3.3.1 Pooling

The first method applied is pooling. As already explained in Section 2.1, the frequency of each variant is calculated by dividing the occurrences of one of them by all occurrences added together.

In this case, the frequency of the newer variant yours is calculated as follows: 1015 / 1411 + 1015 = 0.418. Thus, using the method of pooling, thine has a frequency of 0.418 or 41.8 per cent.

While it is useful to have a frequency of both variants for a time span of almost two centuries, for most changes it is useful to have a more detailed, i.e. more fine-grained diachronic look at the change in frequencies. In this case, the period of 1518-1700 will be divided into two parts, i.e. 1518-1600 and 1601-1700, but of course, smaller subdivisions are also possible.

For the first part between 1518 and 1600, yours has 267 results whereas thine has 698. Thus, there are 965 hits in total. For determining the frequency of yours by pooling this means: 267 / 965 = 0.276.  This shows that yours has a frequency of approximately 27.6 per cent in the 16th century data from Early English Prose Fiction. For the time between 1601 and 1700, thine has 609 hits and yours 737. Calculating the frequency with the same method, the result for yours is 0.547.

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