PROTOCOLS FOR GATHERING
The architectural orchestration of communal and data convergence within atmospheric contexts.
“To Gather”; Reading Between the Lines
In each language, the terms for “gather” and “gathering” carry subtle differences in their connotations, reflecting cultural nuances and the context in which they are used.
English – “gathering ”
- to gather people: To bring together in a group; informal. An assembly or meeting. The relationship between the people involved does not mean much when we say “to gather”. Can be casual or organised.
- to gather things: To collect or accumulate things. Bringing together scattered pieces and things.
French- “reunion, rassembler, collecter”
- reunion: To bring together people who know each other, who have already met. Familiar. Organised and intentional.
- rassembler: To collect items methodically.
- collecter: To collect, often used in the context of charitable collections or data collections.
Arabic- تجمع، جمع، جمعة
-جمع (jam’e): To gather or assemble people, things, data, objects. Deliberate. Plural.
-تجمع (tajammu’): To intentionally come together, a collective of people. Intentional, usually in a context of cooperation, aid, community, or acts of protest. Most of the time alludes to the coming together under a bigger goal, irrespective of people’s relationship to one another.
-جمعة (jama’a): To gather casually. Usually used in familiar contexts, between friends, family, neighbours, people who know each other.
Greek- Συγκεντρώνω, Μαζεύω, Συγκέντρωση, Συλλογή
- Συγκεντρώνω (sygkentronó, verb): To gather or assemble people. A purposeful assembly.
- Μαζεύω (mazévo, verb): To collect items. Informal and casual.
- Συγκέντρωση (sygkéntrōsē, noun): An assembly of people, either formal or informal.
- Συλλογή (syllogí – noun): A collection of items. Systematic and methodical.
Chinese (Mandarin)- 聚集, 收集, 聚会, 收集
-聚集 (jùjí – verb): To gather or assemble people. Can imply both an intentional or spontaneous assembly
-收集 (shōují – verb): To collect items. A thorough and careful collection.
-聚会 (jùhuì – noun): A gathering of people, either socially or formally.
Korean- 모이다, 모으다, 모임, 수집
- 모이다 (moida – verb): To gather or assemble people, both formally and informally.
-모으다 (moeuda – verb): To collect items; to bring scattered items into one place.
-모임 (moim – noun): To gather socially.
-수집 (sujib – noun): To collect items in a systematic and detailed process.
“Why do we gather? We gather to solve problems we can’t solve on our own. We gather to celebrate, to mourn, and to mark transitions. We gather to make decisions. We gather because we need one another. We gather to show strength. We gather to honour and acknowledge. We gather to build companies and schools and neighbourhoods. We gather to welcome, and we gather to say goodbye.”
(The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker, 2018)