Inscribing indigeneity: Ethnolinguistic authority in the linguistic landscape of Amazonian Ecuador

Multilingua ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-168
Author(s):  
Michael Wroblewski
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Language Revitalization ◽  
State Power ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Ethnolinguistic Vitality ◽  
Spanish Hospital ◽  
Amazonian Ecuador ◽  
Anthropological Approach

AbstractThis article takes a linguistic anthropological approach to analyzing multilingualism in the linguistic landscape of the Amazonian city of Tena, Ecuador, a key locus of indigenous Kichwa language revitalization, identity formation, and politics. Following recent scholarly reconsiderations of multilingual linguistic landscapes as sites of ideological contestation and performative display, I seek to expand on the foundational concept of ethnolinguistic vitality. Building on an analysis of shifting materiality and semiotics of bilingual Kichwa-Spanish hospital signs, I argue for the use of longitudinal and deep ethnographic study of public sign-making in progress to identify oppositional struggles over ethnolinguistic authority, or control of authorship in displays of ethnolinguistic presence. In Tena, Kichwa-language signage represents a new venue for the decolonization of politics, the performance of indigeneity, and the centralization of state power, which are expressed through competing visions by agents with distinct ideological orientations toward language. I submit ethnolinguistic authority as a critical concern for the ethnographic study of public inscriptions of minority languages, which reflect contrasting ideologies of language, notions of group identity, and claims to representational sovereignty.

scholarly journals Linguistic Landscapes

Linguistics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jhonni Rochelle Charisse Carr
Keyword(s):  
Language Attitudes ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Global English ◽  
Ethnolinguistic Vitality ◽  
Road Signs ◽  
Common Definition ◽  
Interdisciplinary Field ◽  
The One

Linguistic landscape studies is the investigation of displayed language in a particular space, generally through the analysis of advertisements, billboards, and other signs. A common definition used in the field is the one posited in the canonical 1997 article “Linguistic Landscape and Ethnolinguistic Vitality: An Empirical Study” (Journal of Language and Social Psychology 16(1): 23–49) by Rodrigue Landry and Richard Y. Bourhis: “The language of public road signs, advertising billboards, street names, place names, commercial shop signs, and public signs on government buildings combines to form the linguistic landscape of a given territory, region, or urban agglomeration” (p. 25). (See Landry and Bourhis 1997, cited under Origins of the Field.) The study of the linguistic landscape (LL) is a fairly new area of investigation, with the establishment of its first international conference in 2008 and first international journal in 2015. An especially interdisciplinary field, it incorporates work from camps such as anthropology, linguistics, political science, education, geography, and urban planning. While the majority of research focuses on particular geographical places, the area of study has expanded to include the linguistic landscape of the Internet. This article highlights diverse works from male and female scholars, researchers of color, and scholarship on minority languages by scholars from all over the globe. Key texts include research presented in various forms including books, articles, conferences, conference presentations, and dissertations. The first half of the article is organized by contribution type. It begins with Key Works and then turns to Edited Collections. It then moves on to journals that commonly feature linguistic landscape work or special issues and then some of the latest dissertations that have been published. Finally, the article turns to conferences dedicated to the subject and important conference papers that have been discussed recently among scholars in the field. The second half of the article is organized topically in the following order: Origins of the Field, Innovative Methodologies, Applications and Approaches in the Field (including subsections Multilingualism, Global English, Minority Languages, Anthropology, Language Policy and Planning, and Education). In the subsection Anthropology, three central themes are considered: Language Attitudes and Ideologies, Identity, and Ethnography. Finally, the article reviews important works from a newer subcamp: The Linguistic Landscape of the Internet.

The linguistic landscape of multilingual picturebooks

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-301
Author(s):  
Nicola Daly
Keyword(s):  
Language Maintenance ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Ethnolinguistic Vitality ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
The World

Abstract We often talk about ‘entering another world’ when we read a book. In this article it is argued that the way in which languages are presented in a picturebook can be seen as a linguistic landscape within the wider linguistic landscape of the world we are in. Previous studies of the linguistic landscape of bilingual picturebooks have shown that minority languages are afforded less space. In this article the linguistic landscape of 24 multilingual picturebooks from the Internationale Jugendbibliothek (Munich, Germany) are analysed. Findings show that languages given dominance in terms of order, size, and information mostly reflect the sociolinguistic setting in which these books are published, replicating power structures and potentially having negative implications for the ethnolinguistic vitality of minority language groups and their language maintenance or revitalisation. The potential effect on readers’ developing language attitudes is also explored.

