On loanwords and calques: Where the language of design meets the language of geology

Abstract

The flows of garden-design models around the globe create a dynamic field in which imported approaches interact with local settings in a range of ways. Such interactions embody the play of power in different ways, and as Stephen V. Ward notes of planning models there are perspectives from ‘importing’ and ‘exporting’ nations. There are also dynamic exchanges between the imported models and the local setting into which they are introduced. This local setting might be wholly erased to accommodate the imported model, or there may be something of an exchange between the two, where elements may be retained or added. This paper explores the encounter of garden-design models and local settings at the level of individual elements, focusing in particular on geological features in gardens.