Quantitative Corpus-Based Analysis of the Chiropractic Literature--a Pilot Study (Report‪)‬

Introduction The domain-specific dialects of biomedical and health language include esoteric technical vocabularies as well as conventions of grammar and discourse which distinguish them from root languages such as general English. (1) Characterization of the dialect of a discipline may provide important cultural insights. On a more pragmatic level, identifying a target dialect also permits definition of the language learning burden imposed on students, and therefore, could greatly enhance strategies to impart fluency. (2) Enhanced communicative competence would likely improve education, patient-practitioner cooperation and communications within and between disciplines. Additionally, a quantitative analysis of a dialect shows language as it actually is rather than as we might wish it were. This is particularly valuable to a discipline such as chiropractic where proximity to or distance from other disciplines is an important consideration in the formulation of educational programmes, legislation and health care policy.