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Linguistic landscape is the "visibility and salience of languages on public and commercial signs in a given territory or region" (Landry and Bourhis 1997:23). Linguistic landscape has been described as being "somewhere at the junction of sociolinguistics, sociology, social psychology, geography, and media studies".[1]
It is a concept used in
sociolinguistics as scholars study how languages are visually used in
multilingual societies, from large metropolitan centers to Amazonia.[2] For example, some public signs in Jerusalem are in Hebrew, English, and Arabic (Spolsky and Cooper 1991, Ben-Rafael, Shohamy, Amara, and Trumper-Hecht 2006).
Development of the field of study
Studies of the linguistic landscape have been published from research done around the world. The field of study is relatively recent; "the linguistic landscapes paradigm has evolved rapidly and while it has a number of key names associated with it, it currently has no clear orthodoxy or theoretical core" (Sebba 2010:73). A special issue of the International Journal of Multilingualism (3.1 in 2006) was devoted to the subject. Also, the journal World Englishes published a themed issue of five papers as a "Symposium on
World Englishes and Linguistic Landscapes: Five Perspectives" (2012, vol. 31.1). Similarly, an entire issue of the International Journal of the Sociology of Language (228 in 2014) was devoted to the subject, including looking at signs that show influences from one language on another language. In 2015 an academic journal devoted to this topic was launched, titled
Linguistic Landscape: An International Journal, from
John Benjamins. There is also a series of academic conferences on the study of linguistic landscape.[3] A comprehensive, searchable Linguistic Landscape Bibliography[4] is available.[5] A 2016 special issue of Manusya (22, 2016)[6] begins with a history and summary of the field.[7]
Because "the methodologies employed in the collection and categorisation of written signs is still controversial",[8] basic research questions are still being discussed, such as: "do small, hand-made signs count as much as large, commercially made signs?". The original technical scope of "linguistic landscape" involved plural languages, and almost all writers use it in that sense, but the scholar Papen has applied the term to the way public writing is used in a monolingual way in a German city[9] and Heyd has applied the term to the ways that English is written, and people's reactions to these ways.[10]
Multilingualism and monolingualism in signs
In much of the research the signs studied are
multilingual signs, reflecting an expected multilingual readership. In other cases, there are monolingual signs in different languages, written in relevant languages found within a multilingual community.[11][12] Backhaus points out that some signs are not meant to be understood so much as to appeal to readers via a more prestigious language (2007:58).
Some signs are spelled to convey the aura of another language (sometimes genuinely spelled as in the other language, other times fictionally), but are still meant to be understood by monolinguals. For example, some signs in English are spelled in a way that conveys the aura of German or French, but are still meant to be understood by monolingual English speakers. Similarly, some signs use Latin script that is aestheticized to look like Chinese characters or Cyrillic script, in order to evoke the associated languages while still being readable to people who don't know them. For example, Leeman and Modan (2010) describe the use of aestheticized Latin script in the Washington DC's Chinatown and the Arab Quarter of Granada, Spain.[13]
The study of linguistic landscape also examines such patterns as which languages are used for which types of institutions (e.g. country club, hospital, ethnic grocery store), which languages are used for more expensive/cheaper items (new cars or used cars), or which languages are used for more expensive/cheaper services (e.g. pool cleaning or washing machine repair). Also, the linguistic landscape can be studied across an area, to see which neighborhoods have signs in which languages. For example, Carr (2017) examined the languages of three cities in Southeast
Los Angeles in her dissertation.[14]
The languages used in public signs indicate what languages are locally relevant, or give evidence of what languages are becoming locally relevant (Hult 2009; Kasanga 2012). In many multilingual countries, multilingual signs and packaging are taken for granted, especially as merchants try to attract as many customers as possible or people realize that they serve a multilingual community (Hult, 2014). In other places, it is a matter of law, as in
Quebec, where signs cannot be in English only, but must include French (Bill 101, Charte de la langue française). In
Texas, some signs are required to be in English and Spanish, such as warning signs about consuming
alcohol while pregnant.
