%0 Journal Article
%A Calvo Fernández, Natalia
%A Prieto, M. R.
%A Gallego, D.
%A García Herrera, Ricardo Francisco
%T Deriving wind force terms from nautical reports through content analysis. The Spanish and French cases
%D 2005
%@ 0165-0009
%U https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/51078
%X Records of wind strength taken onboard Spanish and French ships during the 1750-1850 period have been digitized and examined using content analysis techniques to derive the equivalent wind strength in terms of the current Beaufort scale, this conversion being a key step in any attempt to compare ancient records with modern climatologies. During the analysis it was evident that Spanish and French officers used a great number of different terms to describe the wind force. However, when the records are analyzed and homogenized, a broadly common and essentially narrow vocabulary was identified, indicating that, at this period, a great effort had been made to regulate the maritime language. Using contemporary dictionaries and navigation manuals, an equivalence was established between the original wind force terms and the Beaufort scale.
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