scholarly journals Language Revitalization

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aidan Pine ◽  
Mark Turin
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Language Revitalization ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Language Loss ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Wide Range

The world is home to an extraordinary level of linguistic diversity, with roughly 7,000 languages currently spoken and signed. Yet this diversity is highly unstable and is being rapidly eroded through a series of complex and interrelated processes that result in or lead to language loss. The combination of monolingualism and networks of global trade languages that are increasingly technologized have led to over half of the world’s population speaking one of only 13 languages. Such linguistic homogenization leaves in its wake a linguistic landscape that is increasingly endangered. A wide range of factors contribute to language loss and attrition. While some—such as natural disasters—are unique to particular language communities and specific geographical regions, many have similar origins and are common across endangered language communities around the globe. The harmful legacy of colonization and the enduring impact of disenfranchising policies relating to Indigenous and minority languages are at the heart of language attrition from New Zealand to Hawai’i, and from Canada to Nepal. Language loss does not occur in isolation, nor is it inevitable or in any way “natural.” The process also has wide-ranging social and economic repercussions for the language communities in question. Language is so heavily intertwined with cultural knowledge and political identity that speech forms often serve as meaningful indicators of a community’s vitality and social well-being. More than ever before, there are vigorous and collaborative efforts underway to reverse the trend of language loss and to reclaim and revitalize endangered languages. Such approaches vary significantly, from making use of digital technologies in order to engage individual and younger learners to community-oriented language nests and immersion programs. Drawing on diverse techniques and communities, the question of measuring the success of language revitalization programs has driven research forward in the areas of statistical assessments of linguistic diversity, endangerment, and vulnerability. Current efforts are re-evaluating the established triad of documentation-conservation-revitalization in favor of more unified, holistic, and community-led approaches.

scholarly journals PAISAGEM LINGUÍSTICA EM CONTEXTO FRONTEIRIÇO: ESTUDO DE CASO EM TABATINGA (BRA) E LETICIA (COL)

Trama ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (37) ◽  
pp. 149-160
Author(s):  
Luana Ferreira RODRIGUES
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Ethnolinguistic Vitality ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethnic And Racial Studies ◽  
Working Paper ◽  
Em 12 ◽  
And Migration

