Theoretical issues in the light of the interaction between quantitative and qualitative data: recent approaches and tendencies

The thematic thread of this special issue centres on how corpus data and quantitative methods can support, challenge and (re)shape linguistic theory. Within this broad topic, the papers in this thematic issue delve into the interaction of qualitative and quantitative methods in linguistic analysis. The subject matter and the approach are particularly timely. The use of quantitative methods in the humanities has not only grown exponentially in the last decade, but it has also evolved very rapidly. As highlighted, for instance, in a recent opinion paper by Kortmann (2021), theoretical considerations are not absent from linguistic works focusing mainly on quantitative aspects. Nevertheless, the impact on linguistic theory needs to be reassessed, to emphasise the apparent–or expected future–impact of quantitative methods on theoretical issues in linguistics. The main question that this issue addresses is to what extent old and new theoretical assumptions can be nuanced, rejected or improved in the light of the interaction between qualitative and quantitative approaches.