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Download `Style Machine` and its Codes
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T Thhee ““SSttyyllee M Maacchhiinnee”” aanndd iittss C Cooddeess ffoorr SSttaattiissttiiccaall SSttuuddiieess ooff N Naattuurraall SSyynnttaaccttiicc D Deevveellooppm meenntt:: A Ann O Onn--ggooiinngg K KIISSSS PPrroojjeecctt Dr. Ed Vavra, the Developer of KISS Grammar For the “Introduction” to the Statistical Studies, click here. El Greco’s The Fifth Seal of the Apocalypse or The Vision of Saint John) 1608–1614 (I love El Greco’s elongated figures.) © 2014 2 The “Style Machine” is a computer program made in an authoring program called ToolBook almost twenty years ago. I have been asked if I would give it to others to use. I’ll be happy to give it to anyone who wants it, but I cannot give them a version that works. First, it is rather complex and making it “user friendly” would require a great deal of work. In addition, it is somewhat cranky, giving me problems that I have been able to fix, but I would not have the time to fix such problems in copies I gave away. Moreover, it will not work in Windows 7. I would love to have other people use it, but I simply cannot spend the time. The program itself creates a separate data file for each collection of writing to be studied. (See the “Introduction.”) In a data file, each sample has two “pages.” The first page includes fields for an electronic copy of the writing sample, and for identification information. A button on that page leads to the “analysis” page. Initially, the uncoded writing sample is simply copied to a field in the analysis page. The analysis page, however, includes over 250 data fields that are filled in when the sample is processed through the “coding” part of the program. (See below.) As noted, I have been using this program for almost twenty years. Originally, I put nine tables of data for each study in KISS’s “Cobweb Corner.” This was EXTREMELY timeconsuming, so I will probably not do it in the future. In this on-going project, all the data documents include coded versions of each sample. This enables anyone who is interested to check what is being counted and how. In many cases, you will also be able to see how some writers tend to favor various constructions. Some writers use deeply embedded subordinate clauses; others do not. Some writers favor gerundives over clauses. Others do a lot of compounding. T Thhee ““SSttyyllee M Maacchhiinnee”” C Cooddeess After an uncoded sample gets to the “analysis” page, a click sends it to the “coding page.” No, the machine can not code the structure of a sample on its own—codes have to be “clicked” into the text. The uncoded sample arrives in a “locked” text field. To the right of that field there are buttons for different codes. The coding is a process of selecting a button and then clicking on the word to which that code should be attached. The codes, as described below, are divided into four groups. Once the sample has been coded, it is sent to the “Analysis” page where the various 3 numbers are automatically counted. From there, it and the numbers are sent to the “Analyzed” page for that sample. The “Main” Group of Codes At the top of the coding page, four buttons can be clicked, each of which brings up one group of codes and hides the others. One group is titled “Main.” It brings up buttons for the following codes. Prepositional Phrases With this button clicked, any click on the text of the sample will insert a brace { }. A left mouse button click inserts an opening brace; the right button inserts a closing brace. (Braces are used instead of parentheses because braces are rarely—if ever—found in real texts.) The braces are colored pink. To insert a code correctly, one has to click on the word to which the code should be attached. These codes enable the program to count both the number of prepositional phrases and the number of words in those prepositional phrases. Perhaps the most interesting statistical result here in the percent of words within a text that are in prepositional phrases. Main Clause Indicators In typical KISS analysis keys, a vertical line indicates the end of a main clause. For statistical analysis, however, the following codes are put before every main clause (or fragment): /-/ means the following is a typical main clause. /C/ means the following clause is a compound. /R/ means the following is a run-on. /,/ means the following is a comma-splice. /F/ means the following is a fragment. These codes enable the program to automatically count the number of compounds, run-ons, comma-splices, and fragments per main clause. Subject/Verb Agreement With this button activated, clicking on a word attaches “=SV” to the word to indicate an error in subject/verb agreement. Three Codes for Other Compounds =CS is attached to the second (or more) of compound subjects. =CV is similarly attached to compound verbs. =CC similarly identifies compound complements. 