Linguistic landscape can also be applied to the study of competing scripts for a single language. For example, after the breakup of the
Soviet Union, some signs in
Mongolia were erected in the traditional Mongolian script, not just Cyrillic (Grivelet 2001). Similarly, in some Cherokee speaking communities, street signs and other public signage is written with the
Cherokee syllabary (Bender 2008). Also, license plates in Greek Cyprus have been printed with Greek or Roman letters in different eras.[15]
Different approaches to linguistic landscape studies
More recently, scholars have rejected the purely quantitative approaches to Linguistic Landscape. For example, using Scollon and Scollon's (2003) framework of geosemiotics, researchers have analyzed the placement and relative size of different languages and signs.[16] Leeman and Modan (2009) proposed a "contextualized historical approach" to linguistic landscape that emphasizes the importance of considering how the signs came to be, and what they mean in a given context.[17] Their example of the different symbolic meanings of Chinese and English on Starbucks signs in Washington DC's Chinatown and a Shanghai shopping mall shows that it is unwise to draw conclusions based on the relative frequency of languages in signage.[17]
The study of the linguistic landscape can also show evidence of the presence and roles of different languages through history.[18][19] Some early work on a specific form of linguistic landscape was done in cemeteries used by immigrant communities,[20] some languages being carved "long after the language ceased to be spoken" in the communities.[21]
In addition to larger public signage, some who study linguistic landscapes are now including the study of other public objects with multilingual texts, such as banknotes in India which are labeled in over a dozen languages.[22]
Linguistic landscape studies on areas of conflict
The study of language in post-war and conflict-ridden areas has also attracted the interest of scholars who applied the Linguistic Landscape approach as a method to explore how language use in the public space represents ethnic groups, reflects territorial conflicts, expresses statehood and projects ideologies and socio-cultural identities. Themistocleous (2019) for instance explored the use of Greek and Turkish on public signs in the centre of Nicosia (Cyprus) and found that traditional discourses of separation and conflict are dominant in the public space but at the same time new discourses of unification, peace and integration slowly begin to surface [23].
Linguistic landscape in the Valencian community
Valencia is an officially bilingual city, where Valencian and Spanish populations coexist. In this territory the
Valencian language lives in a situation of
diglossia, and therefore the Valencian public institutions must maintain, protect and promote the use of the Valencian language. To ensure this, in 2005 the Valencia City Council developed "the Reglamento municipal sobre uso y normalización del valenciano en el municipio de Valencia" ("Municipal Regulations on the Use and Standardisation of Valencian Language in the Municipality of Valencia"[24]). The autonomous legislation of Valencia considers the use of Valencian as the preferred language for signs, banners, announcements, billboards, public road signs and toponyms. Moreover, the autonomous government and the municipal regulations from Valencia encourage private entities to use Valencian over Spanish in their efforts to raise the prestige and recognition of the language, which, despite being official, is used by minority throughout the territory.
Socially speaking,
the Valencian Community is a territory with a great number of inhabitants who are either monolingual in Spanish, or bilingual in Spanish-Valencian, and it is a strongly touristy region. There is international tourism, especially from
England and Northern Europe, and also national tourism. Among the use of other languages within the territory, the use of English is noteworthy as a lingua franca or vehicular language. For this reason, many shops use English in order to be accessible to a wider public. As described by Bruyèl-Olmedo and Juan-Garau, "among the number of languages featured on signs, shop fronts, billboards and the like, English enjoys a privileged position when it comes to addressing a multilingual, heterogeneous readership" (Bruyèl-Olmedo i Juan-Garau, 2009:1)
Basque and Spanish languages
The Basque Country has invested in the protection of bilingualism, with particular regard to the introduction of measures aimed at ensuring the normalisation of the
Basque language in institutions and the achievement of equal rights in its use and enjoyment for citizens, which at the moment is not fully achieved, especially in the working environment. In fact, according to the Unesco Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, Basque is a minority and vulnerable language in its own territory, and is in an asymmetrical situation with respect to the other official language,
Spanish. The challenge, therefore, is to bring the two official languages (
Castilian and
Euskara) up to the same level in practice, beyond the formal recognition they have already enjoyed since 1978, the year in which the newborn Constitution established in the second paragraph of Article 3 that all other languages should be equally official in their respective Autonomous Communities.[25]
This historic concession constituted a decisive change of direction after the years of
Franco's dictatorship, during which the regime had banned the use of the Basque language and attempted to erase its history and traditions.
The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country (1979), for its part, proclaimed the status of the
Basque language as its own official language in the Autonomous Community of
the Basque Country and the right of all persons to know and use both official languages (Article 6.1). Finally, Article 6.4 provided that the Royal Academy of the Basque Language-Euskaltzaindia is the official consultative institution with regard to Basque.[26]
Getting to the present day, in 2009 of the approximately two million people living in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, or Euskadi, only around 35% spoke Euskera, the
Basque language, a non-Indo-European language isolate. Apart from that, notably Euskera had also a 9% of speakers in the Autonomous Community of
Navarre and 26% in the Basque territories in the south of
France.[27]
At the time, it was in the second year of the Basque Government's fourth planning period (2008-2012). Since then, the major intervention made is that contained in Decree 179/2019 of 19 November 2019, which gave to each local council the decision-making power on how to organise the use of both languages in its internal and public relations.
