Transportation in Early Latvian Novels

This research series is dedicated to analysing references to vehicles in Latvian novels from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. The study involves identifying and analysing all mentioned vehicle names using digital methods, as well as providing qualitative analysis and interpretation of the results.

During the technical phase of the work, term extraction was performed using the Word2Vec algorithm and the Gemini-1.5 language model.
The interpretive section examines how images of transport reflect social modernisation – technological and societal change within an increasingly urbanised environment. The study highlights the transition from traditional forms of transport to more modern motorised vehicles. The figures of the horse-drawn cab and the taxi receive more detailed analysis.

In total, the study identified around 160 land vehicles, 50 watercraft, and 30 aircraft.

Dataset:

Baklāne, Anda; Saulespurēns, Valdis; Eglāja-Kristsone, Eva; Rožkalne, Anita; Skaistkalne, Evija; Ozols, Artis; Krasovska, Marlēna; Vēveris, Viesturs (2025). Corpus of Early Latvian Novels (1879–1940) (v1.0). National Library of Latvia. https://dom.lndb.lv/data/obj/1554666.html

Publications:

Eglāja-Kristsone, Eva; Baklāne, Anda; Saulespurēns, Valdis (2024). Pilsētas transportlīdzekļi latviešu senākajos romānos. National Library of Latvia. Scientific Papers, No. 12 (XXXII). Tuvlasījums – tāllasījums, 65–96. DOI: 10.52197/DIOW5621.

Baklāne, Anda; Saulespurēns, Valdis (2025). Extracting Semantically Related Concepts from the Corpus of Latvian Novels: A Comparative Analysis of Word2Vec, GPT-4o, and Gemini-1.5 Results. DHNB 2025. Programme. Book of Abstracts, pp. 30–31.

Kristsone-Eglāja, Eva; Baklāne, Anda; Saulespurēns, Valdis (2025). Urban Transportation in Latvian Novels, or Why Use a 19th-Century Horse-Drawn Cab When You Have a 20th-Century Taxi? CCLS2025 Conference Preprints. DOI: 10.26083/tuprints-00030147.

Frequency of Motorised and Horse-Drawn Vehicle Mentions in Novels

The chart consolidates all vehicle names – around 160 in total, including horse-drawn transport, bicycles, and motorised vehicles. To smooth out the uneven number of published novels and differing mention counts across works, the relative average number of mentions per document is shown.

Increase and decrease of mentions of motorised and horse-drawn vehicles over time. Mentions of motorised transport rise in the 1920s–1930s, while horse-drawn vehicle mentions decline.

Comparison of Mentions of Individual Vehicle Types

This chart shows the number of novels (absolute count) in which the respective vehicle types are mentioned. The increase in mentions largely reflects the general rise in the number of published novels, but it also illustrates how the novel as a genre flourished alongside the growing relevance of mobility and urban themes.

The chart shows the increase in mentions of different types of vehicles over time. Horse-drawn carts appear in up to 34 novels in a single year, closely followed by carriages (33) and cars (up to 28). Bicycles and two-wheelers appear in up to 9 novels per year.