Map Cultures, Misuses, and GI - A Primer of GIS: Fundamental Geographic and Cartographic Concepts - page 228

minimum mention other forms of representation: text, pictures, drawings, and
verbal descriptions.
Text is perhaps the most common form of geographic knowledge repre-
sentation because it is easier to create than GI and maps, but is obviously lim-
ited. However, as we all know from experiences giving and getting directions,
text is often far more convenient and easier to use than a map drawn by a
friend or colleague. For particular purposes, it may even be easier to use than
a generic highway or city map.
Pictures may look like maps, but often simply use one or two conventions
to help readers make sense of the map. Maps used in advertising or at tourist
destinations often are really just pictures that may add a legend and standard-
ized symbols.
Drawings are a third type and are very common, but usually limited to
communicating geographic knowledge related to a particular purpose—for
example, comparing the size of two shops, streets, or countries. Drawings may
loosely rely on conventions of mapping, but are rarely consistent due to the
limited scope of their use.
Indigenous cultures often rely on verbal descriptions, not just for commu-
nicating where things are and how to get to places, but to share complex and
important stories about the culture's creation and meanings associated with
places. These meanings can ref lect generations of experiences, replacing scien-
tific observations and measurements shown on a map with a deep lore and
understanding of place.
In-Depth Placenames and Conflicts
The names given to a place may change over time and may ref lect deeper
changes in local society and culture. However, usually only one name is pre-
sented on a map. Most maps indicate the capital of Italy and location of the
Vatican City with the Italian name, Roma, but some may replace it with their
language's name—for example, in English, Rome; in Polish, Rzym; and in Ger-
man, Rom. This may be common practice in a country's schools and in the
general media, but a globalizing world has meant that people need to be more
attentive to naming practices.
This has long been the case in multicultural states. For example, in Swit-
zerland, where four languages are nationally recognized, cities in zones with
inf luences from different cultures may often be identified on maps with two
names—for example, Delsburg and Delemont or Neuenburg and Neuchâtel.
Cities clearly in one language area will usually be shown with only one name,
although exceptions occur. These exceptions can be laden with conf lict and be
irresolvable. For example, the large lake that Geneva lies on is known there as
Lake Geneva, but along the majority of the shoreline in Switzerland and in
neighboring France, the lake is known by the name of Lac Leman, which
derives from the Roman name the lake, Lac Lemanus. To this day, Geneveans
and the international community use their name, while others use Lac Leman.
Many such conf licts occur around the world. Perhaps one of the most sig-
nificant geographic naming conf licts is between Japan and Korea over the
name of the sea between the two countries. The sea was known variously as the
“Korean Sea” or the “Japanese Sea” for most of the modern period. When