Patterning, regularity and variation in the EUSLEX CORPUS on line

This article moves on from findings of previous studies conducted by the Local Research Unit, Naples University Federico II, as part of the PRIN project on “Interculturality and re-encoding within the EU” with Maurizio Gotti as national coordinator and Gabriella Di Martino as local coordinator. The aim of this study is to present the EUSLEX Corpus on line as a tool for language research in specialized discourse (http://sslmit-dev-online.sslmit.unibo.it). The EUSLEX Corpus on line was compiled by the Local Research Unit for research purposes in order to investigate interculturality in EU legal language, in particular the use of modality in legally binding texts and regular textual patterns in EU secondary legislation. This study has explored the use of shall as well as the adverbial hereby and the occurrence of collocational patterns in EU text types in EU secondary legislation.