scholarly journals Informal signs as expressions of multilingualism in Chisinau: how individuals shape the public space of a post-Soviet capital

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (228) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Muth
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Large Share ◽  
The Public ◽  
Language Choices ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The City ◽  
Interesting Area

AbstractInformal and transient displays of written language such as graffiti, announcements and notes attached to walls and lampposts form an integral part of an urban linguistic landscape. Especially within multilingual contexts, individuals constantly shape the public space by the languages they use and make language choices that do not always reflect official language policies, commonly held perceptions or the demographic makeup within a certain area. The capital of the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau, proves to be an interesting area of research here, as – apart from a Romanian-speaking majority – the city is home to a large share of speakers of Russian, a language long considered to be the

scholarly journals ZNACZENIE JĘZYKA W KREOWANIU WIZERUNKU MIASTA

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 71-83
Author(s):  
Marta Koszko
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Urban Centre ◽  
The Public ◽  
Cultural Life ◽  
Unique Identity ◽  
The City ◽  
Cultural Composition

Cities are the main centres of social, cultural life and economic development. They have always attracted newcomers not only because of new opportunities but also because of the feeling of belonging and uniqueness which people need. The attractiveness of a particular urban centre mainly rests on its image, which is created in relation to its own unique identity. The language of the city, which is present in the public space in the form of the linguistic landscape and which reflects the socio-cultural composition of the city, creates the identity. Both socio-cultural composition of a city (hence the languages spoken in the public space) and the linguistic landscape can create an image of a city which is either open for an interaction or presents limited interactional potential.

The Historical Memory Law and its role in redesigning semiotic cityscapes in Spain

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Guilat ◽  
Antonio B. Espinosa-Ramírez
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Franco Regime ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Law ◽  
The City

In its Historical Memory Law (October 2007), Spain recognized victims on both sides of its 1936–1939 Civil War and established entitlements for victims and descendants of victims of the war and the Franco regime that followed (1939–1975). The law requires authorities to remove Francoist symbols and signs from public buildings and spaces, rename streets and squares, and cleanse the public space of monuments and artifacts that glorify or commemorate the regime. By allowing exceptions on artistic, architectural, or religious grounds, however, the law triggered persistent public struggles over monuments, memorials, and outdoor sculptures. This article examines the implementation of the law in the city of Granada, via a case study relating to the removal of a sculpture honoring the founder of the Spanish Fascist movement, José Antonio Primo de Rivera. The controversy over the statue sparked a debate in Granada about the implementation of the law in the public space and raised questions about the role of text, material and visual culture in redesigning Linguistic Landscape by articulating contested memories.

Transforming the urban public space

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-102
Author(s):  
Adil Moustaoui
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Linguistic Variation ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Urban Public Space ◽  
The Public ◽  
Economic Transformations ◽  
Data Points ◽  
Linguistic Practices ◽  
The City

Abstract This article examines the use of Moroccan Arabic (MA) in the new Linguistic Landscape (LL) in Morocco, and in particular in the city of Meknés, in a new neighbourhood known as (حمرية) Hamriya or La Ville Nouvelle. In particular, the ways in which current socio-economic transformations produce new spaces of communications are explored, highlighting the extent to which MA is used in urban public spaces as new linguistic practices. In turn, the increasing visibility of MA in the LL and its subsequent nourishing of hybrid practices are discussed. The data points to a re-semiotisation of space in a Moroccan linguistic regime historically characterized by a well-established linguistic hierarchy. Ultimately, the use of MA creates new language practices and policies that resist and transform the sociolinguistic regime which is analysed here by a close examination of linguistic variation in Arabic in the public space.

