Refugee or migrant? What corpora can tell

Abstract

It has been suggested that there is a clear difference between the terms REFUGEE and MIGRANT (for example Edwards 2015). A migrant is someone who chooses to move in order to find work or a better life, while a refugee is forced to move because of threat to life or freedom. This study looks at how the two terms are used in British English today and explores what contemporary corpora can reveal about changes coinciding with the escalation of the European migrant crisis.