Abstract The stylistic features in a Chinese collaborative translation of the Japanese novel The New Tale of Genji are examined by employing methods drawn from stylometry. Using correspondence analysis and hierarchical clustering, the study investigates the extent to which stylistic traits of an individual translator become ‘visible’ in a joint translation project carried out by twelve translators, and how the division of labor and cooperation among them affects the overall stylistic consistency of the translated text. Although a clearly articulated translation policy and close collaboration among translators help maintain a certain degree of stylistic uniformity, the distinct ‘stylistic fingerprints’ of individual translators are nonetheless discernible through function words and punctuation. Segments where multiple assistants were involved showed partial disruptions in stylistic cohesion, suggesting that the collaborative translation process influenced style formation. The proposed stylometric approach offers a new framework for objectively visualizing stylistic characteristics of collaborative translations and interactions among translators. This study advances Digital Humanities by extending stylometric analysis to collaborative translation as a multi-agent form of textual production. It shows how computational methods can be used to examine stylistic formation as an emergent process shaped by coordination and editorial practices, thereby broadening the scope of stylometry beyond single-author and single-translator models.
Li et al. (2026) studied this question.