Hanna Atcheson is a lecturer at Tomas Bata University in Zlin. She visited CASS (The ESRC Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science) as a visiting scholar in October and November 2024. In this blogpost, Hanna takes us through the milestones of her academic path, offering insights into how her work has been inspired by corpus linguistics.

What a swing of a MOMENTUM, as an impetus of a leap, a new push forward in my studies. Like a force or speed of a movement, an impetus of a physical object, a physical body, in a course of events, significant events that protrude into your daily routine… this was my visit to Lancaster.

The most recent in a following series: 

Momentum # 1

A short two-day workshop in 2018, an introduction to corpus linguistics with Vaclav Brezina, which encouraged me to dive deeper into the corpus study and to open the #LancsBox tool.

Momentum # 2

A one week on-line Lancaster Summer School in 2022 on corpus linguistics with wonderful teachers from the Linguistics Department. My computer files were filled up with valuable study material in no time.

Momentum # 3

A one-month stay at the Linguistics Department, not a virtual but a physical stay, with a solid work desk and a full access to the library sources. My PhD study is getting closer to its finish now, but this study stay is a promise of a new venture.

How to maintain the velocity of the momentum? All that remains for now is a flash of significance and gratitude. What remains are memories composed of friendly discussions with colleagues at the Department, busy campus streets with students hustling from one class to their next one, Lights of Lancaster Festival, but also ubiquitous seagulls chuckling high in the sky, jogging trails and the morning rain showers, green meadows with sleepy sheep, swift squirrels and chipmunks hopping happily in the wet grass, a steady rotation of a wind turbine gleaming down from a hill above the campus.

This momentum gain will last.