Digitalni prozor u hrvatsku prošlost: digitalna humanistika i analitička funkcionalnost alata Google Ngram Viewer u povijesnoj analizi i nastavi povijesti
A Digital Window into Croatia’s Past: The Analytical Functionality of Google Ngram Viewer and Digital Humanities in Historical Analysis and History Teaching

Summary/Abstract: In this article, we examined the digital tool Google Ngram Viewer (GNV) through multiple analytical lenses – including geopolitics, cultural influences, wars, migration, and cultural production. By focusing on the relationship between Austria and Southeast Europe, with particular attention to Croatia, we demonstrated that GNV not only reveals quantitative shifts in discourse but also offers deeper insights into the dynamics of public interest across several centuries. At the same time, the paper functions as a practical guide for working with the method and illustrates its pedagogical applicability in history education.Our analysis shows that GNV, when applied to the German-language corpus at the center of this research, reliably reflects patterns of public attention and mirrors authentic political or cultural events. We illustrated how the tool can uncover patterns and trends in the references to prominent historical figures, concepts, and phenomena – insights that often exceed the reach of traditional research methodologies. Most examples in the study have been designed as applied exercises, making GNV a relevant educational tool for teaching history (though not exclusively so). Beyond political history, GNV also enables engaging exploration in fields such as literature, the arts, linguistics, and economics.However, it is essential to acknowledge the methodological constraints of this digital instrument. While numerous studies have confirmed its general reliability, critical voices in the literature have highlighted limitations related to corpus selection, the quality of OCR processing, and the interpretative scope of statistical outputs. As large-scale text analysis remains an emerging area, the standardization of procedures, reassessment of underlying assumptions, and further development of methodology all call for broader participation from the academic community.

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