Stylistic Characteristics of Topics from Parts of Speech and Word Type Composition

A Correspondence Analysis Using J-TOCC

Abstract

This study examines 15 topics included in the Japanese Topic-Oriented Conversation Corpus (J-TOCC) by applying two classical stylistic quantitative indicators—parts of speech composition and word type composition—to the context of “topics,” and investigates their correspondences through correspondence analysis. The results show that in topics such as “03 Travel” and “07 School,” which involve recounting experiences, conversations tend to develop from concrete spatiotemporal points, resulting in frequent use of nouns. In contrast, in more social and abstract topics like “12 Dreams and Future Plans” and “13 Manners,” discourse progresses from the perspective of actions, making verbs more central. Furthermore, in topics based on subjective impressions, such as “10 Animals” and “01 Eating,” discourse was observed to develop from adjectives. From the perspective of word types, topics involving new concepts or elements of foreign origin, such as “08 Smartphones” and “04 Sports,” featured more loanwords; social and abstract topics like “12 Dreams and Future Plans” and “15 Japan’s Future” tended to favor Sino-Japanese words; and everyday life topics such as “01 Eating” and “06 Housework” showed a relative dominance of native Japanese words.