The revived street names of Piliscsév

Abstract

Abstract The characteristics of linguistic landscape are significantly impacted by the legal status of a language in question. Not all Slovak settlements in Hungary equally exploit the opportunities provided by law. Public space is a constantly transforming phenomenon which is in continuous motion; therefore, research in linguistic landscape always reflects a certain state or moment. Signboards and street signs appearing in the public space, the objects of our study, reveal a great deal of the linguistic dominance of a particular milieu, Piliscsév in this case. In case of bilingual street names, the most dominant practice is the Hungarian-Slovak bilingualism; thus, in most cases Hungarian signs are determining. Concerning the visual representation of street signs in Piliscsév, we have observed an interesting phenomenon which is unique and untraditional in the Slovak community in Hungary. The visual presence of Slovak language in street names indicates not only the representation of the ethnic language but also the local and ethnic bonds of the town.