Different languages, different landscapes? Exploring linguistic differences in landscape conceptualizations

Abstract The goal of the research was to assess whether landscape conceptualization systematically differed across European languages in the context of the linguistic relativity debate. We examined the generalizability of previous findings and evaluated the limits of used methodologies, drawing on a large and diverse sample of 14 languages across 5 linguistic families in Eastern Europe (Slavic, Baltic, Uralic, Romance, Hellenic). Participants were asked to free-list terms associated with three linguistic domains: landscape, animals, and body parts. Mixed ANOVA, pairwise comparisons, frequency distribution, cognitive salience, and semantic network analyses were used to test for relationships and to visualize patterns and differences between languages. We confirmed that the landscape domain was less structured than the domains of animals and body parts. Furthermore, the landscape domain had weaker semantic connections across languages. However, we did not find any systematic differences in landscape conceptualizations across languages that could be clearly attributed to linguistic factors. Rather, we argue that the observed variability is more likely the result of multiple factors – geographical, cultural, and linguistic. Building on previous research, we propose more nuanced methods in future research that integrate qualitative, ethnographic insights with quantitative methods, while accounting for extra-linguistic factors.