Sound, Symbol, and Space: An Ethnosemiotic Analysis of Vernacular Soundscapes in Honghai Morning Market

This study explores the socio-cultural significance of soundscapes in Chinese street markets, taking the Honghai Morning Market in Northeast China as a representative case. Integrating theories of vernacular culture, soundscape, and ethnosemiotics, the research analyzes how market sounds function as cultural symbols. Data was collected through soundwalks, sound mapping, and direct observation. Through axial coding analysis, market sounds were classified into three categories: performance, navigation, and background sounds. The study focuses on three representative cases: dialect-driven hawking at a tofu stall, live poultry sounds, and mechanical sounds from flame torches used for food preparation. Findings reveal that market sounds are a complex symbolic system embedded with local cultural meanings rather than mere auditory phenomena. These sounds trigger specific behaviors, including capturing customer attention, directing spatial movement, and facilitating social interaction. The Honghai Morning Market's soundscape exhibits diversity, dynamism, and strong local characteristics, contributing to sensory experiences and vernacular cultural expression. The research provides insights for urban public space design, including multi-layered sound planning strategies, sound-behavior interaction systems, and preservation of local soundmarks, and creating spatial environments conducive to sound performances.