ACTIV-ES: a novel Spanish-language corpus for linguistic and cultural comparisons between communities of the Hispanic world

This proposal requests Level 1 funding to develop a novel Spanish-language corpus, ACTIV-ES. This electronic resource will be the first to compile the language of common, everyday life for three linguistically, culturally, and geographically distinct communities— Spain, Mexico, and Argentina. It will provide scholars, instructors, students, and other interested parties with a unique perspective, enabling for the first time a rich cross-linguistic and cross-cultural analysis of current patterns and themes in the Hispanic world. A series of planning sessions among experts in linguistics, pedagogy, computer science, and psychology will guide the technical and theoretical steps to optimize ACTIV-ES for applications in second-language pedagogy and enable heretofore impossible contemporary humanistic understanding. Insights gained from the project will inform a Level 2 proposal aimed at adding size, attributes, and a web interface to enable flexible public and scholarly access to the corpus