COMPARISON OF LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE CONFIGURATION OF CHINESE AND RUSSIAN UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

The article deals with the issue which has not been properly studied yet. The scientific novelty of the study is determined by the fact that is the first attempt to analyze and compare the public signs of Chinese and Russian universities from the point of view of spatial configuration of the linguistic landscape. The urgency of the study is determined by more close cooperation and active exchange between China and Russia, and specifically in the sphere of higher education, which needs detailed description of socio-cultural differences between the two countries. Linguistic landscape as a constituent part of cultural landscape may be studied within sociolinguistics and includes a complex of visual signs, including signboards, indicators, slogans, information notices, etc. Configuration of the space of linguistic landscape means spatial structural peculiarities, i.e. the diversity of components and their spatial distribution. The practical study material consists of photos from 10 Chinese and Russian universities. The aim of the article is to find out differences between the two countries in geographical position, linguoculture, national mentality and in language policy and typical features of the leading ideology. The tasks of the article include definition of the degree of openness of the space, peculiarities of the linguistic landscape configuration and representation of different languages in it. The authors have revealed the differences between Chinese and Russian universities in the aspects under study: 1) the space of Chinese universities is closed, the linguistic landscape is locked up within certain boundaries and represents a territory of a separate community, while the space of Russian universities is open; 2) two languages (Chinese and English) are present in the linguistic landscape of Chinese universities, in Russian universities the linguistic landscape is predominantly monolinguistic; 3) due to campus organization, the linguistic landscape of Chinese universities has both horizontal and vertical orientation, in Russian universities situated in a single building the linguistic landscape has vertical orientation; 4) in Russia, signs are concentrated within the building, in China, they are equally found both inside and outside.