Those verbs with a particle! The use of corpora in the teaching of Hungarian as a foreign language

Abstract

This article presents a possible classroom approach to verbs with a verbal particle, through the use of corpora. Language learners are considered to benefit significantly more from observing the behaviour of real-life utterances than from memorising abstract rules for their use. This is all the more relevant as the precise meaning of certain lexical items – and the way they are used by native speakers – cannot always be captured satisfactorily with rules alone. Examples taken from large linguistic databases and processed with simple statistical tools are, however, capable of providing first-hand information about the use of such items in real-life situations. Not only does an example-based approach allow us to analyse the occurring forms of words, but it also makes possible the observation of the context(s) in which they are used. The study of lists of examples, therefore, enables learners to refine and expand their understanding of how language actually works. The present paper focuses on Hungarian verbs with a verbal particle since they seem to present extreme problems for language learners. As a matter of fact, in lack of a comprehensive linguistic description, Hungarian verbs with a particle are a frequent source of error for learners trying to employ them. For the present purpose, two verbs with similar meanings ("eljön" and "megjön" – lit. arrive) have been selected to illustrate the relevance and usefulness of the proposed corpus-based analysis. The method presented is aimed to provide Hungarian as a foreign language teachers with practical tools to help their learners build real-life linguistic experience and understand the insights that can be gained from the use of corpora.