Linguistic Landscape Research Articles

Körtvélyes község nyelvi tájképének és a lakosság helynévismeretének kapcsolata

The Relationship Between the Linguistic Landscape of the Village of Körtvélyes (Hrušov) and the Knowledge of Local Place-Names by the Population My thesis is in line with my previous research, which focuses on the linguistic landscape and the name semiotic landscape, bilingualism and place-name research and its utility. The present paper is also based on this theme, and aims to present one aspect of the research conducted in a selected village in the Rožňava district. In the literature review, I will therefore discuss the above-mentioned concepts, explaining them in order to make the results more interpretable. I will then describe the location of the research, Hrušov, and the methods used in the research. The aspect on the basis of which I will examine this research in this paper is the relationship between linguistic landscape, bilingualism and knowledge of place-names. Thus, in presenting the results, I will describe the possible relationship between the name semiotic landscape, bilingualism, and knowledge and use of place names. n the conclusion, I would like to point out the importance of the name semiotic landscape and the importance of preserving Hungarian place-names.

Artificial Intelligence and Linguistic Landscape research

Abstract This article explores applications of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in Linguistic Landscape research. Traditionally, LL research has relied on manual data collection and analysis, often involving photographs of public signage, advertisements, and other visual language displays. However, this manual approach can present challenges, including time-consuming data collection, inconsistent data quality, and potential researcher bias. Two AI technologies in particular hold promise for addressing these challenges in LL research: computer vision (CV) and large language models (LLMs). CV automates the identification and extraction of text from images, improving data accuracy and enabling large-scale image analysis. LLMs, based on natural language processing, can detect, translate, and interpret multilingual text. This article explores the affordances and challenges of using AI technologies in LL research and discusses methods to improve data collection, enhance accuracy, and support the analysis of multilingual environments. It also raises ethical issues and limitations of the technologies.

‘Happy Loong Year”: translating festive language into English in Shantou’s coffee shops

ABSTRACT Temporal markers provide unique opportunities for a community to revisit traditions, construct identity, and negotiate solidarity. The linguistic landscape (LL) encapsulating the celebration of the Chinese New Year, a momentous festival for both the Chinese community and people worldwide, presents a distinctive avenue for exploring the contestation and negotiation of diverse values and viewpoints in envisioning the future in the public sphere. The paper investigates the use of multilingual and multimodal resources to commemorate the Chinese New Year in Shantou’s coffee shops, revealing a diverse textual and visual narrative of celebration. In this process, socially constructed linguistic borders dissolve, facilitating the meshing and fusion of languages and enabling the reimagination, reinterpretation, and rewriting of the New Year. The juxtaposition of elements in differing linguistic and semiotic repertoires opens a dialogue, wherein values and traditions associated with the New Year are negotiated and reconstructed within the context of the evolving social attitudes and beliefs in post-pandemic Shantou.

What's left when a language recedes? Belonging and place-making in the linguistic landscape of Hancock, Michigan

Our study examines how meanings related to Finnishness are reflected in the linguistic landscape of Hancock, Michigan, a small town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Centering on Benedict Anderson’s (1983/2003) concept, imagined communities, we investigate how discursive strategies in public spaces index belonging and place-making. The social correlates that underpin this reimagining affect ways of understanding larger sociocultural meanings about identity, place, and language use (Cornips & de Rooij 2015; Blommaert 2013; Bucholtz & Hall 2004; Leeman & Modan 2009). We aim to answer three questions: 1) how is Finnishness discursively indexed in Hancock’s linguistic landscape?; 2) how are meanings represented as recognizable and valued?; and 3) what are the ideological effects of the discursive practices and related meanings? Our analysis demonstrates that both linguistic and metalinguistic practices are abundant in Hancock. The ideological effects of Finnishness in the landscape reinforce values of Finnish identity and language, while simultaneously erasing (Gal & Irvine 2000) languages and identities of other residents, past and present. The collective discursive practices function ideologically to affect belonging and place-making.

