Liszka József (szerk.): Az Etnológiai Központ Évkönyve 2000-2001 - Acta Ethnologica Danubiana 2-3. (Dunaszerdahely-Komárom, 2001)

1. Tanulmányok - Borsos Balázs: A magyar nyelvterület számítógép segítségével meghatározott kulturális régiói

We can find the next great decrease in variance (3,54-3,07) when 12 clusters are formed (Map 9). Northwest-Hungary is separated from Transdanubia, more or less along the Danube. Villages around Győr belong to this cluster (@). This region is considered as the most innovative one. While Trannssylvania remains intact, the Highlands are divided into a western (3) and eastern part (-). The border between them is the River Sajó.

We can determine a finer distribution at step 19 and 20 (Map 10), when the value of variance decreases from 2,59 to 2,34 and again to 2,10. The main clusters that I am presenting here in the order of their formation are the following. Moldavia forms a separate group (5). Baranya (7) and Somogy (D) are parted. Northwest Hungary is divided into a western (B) and an eastern part (@) roughly by the River Vág. The region between the Rivers Kőrös and Maros, and the settlements on the other side of the Tisza form one group (*), while the Bánát, the Bácska (%), and later the greater part of the Kiskunság with villages around Kalocsa form another cluster (A). Transylvania gets divided: Csík, Gyergyó, Udvarhely and Háromszék form one group ($), while the settlements on the Rivers Maros and Szamos form another (C). The Nyírség (1) and later the transitional zone (the Szilágyság, the Partium, and the valleys of the Kőrös) (9) separate from the northeastern part of the Plains (X).

The last dramatic decrease of variance (1,80-1,60) happens when 27 cluster are formed (Map 11). This can be regarded as a typical distribution of smaller cultural regions based on the data of the Atlas of Hungarian Folk Culture. I present these without comparing their borders to those defined by previous research. West Hungary is divided: Göcsej, Hetés and Lower-Őrség form one group (F), and the settlements to the north of the River Rába make up another (+). The villages along both sides of the Middle-Tisza from Polgár to Tiszasas are separated, and are later divided by a line between Tiszanána and Tiszasüly (I and K). The settlements to the north of Lake Balaton together with three villages from the south side are in one cluster (6). The western part of the Highlands is divided by the River Tama (7 and 9). The Kiskunság (J) separates from villages around Kalocsa, and those of the Sárköz (C). The villages of Szatmár and Bereg (E) are divided from those of present day Ukraine and easternmost Slovakia (X).

At the middle phase of this preliminary survey let us have a look at the territorial distribution of the 417 settlements when they are ordered into 40 clusters (Map 12). This tells us about the homogeneous character of the clusters that represent those larger regions that are not really broken up into smaller units. The largest 3 regions that consist of 20 or more settlements are the eastern ($) and the western part (O) of Transylvania and the eastern part of the Highlands (-). 15 or more villages are in the cluster of Baranya (C), and, as a kind of surprise, in the cluster of settlements belong to the eastern part of Transdanubia. (The latter breaks up only at step 43.) I think, it is more than a coincidence, that except for Eastern Transdanubia, the regions that are viewed as the most traditional part of the Hungarian-speaking territory form larger homogeneous units, while the ones felt to be most innovative, which are the Great Plains and North-west Hungary, are fragmented. We can also investigate the smallest groups, considering them as small but typical groups of Hungarian folk culture. These are, for example; two villages in Bukovina (1), the three in Southeast Baranya and Slavonia (#), four around Nyitra (@) and another four on the Rivers Latorca and Ung (X). The fact that all of them are at the periphery of the Hungarian speaking territory and sometimes isolated from the main body of Hungarian people, shows that they were under the cultural influence of the neighbouring people.

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