In this article the authors explore the use of “California,” its translations, and associated phrases in the nine languages collected in the Google Books corpora since 1525. The article graphs the use across time, analyzes the data, and considers some of the reasons behind the peaks and troughs of the usage of “California” and related phrases. For those new to computational corpus analysis, this article introduces the techniques and concepts of corpus analysis, explains the strengths and weaknesses of large-scale, longitudinal studies of language, and describes the specific methods applied in this analysis. Across all languages, the frequency of “California” increases steadily until the late 1990s. The article also examine the use of the notable but infrequently used phrase “California dream.” Visualizations of the analyses accompany the article, as well as additional graphs comparing the use of Los Angeles to San Francisco and Northern California to Southern California since 1800.
By the Numbers: California in world literature
David L. Ulin is the author, most recently, of the novella Labyrinth. His other books include The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time and Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology, which received a 2002 California Book Award. He is a book critic for the Los Angeles Times.
Joshua Comer is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Communication and Media at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and editor of the Journal of Games Criticism. He studies representations of progress in digital games, reality television, and social media.
David L. Ulin is the author, most recently, of the novella Labyrinth. His other books include The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time and Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology, which received a 2002 California Book Award. He is a book critic for the Los Angeles Times.
Joshua Comer is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Communication and Media at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and editor of the Journal of Games Criticism. He studies representations of progress in digital games, reality television, and social media.
David L. Ulin, Joshua Comer; By the Numbers: California in world literature. Boom 1 March 2014; 4 (1): 46–53. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/boom.2014.4.1.46
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