The expropriation of Arabic from Arab-Palestinians: On Arabic and coloniality in the Israeli academic sphere

Referring to three topics – (1) the place of Arabic in the Israeli public academic sphere, (2) the pedagogy of the teaching of Arabic in Israeli universities and (3) the use of Arabic as an academic language (discussion and research, academic writing, academic sources) – this paper will study the field of Arabic in Israeli universities as a direct outcome of the power relations in the country, crystallized over the years between the indigenous Palestinian population and the mostly European-oriented Jewish-Zionist decision-makers, thinkers and scholars. Following we will relate to settlercolonial elements in the Zionist project in order to explain the process of inferiorization of Arabic in the Israeli academic sphere, and the way its study was created through prioritizing Western methods that by and large exclude the Arab-Palestinian society and that have made members of this society uninfluential even in the study and research of its own language and culture. These ways included the preference of Western philology (‘grammar translation’) on direct methods (such as ‘immersion’ or ‘direct teaching’), the decision to teach Arabic in Hebrew, the pattern of discussing Arabic literature in Hebrew, the preference Hebrew-led linguistic landscape, and more.

Normativity in the embedded language policy of the Beijing subway’s spatial expression

ABSTRACT Public space plays a pivotal role in translating language policy into real-world practice. This study is grounded in empirical data collected through ethnographic fieldwork and semi-structured interviews from the Beijing Subway Line 1, which is typical of the normativity of a public space. The findings indicate that the linguistic landscape (LL) serves as a tangible representation of the inherent normativity within the subway space. Language policy implemented in the subway LL is achieved through hierarchical, process and result intervention. Hierarchical intervention addresses the synchronic stratification of normativity represented by the subway LL and its evolving connotation over time. Regarding process intervention, the subway LL utilizes two approaches to express normativity: the unity of semiotic features and indirect speech acts. Result intervention means that passengers perceive the normative representations of LL as knowledge and transform de facto language policies into experience. These intervention methods illuminate the intricate mechanism of language policy embedding in the normative representation of the LL within subway space. The harmonization of language policy with the LL, subway space, and passenger behavior collectively shapes the subway into a vital transportation hub.

Language policy and linguistic landscapes in the internationalization of a non-Anglophone university

PurposeInternationalization strategies that have been issued for a decade affect non-Anglophone higher education institutions (HEIs) in the clash of importance in preserving national language or using international languages. One of the observable objects of this dilemma is the inconsistent language display of universities’ public signages as a linguistic landscape (LL). To address these issues, the presence of language policy is urgent unless the preservation of the national language is no longer the responsibility of HEIs. However, rigorous discussion about language policy in non-Anglophone HEIs remains limited. This study aims to address the gap by providing a critical analysis of the existing language policy documents in an Indonesian higher education institution that has a multilingual environment and its effect on the LL.Design/methodology/approachThis case study used document analysis and LL analysis. The setting was an Islamic university in Indonesia that represents the trial importance of building religious identity, preserving the national language and engaging with international demands. The data were collected from National Law Enforcement websites, which provided various national policy documents and the institutional documents that were retrieved from the university website by using the document analysis method by Bowen (2009). The secondary data were 216 visual images of public signage in an Islamic university in Indonesia as the representation of multilingual phenomena. The additional data were gathered from a pilot interview with a lecturer and a student.FindingsThis study found that both the national government and institutional administration in Indonesia do not have a language policy that regulates LLs or language preferences in public places for HEIs. The university tends to solely refer to international accreditation policy by using either bilingual English-Indonesian or monolingual English in the public signage. However, the limited use of the Arabic language in specific venues such as mosques and musallas shows that Arabic serves neither as symbolic identity nor communicative functions.Research limitations/implicationsThis study sets a single case study in an Islamic university, and the policy documents were limited to the Indonesian Government and institutions as the representation of non-Anglophone countries. Further studies are expected to have a bigger and larger size of data and settings.Practical implicationsThis study implies that non-Anglophone countries’ governments should start to design and enforce a language policy that preserves national language and facilitates major national and international language communities, such as Thai, Arabic, Javanese and Malay, without being absent in international competitive labeling. A practical implication for religion-based and cultural-based universities is that the function of their Holy Book or local languages can be used as communicative functions to strengthen the religious and local identity.Social implicationsThis study implies that non-Anglophone countries’ governments should start to design and enforce a language policy that preserves their national language without being absent in international competitive labeling.Originality/valueGiven the fact that there is limited awareness to bring the discussion about LL patterns into language policy issues in non-Anglophone countries, this study was originally conducted as a case study to pilot the discussion about the absence of language policy as represented through LLs in Indonesia. This case study was brought up as a pilot discussion to urge non-Anglophone countries lawmakers to issue language policy at the university level. This message is meant to respond to internationalization programs that can potentially jeopardize the existence of the linguistic and cultural diversity of non-Anglophone countries.

