DOI: 10.1075/scl.128.07eit ISSN: 1388-0373
“He smiled unflinchingly”
Matthias Eitelmann, Ulrike Stange-HundsdörferAbstract
This study investigates whether * ingly adverbs like smilingly, unerringly , etc. are indeed a characteristic feature of the Harry Potter series (
Broccias, 2012
) or if they pattern
similarly in other works of fiction. Juola (
2013a
,
2013b
) identified J. K. Rowling as the most likely author of
The Cuckoo’s Calling
(2013), written under the
pseudonym Robert Galbraith, based on a set of relevant lexico-grammatical
variables. This study follows up on Juola’s findings by focusing on
*
ingly
adverbs, drawing on the
Harry
Potter
series (1.1m words),
The Casual Vacancy
(161k words), the
Cormoran Strike
series (1.6m words), and
a British reference corpus (
Crime Corpus
; 1.2m words).
Interestingly, it is not the frequency of *
ingly
adverbs
but their function that is a telltale sign of J. K. Rowling’s
authorship.