A2) "Backwards" or "backward" in the Brown corpus family (Using Wordsmith)

Corpora: Brown family (Brown, Frown, LOB, FLOB)

Programs: Wordsmith

Tasks:

• While the adjective is nearly always backward, the adverb can be backward or backwards. Use the concordance function in Wordsmith Tools to manually disambiguate and compare percentages of backward (Adv) and backwards between BrE and AmE and the 1960s and 1990s.
  

Notes:

• The corpora and Wordsmith Tools can be accessed via DBIS: http://rzblx10.uni-regensburg.de/dbinfo/detail.php?bib_id=ub_ba&colors=&ocolors=&lett=f&titel_id=6156

• Tutorials for Wordsmith Tools can be found here: http://sitemaker.umich.edu/corpus_analysis_tools/files/wordsmith_tools_4_user_guide.pdf (Version 4)