LEXICAL DIVERSITY IN ACADEMIC AND NON-ACADEMIC TEXTS: A COMPUTATIONAL COMPARISON
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19389743Keywords:
Academic Writing, Corpus Linguistics, Density, Lexical Diversity, Non-Academic Writing, Stylistic Analysis, Type–Token RatioAbstract
This study investigated lexical diversity and lexical density in English academic and non-academic texts, aiming to provide a systematic comparison of vocabulary use and stylistic characteristics across registers. Using a comparative corpus-based design and quantitative analysis grounded in Lexical Diversity Theory, two balanced corpora were compiled: academic journal articles and non-academic texts, including blogs and online news. Lexical analysis focused on lexical density, Type–Token Ratio (TTR), and the distribution of content word categories (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs). The findings indicated that non-academic texts exhibited higher lexical density (63.63%) and greater lexical diversity (TTR = 0.20) compared to academic texts (58.61%; TTR = 0.16), reflecting broader vocabulary use in descriptive and narrative writing. Academic texts, by contrast, favored adjectives and repeated technical nouns, reflecting an analytical and informational focus, whereas non-academic texts emphasized verbs, supporting an action-oriented narrative style. These results demonstrated that register and communicative purpose significantly shaped lexical patterns, with practical implications for corpus linguistics, writing pedagogy, and register-based stylistic analysis.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Jawad Nasir, Dr. Aftab Akram (Author)
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