This book provides a comprehensive guide to soundscape perception across languages, offering practical methodologies and insightful case studies for researchers and practitioners. It bridges the gap between acoustic research and linguistic studies, presenting a standardized approach to translating soundscape descriptors.

The book has two main components: Methodology and Recommendations, and Case Studies. The first component covers the practical aspects of replicating the framework of the Soundscape Attributes Translation Project (SATP). It offers a step-by-step guide on creating new translations, setting up experiments, and analyzing and validating results. Detailed chapters on linguistic challenges, experimental procedures, and data calibration ensure that readers are well-equipped to undertake similar projects. Critiques from experts provide a balanced view, highlighting potential improvements and future directions.

Additionally, the case studies illustrate the application of these methodologies across different languages and cultures. These studies offer a nuanced understanding of the complexities involved in soundscape translation projects. Each case study follows a consistent template, ensuring a cohesive narrative that ties back to the methodologies discussed. This part of the book not only showcases the diversity of approaches but also emphasizes the shared challenges and solutions encountered by different working groups.

This book is particularly relevant in today's globalized world, where understanding how different cultures perceive soundscapes can enhance urban planning, environmental design, and public health. In standardizing the translation process, it facilitates cross-cultural research and collaboration, enabling more accurate and inclusive studies. Indeed, the problem this book sets out to solve is the lack of a unified methodology for translating soundscape descriptors, which often results in fragmented and inconsistent data across studies. The ultimate goal of the book is offering a practical guide, aiming to streamline the translation process, making it accessible to a wider audience and ensuring that translations are both accurate and culturally sensitive.

Dr. Francesco Aletta is an Associate Professor in Building Physics and Soundscape at the Bartlett School of Environment, Energy, and Resources, University College London (UCL). His research focuses on environmental acoustics and soundscape studies. Francesco is committed to advancing soundscape research through his contribution to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 12913 series on soundscapes, which provides a comprehensive framework for assessing and managing urban sound environments. Francesco’s research has informed international policy discussions. He authored a United Nations Environment Programme report in 2022, addressing emerging environmental concerns related to noise and its impact on public health and urban environments. His work is frequently referred in policy documents and guidelines aimed at promoting healthier and more sustainable sound environments globally. As part of his standardization efforts, Francesco coordinated the Soundscape Attributes Translation Project, an international collaboration of more than 100 scholars worldwide. He is also an active member of editorial boards for leading journals, including the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (Coordinating Editor for TC Noise), and member of the organizing committee of several international conferences, including the Urban Sound Symposium, and the Lancet UK Public Health Science Conference. Francesco is a member of the Italian Acoustical Society (AIA), the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), and serves as Chair of the Technical Committee Noise of the European Acoustics Association (EAA).

Dr. Tin Oberman is a Senior Research Fellow, urban planner, architect and musician. He obtained his Ph.D. (Architecture and Urbanism) from the University of Zagreb, in Croatia. From 2009 to 2015, he worked as Research and Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Architecture in Zagreb. From 2015 to 2018 he was Post-doctoral Researcher at the Department of Urban and Spatial Planning and Landscape Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb (Croatia). In 2017 he was appointed for six months as a Visiting Academic at Acoustics Group of the School of Architecture, University of Sheffield (UK), funded by the Croatian Academy of Science and Arts research grant and the Croatian Science Foundation. During his studies in architecture and urbanism and following his education in music theory, he started working on several music projects. From July 2018, Tin was appointed as Research Assistant at the Bartlett Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering of the University College London (UK), to work on the ERC-funded project entitled “Soundscape Indices”.

Dr. Andrew Mitchell is a Senior Data Scientist at Connected Places Catapult, and former Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Sustainable Construction. Dr. Andrew Mitchell joined UCL in October 2018 as one of four PhD students on the ERC Advanced Grant funded project "Soundscape Indices (SSID)". He recently finished his PhD at IEDE and has begun a Research Fellowship in the same team to continue their work developing tools and methods for designing better sounding cities. Andrew earned his BSc (Hons) in Physics & Music at Cardiff University from 2012-2015. Andrew worked as an acoustical consultant dealing with noise impacts from wind farms in Wales and England before moving to Los Angeles to focus on environmental and architectural acoustics. Throughout his PhD he has continued working with engineering consultancies, including London-based Hoare Lea, to bring a more holistic soundscape approach in the acoustics engineering and design. Andrew's research is highly collaborative, resulting in him working and publishing with teams at Stockholm University, University of Granada, La Salle URL (Barcelona), and Université Gustave Eiffel.