在比较分析传统地图和GIS的地理学语言功能基础上,指出了虚拟地理环境对现实世界抽象表达的多维特征、多视点和多重细节的多模态可视表现、多种自然交互方式和跨时间、空间与尺度的地理协同以及多感知的空间认知能力等。说明虚拟地理环境提供了一种综合表意系统和更接近自然的多感知的空间认知能力,使得从现实世界到人类大脑的信息带宽最大化,提供了超越现实的抽象表示与解析理解能力,达到了增强现实的目的。虚拟地理环境作为继GIS之后新一代地理学语言的显著特征是以用户为中心、提供最接近人类自然的交流方式与表达形式。

Language as the basic communication tool is one of the most significant functions of human beings. Geospatial information is the most important component of the human recognition of reality. From verbal and text language to map and GIS which is considered as the third generation of geographic languages, the evolution of geographic languages conveys the striking impact of information technology. The intrinsic obscure metaphor based information encoding and decoding tendency in lower dimensions of space misleads the communication between information and human. The innovation of information technology drives us to research and develop a further more powerful geographic language to maximize the information bandwidth from the environment to the brain, virtual geographic environments ( VGE ) as new generation of geographic languages is thus proposed. This paper discusses the linguistic characteristics of VGE vs. GIS or map in such several aspects as(1) the multi-dimensional (including dynamic) abstract representations of the real world. (2) the multi-modal visualizations with multi-viewpoint and multi-details, and analytical understanding. (3 ) the multiple natural interactions and geocollaboration across time, space and scale. (4) the multi-sensory spatial perceptual capability. VGE provides an integrated ideographic system and the capabilities of spatial information communication to facilitate user's perception of the geospace similar to the human's perception in the natural world, the information bandwidth from the real world to the human brain is then maximized. The authors therefore propose that VGE is the upmost geospatial information communication tools and human-computer interface, i. e. provides the augmentation of sensory reality, or succeeds GIS as the fourth generation of geographic languages from text to map and GIS, which is opening up new ways for us to comprehend the real world.