Abstract
This article examines the linguistic landscape of Manila during a protest march in November 2016 in response to the burial of deposed president Ferdinand Marcos at the <em>Libingan ng mga Bayani</em> (Heroes’ Cemetery). This article is situated among linguistic landscape of protest research (Kasanga, 2014; Seals, 2011; Shiri, 2015) where data is composed of mobile posters, placards, banners, and other ‘unfixed’ signs, including texts on bodies, t-shirts, umbrellas, and rocks. Following Sebba (2010), this article argues that both ‘fixed’ linguistic landscape and ‘mobile’ public texts are indices of the linguistic composition of cities, linguistic diversity, and ethnolinguistic vitality (Landry &amp; Bourhis, 1997). Through a qualitative analysis of selected pictures produced during the protest march and uploaded onto social media, the multilingual nature of Manila is rendered salient and visible, albeit temporarily, and strategies of dissent are reflective of the language of the millennials who populated the protests.
Highlights
In November 2016, major cities in the Philippines were rocked by intermittent protests as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to entomb the late Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) (Heroes’ Cemetery), the country’s final resting ground for its national artists, soldiers, and past presidents
The current study addresses the following questions: (1) What language/s appear in the transient linguistic landscape (LL) of protest in Manila?, (2) What strategies and linguistic devices are employed to express dissent?, and (3) How can the transient LL of protest challenge the fixed LL?
During the protest rallies in November 2016, a total of 103 pictures of protest signs were collected from social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Messenger, and online magazines such as Inquirer.net, Philstar, and Rappler
Summary
In November 2016, major cities in the Philippines were rocked by intermittent protests as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to entomb the late Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) (Heroes’ Cemetery), the country’s final resting ground for its national artists, soldiers, and past presidents. Other scholars (Kasanga, 2014; Rubdy, 2015; Seals, 2011; Shiri, 2015) have pushed the boundary of LL further afield by looking at transient linguistic events—such as the staging of protests, mass demonstrations, and occupy movements—in order to uncover the saliency and visibility of languages that temporarily enjoy public spaces. Made of mostly non-durable materials, protest signs perform linguistic acts such as express anger and dissent, contest narratives, and encourage participation from their immediate and non-immediate audiences. This can be done for local and global audiences through multiple platforms of social media. Observing what languages appear during protests may help us better understand a linguistic community
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