Location in Space & Time
Where Are You?
“Welcome to, welcome to, this train is going to …, this train terminates at …, this train is bound for ..., Zug nach Pankow, via, proxima estación, the next station is, the next stop is …, next station, التالية, prochaine station, we are now approaching, nächste station, prossima fermata, nästa, la siguiente estación, this stop is, estación, station, станция, we are arriving at …, we’ve arrived at …, arriving at …, exit here for …, transfer station for the …, you can transfer line …, please change here, connection with tram, Umsteigemöglichkeit, correspondances, we are now approaching the last stop on the line, the terminal, terminus.”
Transit audio locates the hearer in space through announcements which inform the passengers about the line, destination, and location of the train, as well as about interconnecting lines. It tells them where they are and provides a map for where they are going. The physical locating performed by transit audio constructs and announces the normal state of the transport system. Announcements about the immediate environment, which locate passengers physically, make the surrounding world of the traveller predictable and reliable, allowing them to feel free from risk and able to trust the continuing normality of their environment. This construction of normality is ideological.(Moonay 2014, 27)
Another aspect of transit audio is utilised to locate people within a certain city through the languages and accents used in the announcements. According to several reports about the people behind these voices, transit systems are interested in finding a voice that represents the city. For instance, the public transport company of Vienna specifically sought out a voice with a Viennese accent for their German announcements, and New York is in the process of shifting their announcements to a woman who is a “life-long New Yorker” (whydobirds.de 2015; Pix11 News 2018). Such choices raise questions about what it means for a singular voice to embody the qualities of a city, and which voices would not meet this constructed criteria of authenticity.