A Quantitative Analysis of Chronological Changes in Writing Style in Soseki Natsume's Novels

About Sentence-Final Expressions

Abstract

In this study, we analyzed the stylistic changes in sentence endings in novels by Soseki Natsume. Random forest, principal component analysis, and linear regression analysis were used to analyze the incidence of words appearing at the end of the sentences. Results showed that a change in the quantitative features of sentence endings occurred around 1908. In particular, seven works after "Sorekara," published in 1909, showed a similar trend. In addition, a consideration of eigenvectors in the principal component analysis revealed that the stylistic change in sentence endings recognized in 1908 was a marked increase in the use of the auxiliary verb "ta."