Linguistic Landscape - Volume 11, Issue 4, 2025

Abstract

In the era of mass tourism and increasing interest in the Nordic countries, the Faroe Islands have become recognised as a popular tourist destination. Aside from its economic benefits, tourism has, however, caused new challenges to the Faroe Islands and has been subject to political debate for many years. This article examines how (mass) tourism is manifested in the Linguistic Landscape of five popular tourist locations on the Faroe Islands. The study suggests that tourism is manifested very differently when comparing urban and rural locations, especially regarding the frequency of English signage and the percentage of regulative signs. In rural locations in particular, local residents constituted central actors of the tourism industry, with the agency to both accommodate and challenge tourism, which is illustrative of tourism’s paradoxical nature of being both beneficial and disruptive.

Abstract

This study is framed by nexus analysis and utilizes a photo-elicitation task as part of ethnographic interviews to explore community perspectives on practices and authorship in the Linguistic Landscape (LL) of Honolulu Chinatown. A single wall site, the Wo Fat Building’s street-facing walls, is the focus as nexus point and sample of the neighborhood’s LL. By utilizing texts from these walls to elicit perspectives from diverse community participants, this research aims to understand the heritage identity of Chinatown as well as its acceptance and integration into Oahu Island society as an immigrant ethnic place in Hawaiian space. This study is backdropped by Hawaiian indigenous history of colonization and ongoing concerns over indigenous people’s loss of heritage place, language, and history.

Abstract

This study employs Critical Language Policy theory (Tollefson, 2005) and a Linguistic Landscapes methodology to explore a transportation agency’s commitment to representing Spanish on public transportation in a major US metropolitan city. The research contrasts representation in digital spaces, such as the transportation agency’s website and telephone hotline, with in situ spaces, including the bus and metro lines. It also evaluates visual and auditory means of presenting information and explores which specific themes are represented in English, Spanish, or bilingually. Findings reveal clear disparities between representations of Spanish in digital and in situ public transportation spaces. While digital spaces appear to fulfill the commitment to linguistic representation, the data in situ tell a different story. These discrepancies place individuals with limited or no proficiency in English at a disadvantage, requiring additional resources to obtain equal access to this public service.

Abstract

This study examines the semiotic realizations of Spanglish in relation to social, political, and cultural formations, analyzing the legitimation process in which a sign maker may (or may not) capitalize on symbolic production. Data gathered between 2021 and 2024 from South Philadelphia’s Linguistic Landscape reveals a biased vindication of Spanglish through both institutionalized and non-institutionalized productions within the local linguistic market. These displays provide evidence of shifting symbolic capital, allowing privileged sectors to profit from the Spanglish signifier. Cultural ‘otherness’ appears to be negotiated by legitimizing agents and mechanisms enacted through popular culture, such as local marketing strategies and/or institutional communication aimed at Spanish/English-speaking populations. This suggests a process of objectifying Spanglish as a reification of ‘Latinness.’ These glocal processes interact with macrostructures found in academic debates and public opinion, positioning Spanglish as a commodity accessible only to the privileged within mainstream culture.

This article reviews Political Activism in the Linguistic Landscape. Or, How to Use Public Space as a Medium for Protest9781800416826€ 46.95

This article reviews Linguistic Landscapes in Language and Teacher Education: Multilingual Teaching and Learning Inside and Beyond the Classroom978-3-031-22867-4€ 117.69