QuotationFinder - Searching for Quotations and Allusions in Greek and Latin Texts and Establishing the Degree to Which a Quotation or Allusion Matches Its Source

Luc Herren

doi:10.46298/jdmdh.1389

Abstract

The software programs generally used with the TLG (Thesaurus Linguae Graecae) and the CLCLT (CETEDOC Library of Christian Latin Texts) CD-ROMs are not well suited for finding quotations and allusions. QuotationFinder uses more sophisticated criteria as it ranks search results based on how closely they match the source text, listing search results with literal quotations first and loose verbal parallels last.

Highlights

When looking for Greek and Latin quotations or allusions using standard search functions, a search with a Boolean “or” would yield too many matches
The software programs generally used with the TLG (Thesaurus Linguae Graecae) [http1] and the CLCLT (CETEDOC Library of Christian Latin Texts) [http2] CD-ROMs are not well suited for finding quotations and allusions
The best approach seems to be to establish a score for every feature and rank potential quotations and allusions based on the sum of the scores they achieve regarding each of the features

Summary

INTRODUCTION

When looking for Greek and Latin quotations or allusions using standard search functions, a search with a Boolean “or” would yield too many matches. A search with a Boolean “and,” would yield too few, as ancient authors often left out words when quoting without us having a chance to know in advance which ones they would keep. QuotationFinder produces better search results by using five criteria for determining if a given text is a quotation or an allusion: number and forms of words matched, their proximity to each other, how rare they are, and in what sequence they occur

QUOTING IN ANTIQUITY

RANKING PROSPECTIVE QUOTATIONS AND ALLUSIONS

Conclusion