Exploring the MetaLing Corpus: spelling variation and discourse in Early Modern English texts on language

This article explores the analytical potential of the MetaLing Corpus, a collection of Early Modern English texts on language dating from 1500 to 1700. Combining corpus-driven and corpus-based approaches, it demonstrates both the opportunities and the challenges of working with a corpus currently under development and reflects on the methodological implications of a minimalist corpus compilation strategy adopted under project constraints. Following an outline of the principles underlying data selection and corpus construction, the article presents two exploratory case studies focusing respectively on spelling and discourse variation. The analysis of spelling practices points to the interaction between authors and typesetters as a factor shaping orthographic choices and potentially influencing the development of linguistic reflection. At the level of discourse, the analysis uncovers a spectrum of educational orientations across the texts, indicating the presence of an additional discourse domain alongside language analysis and description. This finding contributes to a preliminary understanding of the corpus' thematic organisation and informs its future development in terms of annotation. More broadly, the study highlights the interpretive possibilities offered by the corpus and the methodological challenges posed by early printed materials. By demonstrating how corpus-based methods can be combined with close reading approaches, the article contributes to ongoing discussions in historical corpus linguistics concerning the analysis, interpretation and digitisation of Early Modern English texts.