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Abstract

This study examines how dental practitioners in El-Eulma, Algeria, construct professional identities while navigating, and in some cases strategically resisting, language policy constraints through calculated risk-taking. Despite mandatory Arabic signage, 34 of 113 clinics (30.1%) use English in names, displaying varying degrees of legal compliance and regulatory risk. Employing an interpretivist approach, this qualitative research combines linguistic landscape analysis with interviews of all English-adopting practitioners, 30 patients, and one expert practitioner. English functions as symbolic capital, supporting five differentiation strategies: personal identity markers (41.2%), aesthetic promises (32.4%), quality positioning (17.6%), professional advancement (8.8%), and modernity signalling (5.9%). Female practitioners are overrepresented (70.6%), reflecting nuanced resistance. The study introduces the versus framework, advancing linguistic landscape theory for policy-constrained contexts. Findings reveal — deployment of symbolic resources within institutional bounds. While Arabic dominates clinical communication, younger patients link English to international standards, creating generational stratification. The expert case shows adaptive compliance: Arabic signage with English inside, framing agency as strategic resistance.

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/content/journals/10.1075/lplp.25050.ghe
2026-05-05
2026-05-11

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/content/journals/10.1075/lplp.25050.ghe
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Breaking the sign code
John Benjamins ; https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.25050.ghe
/content/journals/10.1075/lplp.25050.ghe
/content/journals/10.1075/lplp.25050.ghe
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: regulatory semiotics ; professional identity construction ; multilingual healthcare ; Algeria ; language policy resistance

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