Neste artigo apresento um estudo de caso sobre a paisagem linguística na fronteira entre as cidades de Tabatinga (Brasil) e Leticia (Colômbia), com base nos conceitos de paisagem linguística (Bloomaert, 2012; Shohamy, 2010; Cenoz y Gorter, 2006), superdiversidade (Bloomaert y Rampton, 2012; Vertovec, 2007) e metrolinguismo (Otsuji; Pennycook, 2010). Este estudo de caso utiliza como dados de análise imagens de placas e letreiros de estabelecimentos comerciais, localizados próximo ao marco de fronteira entre Brasil e Colômbia, fotografadas durante trabalho de campo nas cidades mencionadas e tem como objetivo pensar a paisagem linguística como um dos instrumentos que podem auxiliar no diagnóstico sociolinguístico dos repertórios comunicativos dos falantes de uma determinada comunidade e o status das línguas nesses territórios fronteiriços. Além disso, proponho pensar a paisagem como um importante recurso para a promoção do multilinguismo e das línguas autóctones invisibilizadas pela hegemonia das línguas oficiais dos países onde se desenvolve o presente estudo. Essa invisibilização é perceptível, conforme aponto no estudo, não apenas na paisagem linguística dessas cidades, mas também no sistema escolar municipal e estadual ao não se observar a presença dessas línguas nos currículos das escolas regulares, revelando a ausência de uma representação identitária e linguística de grupos étnicos que vivem nesse espaço.REFERÊNCIASBEN-RAFAEL, E.; SHOHAMY, E.; AMARA, M. H.; TRUMPER-HECHT, N. Linguistic Landscape as Symbolic Construction of the Public Space: The Case of Israel. In: GORTER, D. Linguistic Landscape: New Approach to Multilingualism. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd., 2006. p. 7-30.BERGER, I. R. Gestão do .multi/plurilinguismo em escolas brasileiras na fronteira Brasil – Paraguai: um olhar a partir do Observatório da Educação na Fronteira. 2015. Tese (Doutorado em Linguística) - Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 2015. Disponível em: https://repositorio.ufsc.br/handle/123456789/133000 Acesso em: 14 jun. 2018.BERGER, I. R.; LECHETA, M. A paisagem linguística de um campus universitário fronteiriço: língua e poder em perspectiva. Entrepalavras, Fortaleza, v. 9, n. 2, p. 01-19, 2019.BLOMMAERT, J. Chronicles of complexity Ethnography, superdiversity, and linguistic landscapes. Tilburg: Tilburg Papers in Culture Studies, 2012.BLOMMAERT, J.; RAMPTON, B. Language and Superdiversity. MMG Working Paper Print. Göttingen, 2012.BOURDIEU, P. O poder simbólico. Rio de Janeiro: Bertrand Brasil, 1989.CENOZ, J.; GORTER, D. El estudio del paisage lingüístico. Amsterdam: Journal Hizkunea, 2008. P.1-10. Disponível em: https://hdl.handle.net/11245/1.293687 Acesso em: 04 abr. 2019.CENOZ, J; GORTER, D. Linguistic Landscape and Minority Languages. International Journal of Multilingualism, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2006. Disponível em: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.573.7767rep=rep1type=pdf Acesso em 15 jul. 2019.CRUL, M. Super-diversity vs. assimilation: how complex diversity in majority–minority cities challenges the assumptions of assimilation. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 42:1, p. 54-68, 2016. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2015.1061425 Acesso em 14 ago. 2019.LANDRY, R.; BOURHIS, R. Y. Linguistic Landscape and Ethnolinguistic Vitality: An Empirical Study. Journal of Language and Social Psycology, Mar., v. 16, n. 1, p. 23-49, 1997. Disponível em: https://doi.org/ 10.1177/0261927X970161002 Acesso em 14 ago. 2019.LOMBARDI, R. S.; SALGADO, A. C. P.; SOARES, M. S. Paisagem linguística e repertórios em tempos de diversidade: uma situação em perspectiva. Calidoscópio, v. 14, n. 2, p. 209-218, maio/ago., 2016. Disponível em: http://revistas.unisinos.br/index.php/calidoscopio/article/viewFile/cld.2016.142.03/5558 Acesso em 08 ago. 2019OTSUJI. E.; PENNYCOOK, A. Metrolingualism: fixity, fluidity and language in flux. International Journal in Multilingualism, 7:3, p. 240-254, 2009. Disponível em: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14790710903414331 Acesso em 25 jul. 2019.SCHILLER, N. G., ; CAGLAR, A. Locating Migrant Pathways of Economic Emplacement: Thinking Beyond the Ethnic Lens.” Ethnicities 13 (4): 494–514 , 2013. Disponível em: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258136583_Locating_Migrant_Pathways_of_Economic_Emplacement_Thinking_Beyond_the_Ethnic_Lens Acesso em 12 ago. 2019.SHOHAMY, E. Language Policy: hidden agendas and new approaches. Nova  York: Routledge, 2006. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203387962 Acesso em 23 ago. 2019.SPOLSKY, B. Prolegomena to a Sociolinguistic Theory of Public Signage. In: GORTER, D.; SHOHAMY, E. Linguistic Landscape: Expanding the scenary. Nova York: Routledge, 2009. p.25-39.STEIMAN, R. A geografia das cidades de fronteira: um estudo de caso de Tabatinga (Brasil) e Letícia (Colômbia). 2002. Dissertação de Mestrado em Geografia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 2002. Disponível em: http://objdig.ufrj.br/16/teses/581220.pdf Acesso em 05 mar. 2018.VERTOVEC, S. Super-diversity and its implications. Ethnic and Racial Studies, v. 30, n. 6, p. 1024-1054, 2007. Disponível em: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713685087. Acesso em: 06 jun. 2019.YIN, R. K. Estudo de caso: planejamento e métodos. 2. ed. Porto Alegre: Bookman, 2001.Recebido em 29-11-2019 | Aceito em 10-02-2020

Diglossia and Local Identity: Swiss German in the Linguistic Landscape of Kleinbasel

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edina Krompák ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Local Identity ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Swiss German ◽  
Written Form