This decree put an end to the stage of a single rule for all local entities, and opened a new time in which each local institution could decide which language to use according to its sociolinguistic reality.
Among its objectives: to make Basque the language of work and of relations between administrations, to rationalise the use of translations and interpretations and to promote the use of the language in and from municipalities.[28]
Examples
The three-language (
Tamil,
English and
Hindi) name board at the Tirusulam railway station in
South India. Almost all railway stations in India have signs in three or more languages (English, Hindi and the local language).
Spanish-English sign at
Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe in Dallas, Texas; the congregation has both English and Spanish speakers.
Bilingual sign in a Quebec supermarket with markedly predominant French text.
English and Cherokee sign: Cherokee visually prominent but less functional.
English and Spanish hospital directory, English prominent, in USA.
English and French sign in Louisiana, French written to indicate historical link, not so much to be understood
Spanish church sign in Georgia, USA, addressed entirely to Spanish readers.
Washing machine repairman advertising on his truck, in English and Spanish, English on top, Texas
Product originally labeled in English; bilingual warning base added for any hospital visitors & workers who are Spanish-dominant.
Bilingual sign, in three scripts, near Hungary-Ukraine border.
Sign in Israel written in Hebrew (official language), Arabic (widespread language), plus in English.
Sign in Roman script but Hebrew words, a hostel in Haifa, Israel catering to European gentiles
This Spanish sign was advertising a mobile home for rent in a largely Hispanic neighborhood in Texas. The broader community is predominantly non-Spanish speaking.
Commercial signs in section of Houston, Texas with large Asian population.
Predominantly Spanish sign in Texas church working to welcome Spanish speakers, near English version of same sign
Chinese sign on restaurant in America, conveying Chinese aura but not propositional content.
Manila Oriental Market, grocery store in Daly, CA catering to many customers of Asian origin
A library sign in English with Spanish below, in Texas. The city has many Spanish speakers moving in, so the public library has added Spanish books and Spanish signs.
Statue of Mariano Datahan in Bohol, Philippines, early promoter of the
Eskayan language and
script, labeled in Eskayan with its unique script
Vietnamese temple in Seattle, sign in three languages
Tombstone for
Gurkha soldier who served in British army, in Gurkha and English
The Romanian shop in Arcella district in
Padua, Italy. Arcella is known for its multicultural population.
The four-language (Arabic, English, Russian, Italian) welcome board in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. It has a nickname “The City of Peace” due to international peace conferences that had been held here, and now the nickname is being used to attract tourists.
Notes
^Sebba, Mark (2010). "Review of Linguistic Landscapes: A Comparative Study of Urban Multilingualism in Tokyo.". Writing Systems Research. 2 (1): 73–76.
doi:
10.1093/wsr/wsp006.
^Shulist, Sarah. 2018. Signs of status: language policy, revitalization, and visibility in urban Amazonia. Language Policy 17: 4, pp 523–543.
^Tufi, Stefania; Blackwood, Robert (2010). "Trademarks in the linguistic landscape: methodological and theoretical challenges in qualifying brand names in the public space". International Journal of Multilingualism. 7 (3): 197–210.
doi:
10.1080/14790710903568417.
S2CID145448875.
^Papen, Uta (2012). "Commercial discourses, gentrification and citizens' protest: the linguistic landscape of Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin". Journal of Sociolinguistics. 16 (1): 56–80.
doi:
10.1111/j.1467-9841.2011.00518.x.
^Hult, F.M. (2009). Language ecology and linguistic landscape analysis. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 88-104). London: Routledge.
^Hult, F.M. (2014). Drive-thru linguistic landscaping: Constructing a linguistically dominant place in a bilingual space. International Journal of Bilingualism, 18, 507-523.
^Jam Blommaert. 2013. Ethnography, superdiversity, and linguistic landscapes: Chronicles of complexity. Multilingual Matters.
^Ramamoorthy, L. (2002) Linguistic landscaping and reminiscences of French legacy: The case of Pondicherry. In N.H. Itagy and S.K. Singh (eds) Linguistic Landscaping in India (pp. 118–131). Mysore: Central Institute of Indian Languages/Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University.
^p. 42. Kara VanDam. 2009. Dutch- American language shift: evidence from the grave. LACUS Forum XXXIV 33–42.
