Medical tourism and its niched impact in Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Abstract Tourism with all its concomitant economic and sociocultural influences across the globe accounts for today’s largest mobilization of people, money, and culture. This study explores how the arrival of medical tourists from the Republic of Azerbaijan in the city of Tabriz in Iran over the last few years has had a niched impact on the linguistic landscape of the city. Drawing upon theoretical developments within the sociolinguistics of globalization and mobility and linguistic landscapes, the research sheds light on how Azerbaijanis in Tabriz mobilize certain semiotic resources to both construct locality and channel mobility for their co-ethnic medical tourists, both establishing a sense of ‘at-homeness’ and attracting more travelers and economic gain. Given the legal prohibition of using foreign languages on public signage, the research also uncovers contesting language ideologies which may contribute to the development of a tension between Azerbaijani, as the largest minority language, and Farsi, the only official language, challenging the semiotic domination of Farsi over Azerbaijani.