Is DDL dead yet? Not so fast! Revisiting earlier claims on the state of corpus linguistics, DDL, generative AI, and Language for Specific Purposes

This forum article revisits earlier claims about the relationship between corpus linguistics, data-driven learning (DDL), and generative AI three years after initial discussions of these issues. Drawing on recent developments in large language model (LLM) architectures, prompting strategies, and corpus-AI integration, the article reflects on how current research practices still need to evolve beyond traditional concordancing and basic AI-assisted analysis. It highlights emerging opportunities for combining generative AI with corpus resources in EAP and LSP contexts, while also emphasising the need for greater methodological clarity regarding prompting, data integration, and the interpretation of AI-generated language. The article concludes by arguing that the future of corpus-informed language research and pedagogy will likely lie in even closer integration between empirical corpus evidence and AI-mediated language technologies.