Places in Mind: Investigating the Link Between Language and Spatial Concepts

The paper raises the question of culturally determined differences in the conceptualization of place and space. Several models have already been developed that can be used to study cognitive maps. However, they either targeted a specific type of environment or were not specific enough in terms of the type of places studied. The model developed by Katalin Reszegi, on the other hand, makes it possible to study all kinds of spatial concepts and their corresponding linguistic expressions, paying special attention to the role of toponyms. In the first part of the article, she presents her model and points out the elements and aspects that are particularly important for the cognitive map. In the second part, co-author Marie Rieger discusses two specific examples (from Tanzania) of differences in the conceptualization of space. In the first case, the example of Dar es Salaam shows that the concept of street names, introduced in colonial times, still plays a minor role in orientation in urban space. In the second case, the example of the Usambara Mountains is used to hypothesize that the utilitarian aspect can lead to different naming practices in terms of which types of places are given a name and which are not.