Multilingualism in the Linguistic Landscape of the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

Abstract

This paper is an examination of multilingual signage in the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, where a number of language courses are offered not only to the university community but also to outsiders who are interested in learning foreign languages. Special attention is given to the distinction between signs made by the university and those by students and outsiders. By focusing on the multilingual signs in public space, the aim of the study is to investigate the extent to which multilingualism is promoted through the linguistic landscape in the common areas of the Faculty of Arts. The study reveals that Thai-English bilingualism is promoted within the Faculty of Arts. A few language departments have made attempts to establish their language in the public space while some languages appeared only on outsiders’ signs. The paper contributes to our understanding of linguistic landscape research by investigating the degree to which multilingualism is promoted via the linguistic landscape within the Faculty of Arts.