Stylistic Analysis of Text Submissions to Japanese Q & A Communities*

Abstract This study is a mixed method, i.e. qualitative as well as quantitative, analysis of the stylistic characteristics of texts submitted to Japanese Q & A communities. Along with the development of social media, Q & A communities are attracting much scholarly attention as important resources for analysing online communication. In Q & A communities, people freely submit questions and answers; questions are classified into subject categories; and the best answers are selected. In this study, we analyse the stylistic characteristics of three types of submission, i.e. questions, best answers, and normal answers, in two different subject categories, i.e. “personal computers and related devices” and “love and human relations advice”. The results show that the textual styles clearly distinguished these six classes of texts and clarified their respective characters. Our findings provide useful knowledge about how people differ in their communication styles regarding subject categories and on how people select communication styles. This study will contribute to research into discovering current online communication styles.

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