Cookies help us display personalized product recommendations and ensure you have great shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    sales and data analytics
    How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
    9 Min Read
    data analytics and truck accident claims
    How Data Analytics Reduces Truck Accidents and Speeds Up Claims
    7 Min Read
    predictive analytics for interior designers
    Interior Designers Boost Profits with Predictive Analytics
    8 Min Read
    image fx (67)
    Improving LinkedIn Ad Strategies with Data Analytics
    9 Min Read
    big data and remote work
    Data Helps Speech-Language Pathologists Deliver Better Results
    6 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The Anachronism Machine: The Language of Downton Abbey
Share
Notification
Font ResizerAa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Big Data > Data Visualization > The Anachronism Machine: The Language of Downton Abbey
AnalyticsCommentaryData Visualization

The Anachronism Machine: The Language of Downton Abbey

DavidMSmith
DavidMSmith
4 Min Read
SHARE

I’ve recently become hooked on the TV series Downton Abbey. I’m not usually one for costume dramas, but the mix of fine acting, the intriguing social relationships, and the larger WW1-era story make for compelling viewing. (Also: Maggie Smith is a treasure.) 

I’ve recently become hooked on the TV series Downton Abbey. I’m not usually one for costume dramas, but the mix of fine acting, the intriguing social relationships, and the larger WW1-era story make for compelling viewing. (Also: Maggie Smith is a treasure.) 

Despite the widespread criticial acclaim, Downton has met with criticism for some period-innapropriate uses of language. For example, at one point Lady Mary laments “losting the high ground”, a phrase that didn’t come into use until the 1960s. But is this just a random slip, or are such anachronistic phrases par for the course on Downton? And how does it compare to other period productions in its use of language?

More Read

Data Mining: Widespread Acceptance When?
No Wait in Kuwait – But Some Weight (Part 2)
Your Next Supercomputer Is Just a Click Away in the Cloud
Five Analytics Must-Haves For Your Business
Top 8 Big Data Trends That Marketers Should Care About

To answer these questions, Ben Schmidt (a graduate student in history at Princeton University and Visiting Graduate Fellow at the Cultural Observatory at Harvard) created an “Anachronism Machine“. Using the R statistical programming language and Google n-grams, it analyzes all of the two-word phrases in a Downton Abbey script, and compares their frequency of use with that in books written around the WW1 era (when Downton is set). For example, Schmidt finds that Downton characters, if they were to follow societal norms of the 1910’s (as reflected in books from that period), would rarely use the phrase “guest bedroom”, but in fact it’s regularly uttered during the series. Schmidt charts the frequency these phrases appear in the show versus the frequency they appear in contemporaneous books below:

Downton Abbey unlikely words
(Click to enlarge.) Words above the zero horizontal line, and especially those near the top of the chart, appear far too often for the period (“black market” didn’t gain currency until WW2.) Phrases below the line don’t appear in the show often enough (e.g. “little chap”, whose usage actually peaked around Downton’s time).

But of course, Downton isn’t a documentary: it’s entertainment, written by modern screenwrights and for the ear of a modern audience. And Downton’s writers don’t have period-accurate source material to refer to, as the makers of the BBC’s “Pride and Prejudice” did. (And as Schmidt points out, there’s a lot it does get right: WW1-era phrases like “old chap”, “who shall” and “newspaper man” are accurately represented in Downton.) So how does Downton’s use of language compare to other period dramas? By applying the Anachronism Machine to other movies and series set in the Georgian era, Schmidt makes the comparison:

Georgian Dramas by Anachronistic language to compare to Downton Abbey
Heartbreak House was published in 1919 — and it’s safe to assume George Bernard Shaw had a good grasp of WW1-era language — so it acts as a kind of a control here. Shows higher on the vertical scale have more “extremely anachronistic language”; those further to the right have more “somewhat modern” language than expected. (The numbers are individual episodes within the series.) Remains of the Day does quite well: very few howlers, and just a few more modern phrases than you’d expect.

The real kicker here though is “Gosford Park” — a thoroughly excellent Robert Altman movie, also on the “upstairs, downstairs” theme. Gosford Park was written by Julian Fellowes … who is also the creator of Downton Abbey. So the Anachronism Machine not only detects misuse of period language, it can also pinpoint a specific period writer’s style. Pretty amazing, huh?*

(*Though no-one from Downton would say such a thing.)

Sapping Attention: Making Downton more traditional

TAGGED:languages
Share This Article
Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

sales and data analytics
How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
Analytics Big Data Exclusive
ai in marketing
How AI and Smart Platforms Improve Email Marketing
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive Marketing
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive
AI supply chain
AI Tools Are Strengthening Global Supply Chains
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
33.7kFollowersFollow
222FollowersPin

You Might also Like

Collaborative Analytics and the Benefits of Local Language Support

3 Min Read
machine learning in translation
ExclusiveMachine Learning

Deciphering The Limitations Of Machine Learning Translations

8 Min Read
language data
Big DataExclusive

Big Data Is Changing The Way People Learn New Languages

6 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

AI and chatbots
Chatbots and SEO: How Can Chatbots Improve Your SEO Ranking?
Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Exclusive
giveaway chatbots
How To Get An Award Winning Giveaway Bot
Big Data Chatbots Exclusive

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?