Abstract
As a window city for China to face internationalization, Zhuhai is quite suitable for linguists to look into Expanding Circle Countries’ English settings. Bilingual landmarks indicate the use of English in the local public sphere and the degree of the popularity of English. This study investigated the current situation of English in Zhuhai from two academic fields: linguistics landscape and language policy. The two types of language policy: the top-down model and the bottom-up mode, are used in the analysis of Zhuhai sociolinguistic phenomenon. An analysis from the language policy perspective reveals how the linguistic landscape has been interpreted from diversified dimensions as both a concept and a practice. The study evinces that the different target tourists and the various functions of facilities are two influential factors in the advancement of Zhuhai’s English signage.
Highlights
1 As a considerable area of sociolinguistic research, linguistic landscape (LL) is a topic that has received increased interest in recent years
Though some previous studies have confirmed that LL is beneficial in assisting linguists’ research of multicultural context in Western countries and Hong Kong, empirical studies on the public use of English in mainland China is fairly limited, and seldom researchers currently utilized the theories of LL to investigate the use of English as a foreign language in mainland China (Cheung, 2018; Raos, 2018; Song, 2019)
As a developed city located on the west bank of Pearl River Delta, over the past four decades, to cater to the needs of foreign investors, the government of Zhuhai has gradually formulated their language policy to promote the use of English signs in public places
Summary
Though some previous studies have confirmed that LL is beneficial in assisting linguists’ research of multicultural context in Western countries and Hong Kong, empirical studies on the public use of English in mainland China is fairly limited, and seldom researchers currently utilized the theories of LL to investigate the use of English as a foreign language in mainland China (Cheung, 2018; Raos, 2018; Song, 2019). As a developed city located on the west bank of Pearl River Delta, over the past four decades, to cater to the needs of foreign investors, the government of Zhuhai has gradually formulated their language policy to promote the use of English signs in public places. By combining analysis of social and commercial settings in Zhuhai and investigating Zhuhai’s Chinese and English bilingual signs, this current project attempts to increase our understanding of the use of English in mainland China
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