English passing off as Thai in twenty-first century Thai linguistic landscape

ABSTRACT With deepening globalisation and increased people-to-people contact, English is becoming more relevant in Thailand, which boasts a sizable expat community and tourists from around the world. While various scholars have explored the more overt, explicit, and obvious aspect of English glocalised in the Thai context (e.g. expressions such as ‘same same but different’), the more implicit, covert and hidden aspect has rarely been examined, that is, how the all-powerful English becomes disguised in the Thai script and becomes taken for granted and even passes off as ‘local’ in various settings in an inter-scriptal manner. In a context of change, linguistic landscape represents an important venue to observe the development and evolution of English in action. Drawing on authentic real-world data taken from Thailand’s linguistic landscape, this study points to the pervasive nature of English being disguised, through transliteration, in the Thai script in Thailand’s twenty-first century linguistic ecology. Beyond discussing the reasons and ideologies behind this interesting hybridised variety, this study also attempts to document the phonological changes and phonetic features exhibited when English is glocalised and (re)contextualised in the distant and seemingly incompatible Thai script, which symbolises a vastly different sociocultural and religious identity.

Madrid’s linguistic landscape: languages and cultural allusions in the Vista Alegre neighbourhood

ABSTRACT The linguistic landscape of Vista Alegre, a multicultural migrant neighbourhood in Madrid, was analysed to explore the interplay between language use, public spaces, and societal dynamics. By examining 137 non-official signs geolocated in linguistic cartography, the study aimed to identify the languages employed and the strategies of certain communities to make themselves visible. Spanish emerged as the predominant language, followed by English, while Chinese, Romanian, Arabic, and Italian collectively accounted for less than 10% of the sample, indicating a broad linguistic diversity not directly correlated with the resident population's linguistic composition. Regarding strategies, nearly half of the signs displayed semiotic strategies such as personal and family names, geographic references, and flags. Notably, nationalities such as Chinese and Romanian do not leverage the linguistic landscape for identity expression, in contrast to Honduran, Colombian, Ecuadorian, and Venezuelan communities, which use it to render themselves visible. The term ‘Latino’ is prominently presented to foster a collective identity among various nationalities. This linguistic landscape analysis underscores that in the ethnolinguistic vitality of Vista Alegre, national visibility is made apparent through the choice of language along with cultural and geographical references that will help negotiate identities.

Demystifying multilingual LIS journals in Scopus: Languages, coverage, metrics, and implications

This study aimed to investigate the languages, countries, geographic distribution, and commonly used journal metrics of multilingual Library and Information Science (LIS) journals indexed in Scopus. The Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) portal was used as a proxy for Scopus-indexed LIS journals. Through examination of the homepages of 249 LIS journals listed in SJR, 42 multilingual LIS journals were identified. For this study, multilingual journals were defined as those publishing in a combination of English and other languages. The findings revealed that although English-only journals have historically dominated the field, a significant number of multilingual journals have been indexed in Scopus over the past two decades. The 42 identified multilingual journals span 25 countries and encompass 18 languages, reflecting a diverse linguistic landscape in LIS scholarship. Notably, 67% are Open Access (OA) and affiliated with major publishers, including university presses. Spain and Brazil emerge as key players, accounting for 27% of all identified multilingual journals, highlighting the importance of their regional languages in LIS scholarship. However, the study also uncovered disparities in journal metrics and rankings, with multilingual journals consistently scoring lower than their English-only counterparts. Despite efforts to include regional and local journals in major databases, these results underscore the persistent challenges multilingual publications face in achieving and maintaining Scopus indexing.

Benidorm’s linguistic landscape: unveiling the multifaceted tapestry of urban expression

ABSTRACT The study of linguistic landscapes offers a captivating and nuanced avenue for understanding the intricate interplay among language, culture, and urban environments. The influence of mass tourism in Benidorm, a vibrant city within the Valencian region, has left an indelible mark on its linguistic landscape, offering a testament to the transformations brought about by the tourism industry. In addition, the coexistence of autochthonous minority languages within this city presents a complex and often precarious situation, where the tensions between cultural preservation and economic prosperity come to the fore. Through our own field methodology, and under the theoretical framework of the Critical Discourse Theory, we will analyse in depth the different aspects of the linguistic landscape of Benidorm, showing the challenges that the city faces to maintain coexistence between all the different languages that populate its streets and that make up a unique linguistic landscape.

