Environmental sound can be understood as a type of language. Each sound or soundscape has its own meanings and expressions and is like a spoken word: it has something to say about all living beings' behaviours and their relationship to their surroundings, about listening and soundmaking habits. Whether urban or rural, the sounds of our home environments give us - often unconsciously - a strong "sense of place". Since audio technology and recording equipment can now be used in similarly portable ways as a camera, the soundscape can be recorded, reproduced, composed and processed by more people than ever before. All sounds of the world can be heard on radio, TV, CD, and the internet. All sounds can become part of a broadcast, a soundscape composition or a film soundtrack.

What happens to our sense of place in the face of this form of globalization? How can we preserve it and at the same time take the opportunity to deepen our understanding of other places and cultures of the globe? An attempt will be made here to explore how listening to and composing with environmental sound can serve as a bridge between the local and the global. 

https://www.hildegardwesterkamp.ca/writings/writingsby/?post_id=17&title=-the-local-and-global-language-of-environmental-sound