About Multiculturalism and Language Rights : A Linguistic Landscape of Governmental Public Signs in Garibong-Dong, Seoul

Abstract

The following study analyzes the linguistic landscape of governmental public signs with focus on whether language rights are being fulfilled, in Garibong-Dong, Seoul, which has a high proportion of people with Chinese citizenship in Korea, most of whom are Korean-Chinese, utilizing “Language Rights of Linguistic Minorities: A Practical Guide for Implementation” (Izsak-Ndiaye, 2013) published by the UN OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) as a framework to see whether language rights are being fulfilled by governmental public signs. The study includes interviews with two workers of Korea Support Center for Foreign Workers about whether language rights of Garibong-dong's residents could be affected by the linguistic landscape and what efforts could the governments make for residents.