Analysis of Lavapiés through its Linguistic Landscape and the Press

Almudena Revilla Guijarro,Ester Saiz De Lobado García

doi:10.1515/opli-2019-0025

Almudena Revilla Guijarro, Ester Saiz De Lobado García

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1515/opli-2019-0025

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Journal: Open Linguistics	Publication Date: Jan 1, 2019
Citations: 1	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: European University of Madrid

Abstract

Abstract The XXth century gateway cities in Europe, such as Madrid, have followed and in-depth population readjustment, due to the arrival of immigrants from all over the world. This readjustment has left traces in the public spaces of the city; and the media have noted this phenomenon as well. This paper aims at analysing the superdiversity present in Lavapiés, through two different and complementary methodologies: the analyses of the Linguistic Landscape and of press corpora. The analysis of the landscape of the territory will be conducted through a corpus of images or Linguistic Cartography that includes samples of multilingualism present in the area. The press corpora contain news stories, interviews and articles on immigration. These analyses will provide a better picture of the area, in terms of diversity. This paper is part of the Post-conference Special Issue on Language and Migration.

Highlights

The identity construction of migrants is not the mere sum of personal, cultural and social elements
This paper aims at analysing the superdiversity present in Lavapiés, through two different and complementary methodologies: the analyses of the Linguistic Landscape and of press corpora
The first methodology involved the study of intercultural traits, identity construction and negotiation, through the analysis of a corpus of images that captures the Linguistic Landscape (LL) of Lavapiés, in order to unveil “the linguistic dynamic, as a symbolic representation of the power relations and statutes of the various players in the field (...)” (Guilat 2016: 173)

Summary

Introduction

The identity construction of migrants is not the mere sum of personal, cultural and social elements. It is true that all these characteristics can help construct a social discourse conveyed by the media that sketches and reflects the vital environment of this group. The reflection portrayed by the media helps, in turn, build the image that society shares on immigration. According to the CIS (Spanish Centre of Sociological Research), the image portrayed by the media tends to be negative, since there is an invisible border that undermines the positive contribution of migrants to the host countries. The current paper is part of a larger interdisciplinary project: IN.MIGRA2-CM, devoted to the analysis of how the Spanish and Italian press help construct the “mental imagery” (Gibbs & O’Brien 1990) on migrants shared by society (Guerra 2011; Guerra & Gómez 2010; Gómez & Guerra 2011; Revilla 2011; Saiz de Lobado & Bonomi 2014; Saiz de Lobado 2015; Gallego et al 2009). When approaching the study of the LL of Madrid, it is important to mention the studies by Castillo and Sáez: pioneers in the analysis of LL in different areas of Madrid (Castillo & Sáez 2011; Sáez & Castillo 2012)

Objectives

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Discussion

Conclusion