Author Gender Based on Word Choice and Writing Style

[Marduk]

Question 61564 for reference.

Hoping to get a more substantive response to this. I was aware of the article usage being a key indicator, but as the article linked to suggests, this has only been shown in that one study, and even that indicates very low correlation.

LJ's suggestions seem to be of no use as they refer to spoken language. Anyone else care to chime in on this?

[Craig Jessop]

I can tell the difference. I can't explain why... I just can. (Yes, Unlucky Stuntman, I know your secret!)

[Katya]

I don't have time to do a lot of research on this right now, but here are a few links you might find useful:

http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?cat=93
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/language ... 00348.html
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/language ... 00873.html
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/language ... 03423.html

[Tao]

Anecdotally, I'd agree with bob on this one. I'd say that given a random sampling of fiction novels, one could tell with greater than 50% accuracy the gender of the author. And wouldn't you say that verbal trends would correlate to written trends? Even failing a direct correlation, the existence of one gives room for a reasonable belief in the other, in my eyes.

[Katya]

I'd say that given a random sampling of fiction novels, one could tell with greater than 50% accuracy the gender of the author.

Do you need the whole novel? If not, how much would suffice?

[Emiliana]

I'd say that given a random sampling of fiction novels, one could tell with greater than 50% accuracy the gender of the author.

Do you need the whole novel? If not, how much would suffice?

Some of that probably also has due to subject matter. In the 19th century it was common for women to write under male pseudonyms (e.g. Mary Ann Evans wrote as George Eliot; Charlotte Brontë wrote as Currer Bell), and no one was really fooled by that. The lines have blurred in the last two hundred years, but men and women tend to have different concerns.

[UnluckyStuntman]

I can tell the difference. I can't explain why... I just can. (Yes, Unlucky Stuntman, I know your secret!)

If you knew my secret, I'd be worried. My gender, on the other hand, isn't a big deal.

[Marduk]

Secret? You only have one?

[UnluckyStuntman]

Secret? You only have one?

fine, secrets. SHHHHHHHHHH.

[Whistler]

take that http://u.cs.biu.ac.il/~koppel/papers/ma ... -final.pdf

[Dr. Smeed]

Based on my word choice and writing style, am I a man or a woman? Let's see how good you people are.

[NerdGirl]

I can't tell the difference.

[Laser Jock]

...am I a man or a woman?

I can't tell the difference.

I strongly feel like I should crack some wise right now...but I'll refrain.