What is technical text?
Identifieur interne : 001302 ( Istex/Corpus ); précédent : 001301; suivant : 001303What is technical text?
Auteurs : Terry Copeck ; Ken Barker ; Sylvain Delisle ; Stan Szpakowicz ; Jean-François DelannoySource :
- Language Sciences [ 0388-0001 ] ; 1997.
Abstract
Beyond labeling it easier to process than other types, few researchers who use technical text in their work try to define what it is. This paper describes a study that investigates the character of texts typically considered technical. We identify 42 features of a text considered likely to correlate with its degree of technicality. These include both objectively verifiable measures like marked presence of interrogative or imperative sentences which are akin to the criteria used by Biber in Variation Across Speech and Writing, and subjective measures such as presence of hierarchical organization. All are less ambiguous than technicality, so our inventory may be suited to use in a procedure that classifies text as technical or non-technical. An inventory organizing and describing these lexical, syntactic, semantic and discourse features was used to rate nine varied sample texts. Analysis of 22 ratings of each text indicated that 31 features in the inventory were meaningful predictors of text technicality when considered independently. The inventory has been revised and a formula to compute technicality has been developed in the light of these findings.
Url:
DOI: 10.1016/S0388-0001(97)00003-X
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<front><div type="abstract" xml:lang="en">Beyond labeling it easier to process than other types, few researchers who use technical text in their work try to define what it is. This paper describes a study that investigates the character of texts typically considered technical. We identify 42 features of a text considered likely to correlate with its degree of technicality. These include both objectively verifiable measures like marked presence of interrogative or imperative sentences which are akin to the criteria used by Biber in Variation Across Speech and Writing, and subjective measures such as presence of hierarchical organization. All are less ambiguous than technicality, so our inventory may be suited to use in a procedure that classifies text as technical or non-technical. An inventory organizing and describing these lexical, syntactic, semantic and discourse features was used to rate nine varied sample texts. Analysis of 22 ratings of each text indicated that 31 features in the inventory were meaningful predictors of text technicality when considered independently. The inventory has been revised and a formula to compute technicality has been developed in the light of these findings.</div>
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<ce:abstract-sec><ce:simple-para>Beyond labeling it easier to process than other types, few researchers who use technical text in their work try to define what it is. This paper describes a study that investigates the character of texts typically considered technical. We identify 42 features of a text considered likely to correlate with its degree of technicality. These include both objectively verifiable measures like <ce:italic>marked presence of interrogative or imperative sentences</ce:italic>
which are akin to the criteria used by Biber in <ce:italic>Variation Across Speech and Writing</ce:italic>
, and subjective measures such as <ce:italic>presence of hierarchical organization</ce:italic>
. All are less ambiguous than technicality, so our inventory may be suited to use in a procedure that classifies text as technical or non-technical. An inventory organizing and describing these lexical, syntactic, semantic and discourse features was used to rate nine varied sample texts. Analysis of 22 ratings of each text indicated that 31 features in the inventory were meaningful predictors of text technicality when considered independently. The inventory has been revised and a formula to compute technicality has been developed in the light of these findings.</ce:simple-para>
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<mods version="3.6"><titleInfo><title>What is technical text?</title>
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<titleInfo type="alternative" contentType="CDATA"><title>What is technical text?</title>
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<name type="personal"><namePart type="given">Terry</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Copeck</namePart>
<affiliation>Department of Computer Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5</affiliation>
<affiliation>1 613-564-5420 fax: 613-564-9486</affiliation>
<affiliation>E-mail: terry@csi.uottawa.ca</affiliation>
<role><roleTerm type="text">author</roleTerm>
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<name type="personal"><namePart type="given">Ken</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Barker</namePart>
<affiliation>Department of Computer Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5</affiliation>
<affiliation>1 613-564-5420 fax: 613-564-9486</affiliation>
<affiliation>E-mail: kbarker@csi.uottawa.ca</affiliation>
<role><roleTerm type="text">author</roleTerm>
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<name type="personal"><namePart type="given">Sylvain</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Delisle</namePart>
<affiliation>Départment de mathématiques et d'informatique, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada G9A 5H7</affiliation>
<affiliation>2 819-376-5125 fax: 819-376-5185</affiliation>
<affiliation>E-mail: Sylvain_Delisle@uqtr.uquebec.ca</affiliation>
<role><roleTerm type="text">author</roleTerm>
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</name>
<name type="personal"><namePart type="given">Stan</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Szpakowicz</namePart>
<affiliation>Department of Computer Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5</affiliation>
<affiliation>1 613-564-5420 fax: 613-564-9486</affiliation>
<affiliation>E-mail: szpak@csi.uottawa.ca</affiliation>
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<name type="personal"><namePart type="given">Jean-François</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Delannoy</namePart>
<affiliation>RES International Inc. 600-100 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 5B7</affiliation>
<affiliation>3 613-238-3690 fax: 613-235-589</affiliation>
<affiliation>E-mail: delannoy@res.ca</affiliation>
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<originInfo><publisher>ELSEVIER</publisher>
<dateIssued encoding="w3cdtf">1997</dateIssued>
<copyrightDate encoding="w3cdtf">1997</copyrightDate>
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<abstract lang="en">Beyond labeling it easier to process than other types, few researchers who use technical text in their work try to define what it is. This paper describes a study that investigates the character of texts typically considered technical. We identify 42 features of a text considered likely to correlate with its degree of technicality. These include both objectively verifiable measures like marked presence of interrogative or imperative sentences which are akin to the criteria used by Biber in Variation Across Speech and Writing, and subjective measures such as presence of hierarchical organization. All are less ambiguous than technicality, so our inventory may be suited to use in a procedure that classifies text as technical or non-technical. An inventory organizing and describing these lexical, syntactic, semantic and discourse features was used to rate nine varied sample texts. Analysis of 22 ratings of each text indicated that 31 features in the inventory were meaningful predictors of text technicality when considered independently. The inventory has been revised and a formula to compute technicality has been developed in the light of these findings.</abstract>
<relatedItem type="host"><titleInfo><title>Language Sciences</title>
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<titleInfo type="abbreviated"><title>LSC</title>
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<genre type="Journal">journal</genre>
<originInfo><dateIssued encoding="w3cdtf">199710</dateIssued>
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<identifier type="ISSN">0388-0001</identifier>
<identifier type="PII">S0388-0001(00)X0009-5</identifier>
<part><date>199710</date>
<detail type="volume"><number>19</number>
<caption>vol.</caption>
</detail>
<detail type="issue"><number>4</number>
<caption>no.</caption>
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<extent unit="issue pages"><start>289</start>
<end>425</end>
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<extent unit="pages"><start>391</start>
<end>423</end>
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<identifier type="istex">0507F9454DC3A5B26AD2D7A4D7A8E6A45C578F35</identifier>
<identifier type="DOI">10.1016/S0388-0001(97)00003-X</identifier>
<identifier type="PII">S0388-0001(97)00003-X</identifier>
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