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Quantitative analysis of writing styles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Ernst L. Moerk
Ernst L. Moerk
Affiliation:
Fresno State College, Fresno, Ca. 93726
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Extract

It was attempted to analyse objectively the written style of different authors. Nineteen style variables were defined and the frequency of occurrence of these variables in samples of 1000 words each was counted. The Chi-square method was employed to evaluate the significance of differences found between authors and between samples of the same author. Results showed that all authors could be significantly differentiated from each other. There were much smaller and mainly insignificant differences between samples of the same author. Probable relationships between personality and style were discussed, and problems for future research were pointed out concerning linguistic and statistical aspects of the approach.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Linguistics , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , September 1970 , pp. 223 - 230
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1970

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