Abstract
Corpus query systems exist to address the multifarious information needs of any person interested in the content of annotated corpora. In this role they play an important part in making those resources usable for a wider audience.
Over the past decades, several such query systems and languages have emerged, varying greatly in their expressiveness and technical details. This paper offers a broad overview of the history of corpora and corpus query tools.
It focusses strongly on the query side and hints at exciting directions for future development.