Abstract

Most studies on scientific sources are conducted using the text parallels method, which consists in presenting two texts opposite each other in order to establish or exclude a correspondence between a «source text» and a «target text.» We have explained elsewhere the limits of this method, especially when (exact) text parallels turn into (approximate) doctrinal parallels, and when the potential sources are numerous. In this context, the search for sources is doomed to failure. In order to operate in this difficult environment, we therefore propose to enhance this method with a special focus on words with low lexical frequency, called «tracers,» in order to better detect their offspring in the target…