Advancing AI-Driven Linguistic Analysis: Developing and Annotating Comprehensive Arabic Dialect Corpora for Gulf Countries and Saudi Arabia

This study harnesses the linguistic diversity of Arabic dialects to create two expansive corpora from X (formerly Twitter). The Gulf Arabic Corpus (GAC-6) includes around 1.7 million tweets from six Gulf countries—Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain—capturing a wide range of linguistic variations. The Saudi Dialect Corpus (SDC-5) comprises 790,000 tweets, offering in-depth insights into five major regional dialects of Saudi Arabia: Hijazi, Najdi, Southern, Northern, and Eastern, reflecting the complex linguistic landscape of the region. Both corpora are thoroughly annotated with dialect-specific seed words and geolocation data, achieving high levels of accuracy, as indicated by Cohen’s Kappa scores of 0.78 for GAC-6 and 0.90 for SDC-5. The annotation process leverages AI-driven techniques, including machine learning algorithms for automated dialect recognition and feature extraction, to enhance the granularity and precision of the data. These resources significantly contribute to the field of Arabic dialectology and facilitate the development of AI algorithms for linguistic data analysis, enhancing AI system design and efficiency. The data provided by this research are crucial for advancing AI methodologies, supporting diverse applications in the realm of next-generation AI technologies.

Ethnic identity construction through multimodal linguistic landscape at Ban Arunotai in Thailand

ABSTRACT Thailand is a country where ethnic diversity and multilingualism are deeply embedded in the cultural landscape, and understanding the construction of ethnic identity provides crucial insights into its social dynamics. This study investigates how ethnic identities are constructed and negotiated through multimodal resources within the linguistic landscape of Ban Arunotai, a multiethnic village in Chiang Mai. Utilizing a comprehensive multimodal framework, the research analyzes how public signage combines linguistic, visual, auditory, and spatial elements to articulate and reshape identity. The findings reveal a hierarchical structure of languages and modes, where dominant languages are visually prioritized, while minority languages serve more localized, symbolic functions. Moreover, a shift from static, monolingual systems to fluid, multilingual repertoires among speakers reflects broader sociocultural changes shaped by translanguaging practices. By framing public signs as dynamic resources in the active formation and reinforcement of ethnic identities, this study offers significant implications for understanding identity politics and social integration in multilingual settings.

Visibilità e vitalità delle lingue. Un’analisi linguistica del greko di Calabria attraverso la lente del Linguistic Landscape

This paper analyzes the Linguistic Landscape of Bova Superiore, a small village in southern Calabria where Italo-Greek (Greko) is still spoken. Place-naming practices are considered communicative acts, and the linguistic signs inserted in the public space highlight the richness of the linguistic heritage of communities and contribute to the symbolic construction of collective identities. Through a mapping of the contact between the languages that characterize the Linguistic Landscape of Bova Superiore, the present study aims to fill a knowledge gap by stimulating a reflection on the degree of visibility and vitality of Greko.

Materialization of spatial identity in Slavonia and Baranja’s linguistic landscape changes

The linguistic landscape is an essential aspect of determining how language materializes in our surroundings. It is especially important in multilingual communities, as it reflects their identity. The linguistic landscape changes over time due to various factors, such as changes in politics, economics, and the national minority population. Study aims to explore how language manifested in the cultural landscape of Slavonia and Baranja, how it changed over time. Linguistic signs can also reflect the spatial identity of the population in the investigated periods (and its changes). Research compares the linguistic landscape of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries with the contemporary period. We used old postcards as sources for the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and conducted fieldwork for the modern period. The research involved analysing a vast corpus of linguistic signs in the cultural landscape. Research showed that the linguistic landscape, both in the past and present, is visible through various inscriptions on shops, craft stores, state institutions, and street names. Official inscriptions on public institutions in Croatia are written in the Croatian language, and in ethnically diverse areas, these inscriptions are bilingual, but not to the extent allowed by the Croatian Constitution. Homogeneity or heterogeneity of the linguistic landscape users determines its appearance. Croatian is the primary language in most of inscriptions. However, the status and dominance of other languages have changed, depending on the complex political and linguistic past of the region. The study has confirmed that the linguistic landscape reflects both the spatial identity as well as the heterogeneity and multilingualism of the linguistic landscape in urban and rural areas.