The city of Basel is situated in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, in the geographic triangle of three countries: France, Germany and Switzerland. Everyday urban life is characterised by the presence of Standard German and Swiss German as well as diverse migrant languages. Swiss German is ‘an umbrella term for several Alemannic dialects’ (Stepkowska 2012, 202) which differ from Standard German in terms of phonetics, semantics, lexis, and grammar and has no standard written form. Swiss German is predominantly used in oral forms, and Standard German in written communication. Furthermore, an amalgamation of bilingualism and diglossia (Stepkowska 2012, 208) distinguishes the specific linguistic situation, which indicates amongst other things the high prestige of Swiss German in everyday life. To explore the visibility and vitality of Swiss German in the public display of written language, we examined the linguistic landscape of a superdiverse neighbourhood of Basel, and investigated language power and the story beyond the sign – ‘stories about the cultural, historical, political and social backgrounds of a certain space’ (Blommaert 2013, 41). Our exploration was guided by the question: How do linguistic artefacts – such as official, commercial, and private signs – represent the diglossic situation and the relation between language and identity in Kleinbasel? Based on a longitudinal ethnographic study, a corpus was compiled comprising 300 digital images of written artefacts in Kleinbasel. Participant observation and focus group discussions about particular images were conducted and analysed using grounded theory (Charmaz 2006) and visual ethnography (Pink 2006). In our paper, we focus on signs in Swiss German and focus group discussions on these images. Initial analyses have produced two surprising findings; firstly, the visibility and the perception of Swiss German as a marker of local identity; secondly, the specific context of their display.

Cosmopolitan English, traditional Japanese

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 238-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Baudinette
Keyword(s):  
Identity Construction ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
English Language ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Japanese Men ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
Queer Space

Abstract The Linguistic Landscape of Tokyo’s premier gay district, Shinjuku Ni-chōme, contains much English-language signage. Previously described in touristic literature as marking out spaces for foreign gay men, this article draws upon an ethnographic study of how signage produces queer space in Japan to argue that English instead constructs a sense of cosmopolitan worldliness. The ethnography also reveals that participants within Ni-chōme’s gay bar sub-culture contrast this cosmopolitan identity with a “traditional” identity indexed by Japanese-language signage. In exploring how Japanese men navigate Ni-chōme’s signage, this article deploys Piller and Takahashi’s (2006) notion of “language desire” to investigate the role of LL in influencing individual queer men’s sense(s) of self. This article thus broadens the focus of LL research to account for how engagement with an LL may impact identity construction, with an emphasis placed on how learning to “read” an LL influences the formation of sexual identities.

scholarly journals A comparative study of media, media use and ethnolinguistic vitality in bilingual communities

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 283-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Moring ◽  
Catharina Lojander-Visapää ◽  
Andrea Nordqvist ◽  
Laszlo Vincze ◽  
Nadja Mänty
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Institutional Analysis ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Ethnolinguistic Vitality ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
South Tyrol ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Bilingual Communities

This paper presents some preliminary results from acomparative study of interrelations between identity (in terms of subjectively identified identity); media (in terms of completeness in supply); media use (in terms of choice of language); and EV among bilingual speakers of autochthonous minority languages. It builds on studies that are carried out among German speakers in South Tyrol, Hungarian speakers in Romania and Swedish speakers in Finland, combining institutional analysis and quantitative surveys in a comparative perspective

The dynamics of Hawaiian speakerhood in the family

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (255) ◽  
pp. 45-72
Author(s):  
Christina Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Native Hawaiian ◽  
Language Revitalization ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Hawaiian Language ◽  
Home Life ◽  
The Family ◽  
New Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Practices

Abstract While the majority of studies on new speakers focuses on language use in educational and community contexts, the family is becoming an increasingly relevant site since new speakers are now incorporating their languages into their home life. This article reports on how people of Native Hawaiian ancestry express their speakerhood with regard to their use of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, or the Hawaiian language, in the context of the family. It explores Hawaiians’ stances towards different ways of speaking Hawaiian with regard to authenticity, an issue which has been found to be central among new speakers of minority languages in other contexts. Drawing on interview data with six Hawaiians, this article investigates Hawaiian speakerhood by focusing on how the participants view linguistic authority and translanguaging in family settings. The article offers insights into the range of linguistic practices and sociolinguistic authenticities in families that may enhance continued language revitalization efforts.

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