Linguistic Landscape as standing historical testimony of the struggle against colonization in Ethiopia

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-290
Author(s):  
Hirut Woldemaram
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Addis Ababa ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One ◽  
The City

Ethiopia is Africa’s oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population. Apart from a five-year occupation by Italy, which is considered as a war time, the country has never been colonized. The Linguistic Landscape (LL) of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia and the seat of the African Union, prominently depicts that important history. Erected in the main squares of the city, the various monuments serve as standing testimonies of the struggle, victory and important figures pertaining to Italian fascist invasion of Ethiopia. Moreover, there are different institutions (schools, hospitals) and infrastructures (bridges, streets) officially named after significant historical moments. Visible in the central locations and squares of the city, monuments, statues, and the naming of streets, bridges, schools, and hospitals, keep the peoples’ memory about the struggle against the Italian invasion and the victories obtained. Symbols of the Lion of Judah, cross and national flags are also part of the public exhibit marking identities, ideologies and references to the country’s history. This study aims at showing how the LL serves as a mechanism to build the historical narrative of Ethiopia. It overviews how the LL in Addis Ababa via its monuments depicts the anti-colonial struggle and the victory over Fascist Italian forces. The monuments considered are: the Victory Monument, The Patriots Monument, The Abune Petros statute, and the Menelik II Statue. After presenting background aspects, this paper tackles Ethiopians’ memories of the Italian invasion as expressed in Addis Ababa’s LL and their identity construction and reconstruction. The last section discusses the findings and draws concluding remarks. Methodologically, digital Figures of the monuments were collected coupled with interview. Ethnographic approaches to the LL are used to analyze the selected memorial objects. As Creswell (2003) indicates ethnographic designs like qualitative research procedures, aims at describing, analyzing, and interpreting a culture-sharing group’s patterns of behavior, beliefs, and language. Semi-structured interviews were carried out in 2014 with a sample of 15 pedestrians, males and females, of different ages and educational categories who were standing in front of the monuments waiting for buses. The interviewers wanted to know what people think of the significance and relevance of location of the monuments in the public space. Most of the interviewees tended to support the views of the prevailing popular interpretations. They strongly relate the monuments with memories of brutality of Italian invaders on the one hand, and the strong resistance, patriotism and heroism of the Ethiopian people. The interviews agree that this unique victory needs to keep being celebrated and glorified as part of the history of Ethiopia.

scholarly journals On Visibility and Legitimisation of Languages: The ‘Linguistic Landscape’ in Adaama, Ethiopia

Aethiopica ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 149-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Ekkehard Wolff ◽  
Sileshi Berhanu ◽  
Getinet Fulea
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
The Public ◽  
Regional State ◽  
Graphic Representations ◽  
The Status ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
Arabic And English

With a focus on the city of Adaama (formerly: Nazret), the biggest urban agglomeration in Oromia Regional State, the paper addresses the “linguistic landscape” which is indicative of the overall sociolinguistic situation of a polity. Language use in the public space has not only practical-instrumental, but also historical, political, juridical, and most of allpsycho-sociological dimensions, the latter relating to the symbolic value of written language use. The paper deals with multilingual graphic representations on public commercial and private sign-boards, advertisements, and notices in Adaama city, with an additionalfocus on the situation on the campus of Adama Science and Technology University. Under the chosen theoretical framework, it analyses language visibility in terms of language legitimisation, both in terms of peoples’ attitudes and based on official documents regarding language status and language use in present-day Ethiopia, such as the Education and Training Policy (1994), the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1995), the Revised Constitution of Oromia Regional State(2001/2006), and the Higher Education Proclamation (2009). The primary focus of the paper is on the status, functions, and representations of AfanOromo, including a review of the major historico-political changes affecting this language from Imperial Ethiopa (before 1974), the Därg period (until 1991), and under the new Constitution of the FDRE (since 1995). The paper also deals with linguistic and graphic issues concerning the “orthographic” representations of the four languages used: Afan Oromo, Amharic, Arabic, and English, involving three different graphic systems: Fidäl (Abugida), Arabic, and Roman.

scholarly journals Redefining the image of the contemporary city – changes in linguistic and cultural realms – preliminary remarks

2019 ◽  
pp. 43-53
Author(s):  
Marta Koszko
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Cultural Transformation ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
The Public ◽  
European Cities ◽  
Visual Identification ◽  
City Culture ◽  
The City

Contemporary cosmopolitan European cities have been recently undergoing considerable social changes. Although most of them can be described as multicultural, the character of their public space should be redefined due to the intensified influx of immigrants mainly from the Middle East and North Africa and the socio-cultural background they bring along. This social and cultural process has a significant influence on the internal and external image and the identity of the city. These notions can be discussed in reference to Meffert’s (1989) concept of the city’s identity and the image of a city, hence in reference to the system of visual identification, communication system and the city culture. A particular attention should be drawn to the language in the public space (linguistic landscape LL), ritualized public space and the overall image of the city. These naturally have to be considered in the context of the socio-cultural transformation of the European cities. It should also be pointed out that Meffert’s theory may need to be slightly redefined in order to reflect the present-day urban cultural and linguistic reality.

