Linguistic Landscape - Current Issue

Abstract

This article explores the construction of cultural identity and belonging through a case study of a young woman of Korean heritage, living in Australia, and her use of tattoos in claiming linguistic citizenship (Stroud, 2001, 2018; Stroud et al., 2020). The study uses the concept of skinscapes (Peck & Stroud, 2015; Peck & Williams, 2019; Roux et al., 2019) to analyse how she disrupts state-level, top-down notions of citizenship through semiotic claims to belonging, exemplified in tattoos that draw upon imagery that align with fluid notions of heritage and origin. Skinscapes in this study are shown to be material-discursive objects that are at once transformative and transgressive, allowing the bearer to make choice and agency the defining characteristics of a transpositional cultural identity (Li & Lee, 2024).

Abstract

This qualitative study examines three small business signs that use 夹壮 (jiāzhuàng) in the Linguistic Landscape of Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South China. Jiāzhuàng is a contact-induced language practice, meshing Putonghua (standard spoken Chinese) and Zhuàngyǔ (the officially recognized language of Guangxi’s Zhuang minority ethnic group). Adopting a lived landscape approach, this study captures and interprets photographic data of how jiāzhuàng fosters unconventional meaning-making as a semiotic device. The analysis demonstrates jiāzhuàng as linguistic processes of phonetic change and character swapping that create intentional misalignments between folk language use and what is perceived as standard. The discussion reveals that jiāzhuàng, emblematic of grassroots language planning, empowers individuals to author public signage that transgresses dominant language policies, serves as a tool for conciliatory meaning-making (e.g., sexual innuendo), and functions as a marketing strategy for small business at the periphery of the valorized urban marketplace.

Abstract

This study examines whether purpose-built mosques in Oslo, Stockholm, and Copenhagen are embedded within their local contexts or whether they rather display ties to transnational Islamic networks. To address this question, we draw on an exploratory theoretical framework that integrates territorialization theory, the field of semiotic landscapes, and critical toponymy and conceptualizes mosques as assemblages. The study demonstrates that analyzing toponyms, language use and language choices (both offline and online), religious transparency, and the presence and visibility of women in the semiotic landscape in addition to mosque architecture and visibility offers valuable insight into territorialization processes. Our aim is to evaluate the applicability of the proposed model, to deepen our understanding of purpose-built mosques in Scandinavia, and ultimately to provide a more comprehensive perspective on the role of language in territorialization processes.

Abstract

With globalization and localization, Linguistic Landscapes are gradually becoming more diverse while the emotional experience mechanisms of LLs with different functions increasingly vary. This study collects skin conductance and self-reported data from 165 tourists while they view LLs. The research explores the impact of font, practice subject (official or private), and emotional appeal on the LL, elucidating emotional response patterns from physiological and psychological perspectives. The findings reveal that symbolic LLs significantly enhance emotional pleasure and arousal, expanding the theoretical understanding of LLs. We contend that it is crucial to examine the design of LLs and the management of tourism experiences to inform the creation of favorable atmospheres, to improve the quality of tourism experiences, and to elicit stronger, more positive emotional responses from tourists.

This article reviews A Panorama of Linguistic Landscape Studies9781800417137£ 119.95 Hbk£ 39.95 Pbk

This article reviews Power, Affect, and Identity in the Linguistic Landscape: Chinese Communities in Australia and Beyond97810323410719781003320593£ 135.00£ 42.99