4 Passive Verbs =PV is attached to passive finite verbs. The “Subordinate Clause” Group of Codes As in the regular KISS analysis keys, left and right mouse-button clicks insert opening and closing brackets. (Unlike the regular analysis keys, here subordinate clause codes are in green.) There are 33 code buttons in this group that identify eleven different functions of clauses. The codes for these buttons attach four letters to the opening bracket. The first letter indicates whether the code is “L”eft, “M”id, or “R”ight branching. If the second letter is “N,” the clause is a noun clause. The machine distinguishes six types of noun clauses: DO = direct object PN = predicate noun OP = object of a preposition DS = delayed subject SU = subject AP = appositive For example, if [LNDO is attached to the first word of a clause, that clause should be a subordinate clause the functions as a left-branching direct object: /-/[LNDO It was too late], he thought. If the second two letters are “AJ” or “AV,” the clause is adjectival or adverbial. In these clauses, the fourth letter is either “F” (for a full clause) or “R” (for a reduced clause. For example: /-/One must be careful [RAVRwhen hunting]. indicates that the “when hunting” is right-branching, adverbial, and is reduced from “when one is hunting.” The last three codes in this group have “INJ” as their final three letters to denote clauses that function as interjections. /-/It was, [MINJshe thought], a good idea. Confused? It takes a while to get used to the system, and it does take some time to code a passage. A 250-word passage usually takes fifteen to twenty minutes. The “Analysis,” or “counting,” page automatically counts the number of words in each main clause and each subordinate clause. It also distinguishes and counts embedding levels. (A 5 subordinate clause in a main clause is considered to be at Level One; a subordinate clause within the subordinate clause is at Level Two, etc. Consider, for example, the sentence from Twain’s Tom Sawyer: \-\Forty times I've said [RNDO[LAVFif you didn't let that jam alone] I'd skin you.] The program recognizes “[RNDO” as the beginning of a Level One, right-branching noun clause that functions as a direct object, and it starts counting the words in it. The connected “[LAVF” denotes the beginning of a Level Two clause that functions as a left-branching adverb. So the program begins to count the words in it. The “]” after “alone” indicates the end of the Level Two “if” clause. The “]” after “you” indicates the end of the Level One direct object clause. The studies thus far suggest that professional writers rarely go beyond Level Three. The “Verbals” Group of Codes The twenty one buttons in this group work differently. The codes show up in the analyzed text in blue, preceded by an asterisk and followed by numbers. Ten codes identify functions of infinitives: *INFDO = direct object *INFDE = ellipsed direct object, as in “They made him captain.” *INFPN = predicate noun *INFOP = object of a preposition *INFSU = subject *INFDS = delayed subject *INFAP = appositive *INFIJ = interjection *INFAJ = adjective *INFAV = adverb Similarly, eight codes for gerunds show up as: *GerDO = direct object *GerPN = predicate noun *GerOP = object of a preposition *GerSU = subject *GerDS = delayed subject *GerAP = appositive *GerIJ = interjection *GerNU = gerund that functions as a Noun Used as an Adverb Three codes indicate the branching of gerundives: *GiveL = before its subject 6 *GiveM = between the subject and verb *GiveR = after the subject and verb The two-digit number that follows each of the preceding codes indicates the number of words that chunk to the verbal. These have to be counted (by hand), and the number put into another field where it is automatically attached to the code. The following sentence is from “Mary White,” by William Allen White: \-\She climbed {into her khakis,} chattering*GiveR10 {to her mother} {about the work} [RAJFshe was doing,] and hurried=CV to get*INFAV04 her horse and be*INFAV19 out {on the dirt roads} {for the country air and the radiant green fields} {of the spring.} Although “chattering” is a participle that could be considered a gerund that functions as a Noun Used as an Adverb (to “climbed”), KISS opts for the gerundive (adjectival) explanation because students have problems with misplaced participles that function as gerundives. In other words, either explanation would work here, but KISS has students focus on the gerundive first in order to avoid misplaced modifiers. In this case, the “chattering” phrase consists of ten words—“chattering to her mother about the work she was doing.” Counting the number of words in such phrases is important because we should expect the numbers to rise with age. The “Other” Group of Codes The last group of codes works in the same way as do the codes for verbals, except that they are preceded by a #. #NuA = Noun Used as an Adverb #APP = Appositive #INJ = Interjection #DirA = Direct Address #DSu = Delayed Subject (single word) #RCM = Retained Complement #PPP = Post-positioned Adjective #AAV = Noun Absolute – Adverbial #ASu = Noun Absolute – Subject #ADO = Noun Absolute – Direct Object #AOP = Noun Absolute – Object of Preposition #APN = Noun Absolute – Predicate Noun 7 There are some constructions that are missed in this coding system, but the preceding explanation will help you to decipher the codes in the selections.