This article presents a method for computer-assisted text analysis, which has been employed by the author in a number of studies. The inductive methodology is based on a frequency count analysis of the co-occurrence of words; and a visualization of the results of this text analysis in a two dimensional space. The main advantage of this text analysis technique is its potential for (a) exploring large amounts of textual data without any pre-coded or theoretically laden vocabularies or thesauri; and (b) the extraction of discursive patterns often only detectable in an a posteriori expert analysis. An example is used to demonstrate the use of this computer assisted text analysis method through an analysis of the transcripts of biographical interviews exploring life in Czech socialist society. The analysis presented uncovers both shared and distinctive discursive patterns found in the narratives of the interviewees who come from two distinct social groups.
This study focuses on the postfaces that accompany Karel Čapek’s Writings (published 1980–1995), with an eye to the way they relate to the primary texts. The first part explores the nature of these essays, as well as the topics they address, in relation to Gérard Genette’s theory of paratexts. The author then goes on to examine certain presuppositions in the essays about the experience of reading Čapek’s writings, and how or whether authors of the essays are aware of their role in mediating this experience. In a third and final part of the study, the author examines the demands placed on literature during the period 1948–1989, and how they are reflected in the postfaces.
This article examines the reliability of statistical models that use visualization of word distances using computer-assisted text analysis. This study looks at the choice of parameters in the COOA - software for word co-occurrence analysis. The word co-occurrence analysis enables visualization of text structure through the exploration of the number of co-occurrences of words. The data visualization provided by a multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) procedure is susceptible to a particular form of error. The nonlinear relationship between words with significantly different frequencies lies at the root of this problem where words with higher frequencies are placed in the middle of a two-dimensional MDS map visualization. Words with lower frequency, on the other hand, are forced by the MDS estimator to the edge of the two-dimensional map and their estimated spatial positions are unstable. These two processes are potentially a major source of error in making inferences. One solution for reducing this source of error is to (a) reduce the number of words in a model or (b) increase of the number of model dimensions. This article, however, suggests that a detailed investigation of the word structure and a thorough analysis of the error sources and their meaningful interpretation may be a better solution.
This paper is a quantitative onomastic analysis of four works featuring the literary figure of Švejk. These are the original novel by Jaroslav Hašek, two retellings of the story from the period of WWII (1941 and 1945), and a 1970s–80s version by Martin Petiška, who moved the story to Czechoslovakia after the 1948 Communist coup. The analysis relies on the thematic concentration of text (with an emphasis on the role of proper nouns as thematic words) and collocation analysis of the proper noun Švejk. Its aim is twofold: first, to determine whether there are quantitatively detectable differences between the original work and its paraphrases concerning the use of proper names; and second, to determine whether there is a difference between the paraphrases and the original as regards the literary figure of Švejk. The analysis shows that the paraphrases reduce the text-type richness of the original, while maintaining Švejk as the protagonist. The paraphrases employ a popular interpretation of the main character (Švejk as a “smart idiot”), leaving aside other aspects of Hašek’s multi-layered novel. Partial shifts in the portrayal of the main character are related to his intellectualization or increased emotionality.
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