^Larissa Aronin and Muiris Ó Laoire. 2012. The material culture of multilingualism. In Durk Gorter, Heiko F. Marten and Luk Van Mensel, eds., Minority Languages in the Linguistic Landscape, pp. 229–318. (Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities.) Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
^Themistocleous, C. (2019) Conflict and unification in the multilingual landscape of a divided city: the case of Nicosia's border. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 40 (2). pp. 94-114
Angermeyer, Philipp Sebastian (2005). "Spelling bilingualism: Script choice in Russian American classified ads and signage". Language in Society. 34 (4): 493–531.
doi:
10.1017/s0047404505050190.
S2CID144441668.
Aronin, Larissa; Laorie, Muiris Ó (2013). "The material culture of multilingualism: moving beyond the linguistic landscape". International Journal of Multilingualism. 10 (3): 225–235.
doi:
10.1080/14790718.2012.679734.
S2CID144156019.
Backhaus, Peter (2006). "Multilingualism in Tokyo: A Look into the Linguistic Landscape". International Journal of Multilingualism. 3 (1): 52–66.
doi:
10.1080/14790710608668385.
S2CID144932331.
Backhaus, Peter (2007). "'Linguistic landscapes: a comparative study of urban multilingualism in Tokyo". Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Ben Said, Selim. 2010. Urban Street Signs in the Linguistic Landscape of Tunisia: Tensions in Policy, Representation, and Attitudes. Doctoral dissertation, Pennsylvania State University.
Ben-Rafael, Eliezer; Elana Shohamy; Muhammad Hasan Amara; Nira Trumper-Hecht (2006). "Linguistic Landscape as Symbolic Construction of the Public Space: The Case of Israel". International Journal of Multilingualism. 3 (1): 7–30.
doi:
10.1080/14790710608668383.
S2CID145495443.
Correll; Arthur Polk, Patrick (2014). "Productos Latinos: Latino business murals, symbolism, and the social enactment of identity in Greater Los Angeles". Journal of American Folklore. 127 (505): 285–320.
doi:
10.5406/jamerfolk.127.505.0285.
S2CID145623878.
Gorter, Durk, Heiko F. Marten and Luk Van Mensel, eds. 2012. Minority Languages in the Linguistic Landscape. (Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities.) Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
Grivelet, Stéphane (2001). "Digraphia in Mongolia". International Journal of the Sociology of Language. 2001 (150): 75–94.
doi:
10.1515/ijsl.2001.037.
Hassa, Samira (2012). "Regulating and negotiating linguistic diversity: top-down and bottom-up language planning in the Moroccan city". Current Issues in Language Planning. 13 (3): 207–223.
doi:
10.1080/14664208.2012.722375.
S2CID143390478.
Hult, F.M. (2014). Drive-thru linguistic landscaping: Constructing a linguistically dominant place in a bilingual space. International Journal of Bilingualism, 18, 507-523.
Hult, F.M. (2009). Language ecology and linguistic landscape analysis. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 88–104). London: Routledge.
Kasanga, Luanga Adrien (2012). "Mapping the linguistic landscape of a commercial neighbourhood in Central Phnom Penh". Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 32 (6): 1–15.
doi:
10.1080/01434632.2012.683529.
S2CID143816182.
Landry, Rodrigue; Richard Y. Bourhis (1997). "Linguistic Landscape and Ethnolinguistic Vitality An Empirical Study". Journal of Language and Social Psychology. 16 (1): 23–49.
doi:
10.1177/0261927X970161002.
S2CID146751133.
Macalister, John (2012). "Language policies, language planning and linguistic landscapes in Timor-Leste". Language Problems and Language Planning. 36 (1): 25–45.
doi:
10.1075/lplp.36.1.02mac.
Pons Rodríguez, Lola. 2012. El paisaje lingüístico de Sevilla. Lenguas y variedades en el escenario urbano hispalense. Sevilla: Diputación Provincial de Sevilla, Colección Archivo Hispalense.
(Download)
Rasinger, Sebastian M. (2014): Linguistic landscapes in Southern Carinthia (Austria), Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development,
doi:
10.1080/01434632.2014.889142
Sebba, Mark (2010). "Book review: "Linguistic Landscapes: A Comparative Study of Urban Multilingualism in Tokyo", by Peter Backhaus". Writing Systems Research. 2 (1): 73–76.
doi:
10.1093/wsr/wsp006.
Shiohata, Mariko (2012). "Language use along the urban street in Senegal: perspectives from proprietors of commercial signs". Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 33 (3): 269–285.
doi:
10.1080/01434632.2012.656648.
S2CID144044465.
Shohamy, Elana; Durk Gorter (2009). Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery. New York and London: Routledge.
Spolsky, Bernard; Robert Cooper (1991). The Languages of Jerusalem. Oxford: Oxford University Press.