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Pull out all the stops : textual analysis via punctuation sequences
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Darmon, Alexandra N. M., Bazzi, Marya, Howison, Sam D. and Porter, Mason A. (2021) Pull out all the stops : textual analysis via punctuation sequences. European Journal of Applied Mathematics, 32 (6). pp. 1069-1105. doi:10.1017/S0956792520000157 ISSN 0956-7925.
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WRAP-Pull-out-stops-textual-analysis-punctuation-Bazzi-2020.pdf - Accepted Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (2630Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956792520000157
Abstract
Whether enjoying the lucid prose of a favourite author or slogging through some other writer’s cumbersome, heavy-set prattle (full of parentheses, em dashes, compound adjectives, and Oxford commas), readers will notice stylistic signatures not only in word choice and grammar but also in punctuation itself. Indeed, visual sequences of punctuation from different authors produce marvellously different (and visually striking) sequences. Punctuation is a largely overlooked stylistic feature in stylometry, the quantitative analysis of written text. In this paper, we examine punctuation sequences in a corpus of literary documents and ask the following questions: Are the properties of such sequences a distinctive feature of different authors? Is it possible to distinguish literary genres based on their punctuation sequences? Do the punctuation styles of authors evolve over time? Are we on to something interesting in trying to do stylometry without words, or are we full of sound and fury (signifying nothing)?
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics Q Science > QA Mathematics Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA76 Electronic computers. Computer science. Computer software |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Mathematics | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Computational linguistics, Programming languages (Electronic computers), Natural language processing (Computer science), Mathematical models | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | European Journal of Applied Mathematics | ||||||||
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press | ||||||||
ISSN: | 0956-7925 | ||||||||
Official Date: | December 2021 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 32 | ||||||||
Number: | 6 | ||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 1069-1105 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1017/S0956792520000157 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | This article has been published in a revised form in European Journal of Applied Mathematics http://doi.org/10.1017/S0956792520000157. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. © copyright holder. | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
Copyright Holders: | © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 24 April 2020 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 21 March 2021 | ||||||||
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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