Oftenquoted

Oftenquoted is an adjective used to describe statements, phrases, or sources that are cited or repeated with high frequency across a body of texts or discourse. In corpus linguistics and information science, items labeled as oftenquoted are identified by quantitative measures such as frequency counts or citation counts, often normalized by document length or corpus size. The term is not a formal linguistic category but a descriptive label applied in studies of quotation, memory, and cultural transmission.

In practice, oftenquoted items include proverbs, adages, and famous lines from literature, speeches, or media. Such items tend to function as framing devices, authority markers, or shorthand references that audiences recognize and recall. Researchers may analyze oftenquoted material to understand how ideas propagate, how quotation reuse correlates with influence, and how context affects interpretation.

Methodology and challenges include distinguishing between truly oftenquoted items and data artifacts, adjusting for corpus biases, and conducting multilingual comparisons. The concept also raises questions about temporal drift, copyright considerations, and the shifting prominence of quotations in different media environments.

See also: Quotations, quotation marks, proverbs, memes, and topics related to quotation in culture.