The Methods and Problems of the Definition of the Cultural Regions of Hungarian-Speaking Areas by Computer

Abstract

First the author summarizes the attempts of defining the regions of Hungarian folk culture and he concludes that the next step in this kind of investigation must be a certain definition based on as many cultural elements as possible. He intends to do it by using the database of the Atlas of Hungarian Folk Culture and computer methods. He investigates the opportunity and the problems of the transformation of the data of the Atlas into a computer database, he presents the problems to be solved and some possible solutions. He concludes that for various reasons only a limited number of the cultural phenomena mapped in the atlas are suitable for computer analysis. He summarizes the methodological background of the correlation and cluster analysis to be used. He emphasizes that due to the special character of mapping the inconsistencies and the mixing of different points of view in the Atlas, and to the character of the computer analysis that is mechanical and not elaborate enough, this kind of definition of th...