Linguistic landscape in George Town, Malaysia: Language visibility in a postcolonial and globalized context

The visibility of languages in the linguistic landscape reflects various aspects of linguistic diversity and dynamics in a given territory, signifying social interactions, identities, and power relationships among ethnic groups. However, postcolonial acontexts with widespread use of ethnic minority languages and the coexistence of state-sponsored national languages with precolonial official languages in the era of globalization have received limited research. This paper investigates the visibility of language in three neighbourhoods in George Town, Malaysia, a former administrative city under British governance, focusing on language visibility within three distinct neighborhoods: Chinatown, Little India, and the Beach Street. The study reveals a complex interplay of languages, highlighting the predominance of English as an information carrier and a symbol of modernity, alongside the increasing prominence of Chinese and the lesser visibility of Tamil and underrepresentation of other minority languages. The research underscores the ethnic boundaries between the vibrant enclaves of Little India and Chinatown, while Beach Street serves as a multicultural space reflecting a blend of local and global influences.

The Role of Language in Forming Identity Crisis in Belgaum District of India

The Belgaum District in India provides a unique case study of phonetic and identity challenges. This area, characterized by its diverse linguistic landscape, is marked by significant cultural and political tensions rooted in language differences. The Marathi-Kannada linguistic divide has been a central issue, affecting the socio-political dynamics and identity of its residents. This paper explores the historical, cultural, and political factors contributing to the ongoing conflict and investigates the pivotal role of language in shaping the identity crisis in Belgaum District. By analysing the relationship between language, regional identity, and socio-political movements, the study highlights the broader implications for regional unity and identity development, emphasizing the role of language in forming group identities and the challenges posed by linguistic diversity in building a cohesive regional identity.

Accurate minority Language Representation in the Public Space: the case of Arabic in Israel

ABSTRACT Although Arabic is the native language of a fifth of the Israeli population, its representation in the Israeli linguistic landscape (LL) is problematic. Adopting a sociolinguistic framework that underscores the political nature of language (Ben-Rafael 2009), this study invited Palestinian-Israeli college students to reflect on the linguistic reality in their area through the participatory documentary photography tool ‘PhotoVoice’. The students captured photos of linguistic landscapes, analysed them, and wrote commentaries voicing their reflections. Students ‘PhotoVoices’ shed light on the abundance of mistakes in Arabic words on the signs. Content analysis of the ‘PhotoVoices’ on this issue highlighted students’ cognitive and emotional perceptions and emerging awareness of the explicit and implicit messages delivered through the signage.

‘Dear guest, pay for your language’. How accommodation rating and ownership effect language presence on the Online Linguistic Landscape

Abstract The present paper draws on the concept of Online Linguistic Landscape (Kallen, Ní Dhonnacha & Wade, 2020) to explore code preference on hospitality websites at international tourist destinations. The analysis of a purpose-made database comprising the websites of all 254 accommodation establishments in Palma (Mallorca, Spain) reveals that although major tourist markets condition code presence on websites, the wide array of languages displayed does not correspond to the narrower catalogue of visiting nationalities. Beyond the strictly informative, websites have become effective promotion and sales tools, and marketability derived from vogue associations may mean that a language is listed on a website, even when other, more frequent guest languages are not. The scant online presence of Catalan, the autochthonous language of Mallorca, illustrates how, in mass tourism environments, minority languages are at the crossroads of succumbing to the demands of the market or submitting to processes of commodification of uncertain outcome.

Machine Translation and NLP Tools: Developing and Refining Language Technologies for African Languages

Machine Translation (MT) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools have significantly evolved over the past few decades, leading to notable advancements in the field of language technology. However, most of these developments have been concentrated on languages with abundant data, such as English, Chinese, and European languages. African languages, with their unique linguistic structures and vocabularies, remain underrepresented in the MT and NLP landscape (Joshi et al., 2020). This article explores the challenges and opportunities in creating and refining machine translation models and NLP tools tailored to the unique structures of African languages. It discusses the specific linguistic features that set African languages apart, reviews the current state of MT and NLP tools for these languages, and outlines strategies for developing more effective models that cater to the diverse linguistic landscape of Africa.