Chapter 9
The Underwater Landscape: A Vernacular
Term? Reflections Through the Eyes
and Experiences of Divers
Eva Bigando
Abstract This article is based on the results of a preliminary survey carried out
with divers to analyse what the underwater landscape means for them. It aims at
defining the contours of this concept in terms of their experience and their mental
representations. Without claiming to offer an in-depth response to this question, this
article sets out to establish a better understanding of the relationship between man
and the accessible part of the underwater world, by defining the ways in which this
specific environment is grasped, especially through the experience of landscapes it
offers—from the understanding of their material and physical nature, to sensations
and emotions involved—drawing on those who have first-hand knowledge of these
subaqueous spheres—underwater divers. We will first discuss the precise terms of
the survey itself, before going on to show how usage of the concept of underwater
landscape is indeed replete with meaning for divers, by shedding light not only on
the different connotations and denotations the term has for them, but also on the
experiences it offers.
Keywords Underwater landscape meanings · Divers · Experiences · Mental
representations
9.1 Introduction
While research scientists in the French-speaking world are still debating about the
pertinence of the ‘underwater landscape’ as a valid concept (Musard 2003; Musard
et al. 2007; Chap 1 infra ; Chap 4 infra), those who frequent underwater environments,
especially the community of recreational underwater divers, have long adopted the
term into their everyday language. Is its usage, then, inherently vernacular?
1
1 An allusion to John Brinckerhoff Jackson and his notion of the ‘vernacular landscape’ (1984),
even if the term ‘vernacular’ is not used with entirely the same meaning here, where we refer more
to the notion of a vernacular language, i.e. spoken only within a given community.
E. Bigando ()
ADES/CNRS, Pessac, France
e-mail: eva.bigando@univ-pau.fr
O. Musard et al. (eds.), Underwater Seascapes, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-03440-9_9,
135
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
The Underwater Landscape: A Vernacular
Term? Reflections Through the Eyes
and Experiences of Divers
Eva Bigando
Abstract This article is based on the results of a preliminary survey carried out
with divers to analyse what the underwater landscape means for them. It aims at
defining the contours of this concept in terms of their experience and their mental
representations. Without claiming to offer an in-depth response to this question, this
article sets out to establish a better understanding of the relationship between man
and the accessible part of the underwater world, by defining the ways in which this
specific environment is grasped, especially through the experience of landscapes it
offers—from the understanding of their material and physical nature, to sensations
and emotions involved—drawing on those who have first-hand knowledge of these
subaqueous spheres—underwater divers. We will first discuss the precise terms of
the survey itself, before going on to show how usage of the concept of underwater
landscape is indeed replete with meaning for divers, by shedding light not only on
the different connotations and denotations the term has for them, but also on the
experiences it offers.
Keywords Underwater landscape meanings · Divers · Experiences · Mental
representations
9.1 Introduction
While research scientists in the French-speaking world are still debating about the
pertinence of the ‘underwater landscape’ as a valid concept (Musard 2003; Musard
et al. 2007; Chap 1 infra ; Chap 4 infra), those who frequent underwater environments,
especially the community of recreational underwater divers, have long adopted the
term into their everyday language. Is its usage, then, inherently vernacular?
1
1 An allusion to John Brinckerhoff Jackson and his notion of the ‘vernacular landscape’ (1984),
even if the term ‘vernacular’ is not used with entirely the same meaning here, where we refer more
to the notion of a vernacular language, i.e. spoken only within a given community.
E. Bigando ()
ADES/CNRS, Pessac, France
e-mail: eva.bigando@univ-pau.fr
O. Musard et al. (eds.), Underwater Seascapes, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-03440-9_9,
135
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014