The Language of Colonial Urbanization

Abstract

Ethnosemantics has been described as the study of vocabulary as a guide to the way in which members of a particular culture divide up their universe. Making a selective use of the ethnosemantic approach, the paper examines the relationship between language (nomenclature), social organization and physical-spatial urban form. The particular sphere in which this relationship is investigated is provided by the colonial third culture. By examining the etymology of thirty four key items in the terminological system of the colonial urban settlement and of colonial urbanization in India, insights are gained, not only into the `urban universe' of the colonial community and into the origins of the still-existing physical-spatial urban forms into which this was translated, but also into the structure of social, economic and political relationships which such forms reflect.

The ethnosemantic approach to the study of the colonial city is suggested as a useful heuristic device, both for the contribution it makes towards understanding selected aspects of `urbanism', as also for the insights it gives into policy-relevant issues of urban redevelopment. The approach has relevance for urban analysis in other cultural settings.