Wu, Duotuo;
Han, Rumei;
Zhang, Ruining;
Yang, Xinhao;
Zhang, Yuan;
Kang, Jian;
(2025)
The untranslatability of environmental affective scales: insights from indigenous soundscape perceptions in China.
npj Urban Sustainability
, 5
, Article 38. 10.1038/s42949-025-00228-6.
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Abstract
Soundscapes significantly impact human well-being, yet standard Western-based Soundscape Affective Quality (SAQ) scales may not accurately represent culturally specific perceptions. This study explored structural differences in soundscape emotional experiences between Chinese and Western cultures using an indigenous approach. An Indigenous Chinese SAQ (ICSAQ) scale was developed through perceptual evaluations of 132 representative Chinese soundscape excerpts by 264 participants from 30 provinces, employing 108 culturally relevant descriptors. Principal component analysis revealed two dimensions-Comfort and Richness-differing notably from the global Pleasantness-Eventfulness model. Comparison with the translated global SAQ scale showed significant measurement bias, with the imported scale overestimating positive emotions and activation levels. Regression analyses confirmed the ICSAQ scale's stronger interpretability regarding objective acoustic indicators. The findings highlight critical limitations of translation-based environmental affective measurements, emphasizing the necessity of culturally appropriate assessment tools for inclusive urban environmental management.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The untranslatability of environmental affective scales: insights from indigenous soundscape perceptions in China |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s42949-025-00228-6 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-025-00228-6 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Environmental social sciences, Environmental studies, Geography, Language and linguistics, Psychology |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10210010 |
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