“Place”, as a word, is always explained as a specific, geographical region. However, when we say “place”, we are referring not only the region, but also the products of human invention and creation of that region. By reading Place from Patricia Price and Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach from Yi-Fu Tuan, I am able to contemplate the relationship between human beings and the “place” they stayed from a more scientific and historical perspective.
According to Harvey, “place” as a word has been used as a multipurpose keyword in English. (Harvey 1996: 208, emphasis added). As Price elaborated, “place is central to accounts of how the world as we know it came to”. (Price, 119) To illustrate this, Price raised the example of the Bible and he mentioned that there existed “a lot of connotations of order, hierarchy, boundaries specificity and anchoring” since the bible said God created the sky and the ground and people are classified into different status by putting them at different levels of place.(Price,119) I found this viewpoint of Price pretty interesting because from my point of view, even in today’s world, people still use place to evaluate and classify others. For instance, in the United States, people who live in New York City always proudly call themselves “New Yorker”. People do care about their residential place and believe the place they live shows their social status. And this point leads to another interesting point raised by Price in his article.
Price believed that “human beings are not simply social animals, but also spatial animals. People endow great value to territory in their life and devote a lot of time to know it, own it and explore it.” (Price, 119) This view in fact shows a truth for human’s history. Throughout history, human beings keep exploring the world, expanding our territory and establishing civilization on the territory.
During the process of possessing new territory, humans endow “uniqueness” to each place as artisans craft a work of art. At this time, language stands in an important position to merge a specific place with intellectual elements so that a place can have its own, specific culture, spirit and philosophy.
Tuan thoroughly discussed how language shaped a place. For example, the way people name a place in fact reveals a lot for the connection between people and a place. Tuan mentioned that, “Normally, only a sociopolitical revolution would bring about a change of name in a city or a nation.The idea behind taking such a step is not only that a correct label should be affixed to a new entity, but also that somehow, the new name itself has the power to wipe out past and call forth the new.” (Tuan, 688) London is a great example as a city which has an unmistakable characteristic which results in the influence of its rich literature. Because its image has been fixed by those literature work describing it.
By what I have discussed above, I realize that place has been put into many subjective meanings and no two people can have exactly the same experience of place. As Price quotes, “places are sensed in a chiaroscuro of setting, landscape, ritual, routine, other people, personal experiences, care and concern for home. and in the context of other places.” ( Relph(1976:29) )
From my point of view, this firm, sentimental connection between people and a place is pretty amazing and touching. People endow their rich emotions and expectation of their lives to the place the live. As Price said, “the need for place is one of the most elemental of human needs”.(Price, 125)
According to Harvey, “place” as a word has been used as a multipurpose keyword in English. (Harvey 1996: 208, emphasis added). As Price elaborated, “place is central to accounts of how the world as we know it came to”. (Price, 119) To illustrate this, Price raised the example of the Bible and he mentioned that there existed “a lot of connotations of order, hierarchy, boundaries specificity and anchoring” since the bible said God created the sky and the ground and people are classified into different status by putting them at different levels of place.(Price,119) I found this viewpoint of Price pretty interesting because from my point of view, even in today’s world, people still use place to evaluate and classify others. For instance, in the United States, people who live in New York City always proudly call themselves “New Yorker”. People do care about their residential place and believe the place they live shows their social status. And this point leads to another interesting point raised by Price in his article.
Price believed that “human beings are not simply social animals, but also spatial animals. People endow great value to territory in their life and devote a lot of time to know it, own it and explore it.” (Price, 119) This view in fact shows a truth for human’s history. Throughout history, human beings keep exploring the world, expanding our territory and establishing civilization on the territory.
During the process of possessing new territory, humans endow “uniqueness” to each place as artisans craft a work of art. At this time, language stands in an important position to merge a specific place with intellectual elements so that a place can have its own, specific culture, spirit and philosophy.
Tuan thoroughly discussed how language shaped a place. For example, the way people name a place in fact reveals a lot for the connection between people and a place. Tuan mentioned that, “Normally, only a sociopolitical revolution would bring about a change of name in a city or a nation.The idea behind taking such a step is not only that a correct label should be affixed to a new entity, but also that somehow, the new name itself has the power to wipe out past and call forth the new.” (Tuan, 688) London is a great example as a city which has an unmistakable characteristic which results in the influence of its rich literature. Because its image has been fixed by those literature work describing it.
By what I have discussed above, I realize that place has been put into many subjective meanings and no two people can have exactly the same experience of place. As Price quotes, “places are sensed in a chiaroscuro of setting, landscape, ritual, routine, other people, personal experiences, care and concern for home. and in the context of other places.” ( Relph(1976:29) )
From my point of view, this firm, sentimental connection between people and a place is pretty amazing and touching. People endow their rich emotions and expectation of their lives to the place the live. As Price said, “the need for place is one of the most elemental of human needs”.(Price, 125)