims: to collect and analyze a large computerized corpus of contemporary English language, and to publish the results in a range of reference and pedagogical books for learners and teachers of English as a Foreign or Second Language. 1.1 Change The range and scale of the changes at COBUILD during the past decade have been enormous. Our physical location has moved from a converted semi-detached house to an open-plan office block in the University Research Park. Our personnel has increased from 12 fulltime staff to 22. Our organizational status has changed from an externally-funded research unit at the University to a limited company and sub-division of HarperCollins. Our primary orientation has shifted from academic research to commercial publishing. Our use of computer technology has intensified greatly, from part-time use of the University mainframe to running our own network of Unix workstations. 1.2 Continuity However, change only represents part of the picture, and it is equally important to recognize the elements of continuity in COBUILD's development. The basic philosophy, of collecting large amounts of data, analyzing the data thoroughly, and presenting the results in a user-friendly way, remains at the core of everything we do. Although many of the original team have left, about half a dozen staff have been involved in the project for over a decade. The change in organizational status has not diminished the close relationship 61