scholarly journals Mapping the linguistic landscapes of the Marshall Islands

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Buchstaller ◽  
Seraphim Alvanides
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Marshall Islands ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Linguistic Identity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Language Choices ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Republic

This paper examines code choices in the written linguistic landscape of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). Due to a history of language imposition, the Marshall Islanders have long been denied the opportunity to express their linguistic identity in the public domain. A recently proposed bilingual language policy, which requires all public signs to be Marshallese-English bilingual, aims to change this status quo. We map language choices in the linguistic landscape of the RMI at the cusp of this policy with an eye on the stakeholders, production processes, and audiences involved in the creation and reception of the linguistic landscape. State-of-the-art geographical and regression analyses model the factors that govern code choices in the linguistic landscape of the RMI. Our findings allow us to pinpoint niches—both geographical as well as social—where the Marshallese assert their linguistic identity in the public realm.

Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Llano
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Social Conflict ◽  
Musical Performance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
Musical Practices ◽  
The Media ◽  
The City

As is described in this conclusion, more than the media and culture, Madrid’s public space constituted the primary arena where reactions and attitudes toward social conflict and inequalities were negotiated. Social conflict in the public space found expression through musical performance, as well as through the rise of noise that came with the expansion and modernization of the city. Through their impact on public health and morality, noise and unwelcomed musical practices contributed to the refinement of Madrid’s city code and the modernization of society. The interference of vested political interests, however, made the refining of legislation in these areas particularly difficult. Analysis of three musical practices, namely, flamenco, organilleros, and workhouse bands, has shown how difficult it was to adopt consistent policies and approaches to tackling the forms of social conflict that were associated with musical performance.

Conquering the Public Space

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Llano
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Working Classes ◽  
The Public ◽  
San Bernardino ◽  
The City

This chapter presents an account of the San Bernardino band as the public facade of that workhouse. The image of children who had been picked up from the streets, disciplined, and taught to play an instrument as they marched across the city in uniform helped broadcast the message that the municipal institutions of social aid were contributing to the regeneration of society. This image contrasted with the regime of discipline and punishment inside the workhouse and thus helped to legitimize the workhouse’s public image. The privatization of social aid from the 1850s meant that the San Bernardino band engaged with a growing range of institutions and social groups and carried out an equally broad range of social services. It was thus able to serve as the extension through which Madrid’s authorities could gain greater intimacy with certain population sectors, particularly with the working classes.

scholarly journals Activating Data through Eco-Didactic Design in the Public Realm: Enabling Sustainable Development in Cities

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4577
Author(s):  
Carmela Cucuzzella ◽  
Morteza Hazbei ◽  
Sherif Goubran
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Art And Design ◽  
The Public ◽  
Community Based Design ◽  
The City

This paper explores how design in the public realm can integrate city data to help disseminate the information embedded within it and provide urban opportunities for knowledge exchange. The hypothesis is that such art and design practices in public spaces, as places of knowledge exchange, may enable more sustainable communities and cities through the visualization of data. To achieve this, we developed a methodology to compare various design approaches for integrating three main elements in public-space design projects: city data, specific issues of sustainability, and varying methods for activating the data. To test this methodology, we applied it to a pedogeological project where students were required to render city data visible. We analyze the proposals presented by the young designers to understand their approaches to design, data, and education. We study how they “educate” and “dialogue” with the community about sustainable issues. Specifically, the research attempts to answer the following questions: (1) How can we use data in the design of public spaces as a means for sustainability knowledge exchange in the city? (2) How can community-based design contribute to innovative data collection and dissemination for advancing sustainability in the city? (3) What are the overlaps between the projects’ intended impacts and the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Our findings suggest that there is a need for such creative practices, as they make information available to the community, using unconventional methods. Furthermore, more research is needed to better understand the short- and long-term outcomes of these works in the public realm.

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