Linguistic Representations of Soundscapes: Perceptions and Descriptions in Urban and Mountain Contexts in Trentino-South Tyrol

Linguistic studies on soundscapes-the mix of natural and human-made sounds as perceived by people in context-have rarely focused on evaluations in mountainous as opposed to non-urban areas.This research investigates how residents of Trentino, a sparsely populated mountainous region in Northern Italy, perceive and describe both their current and ideal soundscapes.Drawing on an open-ended questionnaire inspired by Guastavino ( 2006)-which explored perceptions of urban sound quality through interviews in three French citiesthis study collected responses from 68 participants: 31 from mountain areas and 37 from urban areas.The findings reveal qualitative differences in how soundscapes are described, with particular emphasis placed here on the ideal soundscape.The two groups diverge in how they characterize specific categories of sounds, especially those produced by other people.Such sounds are evaluated more positively by urban residents than by their mountain counterpart.Notable differences also emerge in the way natural sounds are described: urban participants more frequently reference 'leaves', while those from mountain areas tend to emphasize the 'wind' element.Compared to the French sample, respondents from Trentino appear to idealize natural soundscapes more strongly and make fewer negative