Examining language policy and practices on the ground: German and French in the public space of two Walloon municipalities with language facilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-102
Author(s):  
Raúl Sánchez Prieto
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Language Legislation ◽  
Different Types

Abstract Building on previous research on the new subfield of Linguistic Landscape (LL), this article adopts a comparative approach to study language policy practices that take place on the ground in East Belgium, a language contact area which is not usually considered conflictive. The research design is both qualitative and quantitative and aimed at overcoming some critical methodological issues. The taxonomy, which distinguishes different types of items in the LL of two municipalities with language facilities, Kelmis and Waimes, has led to a detailed qualitative analysis of the application of the current language legislation.

Linguistic Landscape of Ethiopia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Lanza ◽  
Hirut Woldemariam
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
The Public ◽  
Latin Script ◽  
Growing Economy ◽  
The Public Sphere

The linguistic landscape (henceforth LL) has proven to be a fruitful approach for investigating various societal dimensions of written language use in the public sphere. First introduced in the context of bilingual Canada as a gauge for measuring ethnolinguistic vitality, in the 21st century it is the focus of a thriving field of inquiry with its own conference series, an increasing number of publications, and an international journal dedicated exclusively to investigating language and other semiotic resources used in the public arena. The scholarship in this domain has centered on European and North American geographical sites; however, an increasingly voluminous share of studies addresses the LL of sites across the world through both books and articles. African contributions have added an important dimension to this knowledge base as southern multilingualisms bring into question the very concept of language in that speakers and writers draw on their rich linguistic repertoires, avoiding any compartmentalization or separation of what is traditionally conceived of as languages. The LL of Ethiopia has contributed to this growing base of empirical studies in the exploration of language policy issues, identity constructions, language contact, and the sociolinguistics of globalization. A new language policy of ethnic federalism was introduced to the country in the 1990s following a civil war and through a new constitution. This policy was set to recognize the various ethnolinguistic groups in the country and the official use of ethnic/regional languages to satisfy local political and educational needs. Through this, languages previously unwritten required a script in order for speakers to communicate in them in written texts. And many regions have chosen the Latin script above the Ethiopic script. Nonetheless, some languages remain invisible in the public sphere. These events create an exciting laboratory for studying the LL. Given the change of language policy since the late 20th century and the fast-growing economy of Ethiopia (one of the poorest countries on the continent) the manifest and increasingly visible display of languages in the LL provides an excellent lens for studying various sociolinguistic phenomena.

Language policies, language planning and linguistic landscapes in Timor-Leste

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Macalister
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
Timor Leste ◽  
Official Languages ◽  
Bahasa Indonesia

Timor-Leste is a nation where three exogenous languages (Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia, English) and one of many endogenous languages (Tetun) compete to be heard in public spaces. The constitution names both Tetun and Portuguese as co-official languages, and English and Bahasa Indonesia as working languages in the civil service; but official and de facto language policy are not necessarily the same. One mechanism that can mediate between ideology and practice, both as a way of imposing and of resisting official policy, is language in the public space. This paper demonstrates the insights that examining language in the public space can provide on language policy debates. It reports on the investigation of a linguistic landscape in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, and finds considerable difference between official language policy and language practices.

Linguistic landscape of Gezi Park protests in Turkey

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 782-808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisya Seloni ◽  
Yusuf Sarfati
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Political Resistance ◽  
Symbolic Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Counter Narratives ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Authoritarian Government ◽  
Research Questions

Abstract Gezi Park protests that rocked Turkey in 2013 left a significant mark in the country’s collective memory and contributed to the construction of a new language of political resistance. To challenge an increasingly authoritarian government, the protesters used novel repertoires of contention, particularly political graffiti. To better understand different types of linguistic and symbolic communication tools used in the public space during Gezi Park protests and their impact on different set of audiences, this article explores the following research questions: (i) What indexical properties are used in the languages used in graffiti, and what do they mean for understanding the various audiences that the protesters engaged? (ii) What counter-narratives are created in the graffiti produced during Gezi Park protests?

Language Policy and Planning and Linguistic Landscapes

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis M. Hult
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Landscape Analysis ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Distinct Sense ◽  
Policy And Planning

Linguistic landscape analysis is the study of visual language use in public space. Its fundamental premise is that the ways in which languages are visually used (or not used) contribute to the discursive construction of a distinct sense of place. Linguistic landscape analysis is related to language policy in two key ways, one indirect and one direct. Indirectly, all language policies entextualize language ideologies; analyzing the visual representation of the linguistic order in the public space of a community provides insight into how values present in policies may or may not be iterated in everyday experiences. Directly, some polities regulate what languages may be used in public spaces, as well as how they may be used. Language policy researchers investigate such regulations and how they may or may not relate to the actual practice of language use on signs in specific communities. This chapter reviews work that has taken indirect and direct orientations to studying language policy and linguistic landscapes. Suggestions for future directions for both are provided.

scholarly journals La dimension pragmatico-discursive du français en contact

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Drescher
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
African Country ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Local Contact ◽  
Medical Issues ◽  
Mitigation Technique

