Abstract
AbstractThis article examines the linguistic component of building signs in the city center of St. Petersburg, Russia. The research is based on the analysis of an extensive database that covers 849 examples. It concludes that the Cyrillic script can be found in 84% of cases, Latin script – in 48%, and other scripts – in 4%. English is used to attract international visitors, demonstrate the authenticity of the brand, create a national flavor, hide meaning from the general public or as a part of linguistic creativity. Sometimes such language experiments break the phonetic–graphemic definitiveness of language, mixing form, and meaning. The use of the Latin script can either be targeted at those who do not know the Russian language or form a part of the language game for the Russian-speaking public.
Highlights
The study of the language landscape of different cities helps to understand better the use of language in the modern society
We studied the verbal component of the exterior of 849 enterprises that provide services in the city center of St
We used the semiotic method and a number of scientific research techniques such as the construction of logical schemes, classification based on the semantics of words written in the Latin script, and graphical interpretation of theoretical information, which shows the correlation of semantic and script definitiveness of the linguistic landscape
Summary
The study of the language landscape of different cities helps to understand better the use of language in the modern society. The presence of multiple languages in an urban linguistic landscape can reflect a variety of trends, where government regulation, bi or multilingual environment, nationalism, political and linguistic conflict, as well as globalization, international tourism, etc. Spolsky notes that one of the key principles for the choice of languages on signs is to select languages that the expected audience are able to read (Spolsky 2009) This principle is not the only one when it comes to using English in different regions. Researchers point out that in many cases, English in urban centers is associated with “modernity, internationalism, technological advancement, creative linguistics, language mixing, innovation, hybridization, syncretism, and innovativeness” (Boyle 2011, Gorter and Cenoz 2015, Higgens 2009). Some Russian researchers tend to see English as a source of creativity (Maximova 2002, Rivilina 2015) and borrowing (Yelenevskaya 2008), as well as a tool for tourism development (Golomidova and Shcherbakov, 2019)
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