ABSTRACT This study on sound perception in Cairo uses a methodological procedure described in a previous issue of this journal [11(3)]. The procedure involves equipping inhabitants of Cairo, the Egyptian capital, with binaural microphones that record the surrounding urban sounds during one of their daily journeys (without the researcher). Participants later describe and comment on the sounds while listening to the recording. Analysis of this material allowed us first to establish an organized lexicon in categories. We identified a structured “natural language of sounds”. The data obtained reveal covert categories that describe three key domains of urban life: the active city, the city in movement, and the relational city. A principal finding is that sound perception systematically relates sounds to their origin, i.e. both the source and its social situation. This socialization of sound led us to the notion of “sound constructs” as products of an immediate socialization of the perception of sound. Experiment clarifies how perception operates in Cairo, notably through territory differentiation using sonic saliences and soundmarks. Finally, we propose a “sonic ecology” of the city: how residents collectively experience the sound dimensions of their urban territory, navigate between very different territories, recognize them and respond to them.

中文翻译：

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走向城市生活的声音生态学：开罗声音感知的民族志

摘要 这项关于开罗声音感知的研究使用了本杂志上一期 [11(3)] 中描述的方法程序。该程序包括为埃及首都开罗的居民配备双耳麦克风，在他们的日常旅行中（没有研究人员）记录周围城市的声音。参与者随后在听录音时对声音进行描述和评论。对这些材料的分析使我们首先能够建立一个有组织的分类词典。我们确定了一种结构化的“声音的自然语言”。获得的数据揭示了描述城市生活三个关键领域的隐蔽类别：活跃城市、运动中的城市和相关城市。一个主要发现是声音感知系统地将声音与其起源联系起来，即 无论是来源还是社会状况。这种声音的社会化使我们产生了“声音结构”的概念，它是声音感知直接社会化的产物。实验阐明了感知在开罗是如何运作的，特别是通过使用声波显着性和声标进行地域区分。最后，我们提出了城市的“声音生态学”：居民如何集体体验其城市领土的声音维度，在非常不同的领土之间导航，识别它们并对其做出反应。