The aim of this paper is two-fold : First it argues for a stronger consideration of the pragmatic and discourse level in research on language contact. Secondly it contributes to the pragmatics of a specific regional variety of French, namely Cameroonian French. Starting with a picture of the complex linguistic landscape of this multilingual African country, the paper stresses the importance of the pragmatic and discourse level by raising some of the crucial theoretical and methodological issues that a broader, usage-based view on language contact has to cope with. First it suggests that pragmatic and discourse conventions may be influenced by the local contact languages and secondly it emphasizes that they may not be specific to a language, but be shared by a much larger and encompassing community of discourse. A case study of Cameroonian radio phone-ins where callers seek advice on medical issues points out some of these conventions. Here the participants establish a specific participation framework that avoids direct interaction between caller and expert while the host is set in as a mediator. This global mitigation technique then allows for quite direct realisations of the advice at a local level.

THE STATE LANGUAGE

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-123
Author(s):  
Maria V. Oreshkina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Language Legislation ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Interdisciplinary Nature ◽  
Bilingualism And Multilingualism ◽  
Language Conflict ◽  
State Language

The Sociolinguistic Glossary aims to provide a systematized corpus of basic terms and concepts of modern sociolinguistics, which since the second half of the XXth century has been rapidly developing at the junction of various humanities and social sciences and is being replenished with new concepts of an interdisciplinary nature, acquiring and developing its own conceptual and terminological apparatus. The articles of the Sociolinguistic Glossary will be devoted to the most important topical issues of sociolinguistics-language and society, language and nation, interaction of language and culture, bilingualism and multilingualism, language policy and language legislation, language planning, as well as concepts used in sociolinguistics as fundamental: language situation, language policy, language conflict, language contact, methods of sociolinguistic research, etc. Special attention in the glossary entries will be given to the languages of Russia.

scholarly journals Linguistic Landscape of Religious Signboards in Ado Ekiti, Nigeria: Culture, Identity and Globalisation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1146
Author(s):  
Blessing T. Inya
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
English Language ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
The Other ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
The Public ◽  
Islamic Religion ◽  
The Relationship

This paper focuses on the linguistic landscape (LL) of religious signboards in select areas of Ado Ekiti, Nigeria with a view of establishing the relationship between the languages used on these signboards and the implication for identity, globalisation and culture. Fifty-three LL items were photographed for the study. The areas selected were based on activity level and the number of religious signboards they featured. The data were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings revealed the dominance and the pervasiveness of the English language over and across the other languages in the public space. The use of Yoruba texts across the items revealed religio-cultural and loyalist reasons while the use of Arabic confirmed the inherent attachment of the language to Islamic religion, and fostered a religion-based collective identity between the sign writer and the sign reader.

scholarly journals Multilingualism in Linguistic Landscape of Prishtina (Kosovo)

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 101-106
Author(s):  
Shkumbin Munishi Prishtina
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Time Span ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Abstract Language relations as manifestations of the phenomenon of multilingualism are also expressed in the area of the so-called linguistic landscape. Undoubtedly, the linguistic landscape not only reflects the use of languages in public space but at the same time reveals the depth of public perception of different languages, depending on their function and prestige. In this paper, I will treat Albanian, English and Serbian rapports through their coverage in the Pristina linguistic landscape, focusing on the use of these languages in advertising space in the city of Prishtina and in other tables that perform semiotic functions of indexes in this city. Likewise, within the reflection of the status planning of languages in Prishtina linguistic landscape, the use of Serbian in the official tables will be treated. This case study will also reflect the features of language policy and the impact of the globalization phenomenon in different languages. The results presented in this paper will reflect on the field research within a certain time span. The research has shown that in the Pristina linguistic landscape, in addition to the Albanian language, English has a dense use, while the use of Serbian is mostly limited to official charts i.e. names of the streets of the city and is not found in private advertisements tables.

scholarly journals WIELOJĘZYCZNOŚĆ ZRÓWNOWAŻONA? KRAJOBRAZ JĘZYKOWY POLSKO-CZESKIEGO POGRANICZA W UJĘCIU EKOLINGWISTYCZNYM (PRZYPADEK DUSZNIK ZDROJU I HRONOVA)

1970 ◽  
pp. 145-156
Author(s):  
MAGDALENA STECIĄG ◽  
ANNA KARMOWSKA
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Public ◽  
Road Signs ◽  
Public Road ◽  
Local Opposition ◽  
Made In

The aim of the article is to analyse the linguistic landscape of the Polish-Czech borderland with particular emphasis placed on the number and hierarchy of languages existing in the public space. A static study will be carried out i.e. a study of the language(s) of public road signs, names of streets and squares, public-access buildings, signs on businesses and shops, hoardings etc. The research material comes from two small towns: Duszniki Zdrój in Poland and Hronov in the Czech Republic, both aspiring to become local tourist centres. The global vs. local opposition is of importance to the assumptions made in the study because the language will be regarded as a local practice (Pennycock, 2010). In conclusion, the study will examine the thesis that the local linguistic landscape is a testimony to a transition from a monolingual paradigm towards a “post-monolingual condition” (Yildiz, 2012). It will also be very interesting to find out which configuration of the languages can be considered sustainable in terms of the area’s multilingual nature.

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