Minority Languages in the Linguistic Landscape pp 263-280 | Cite as
Discourse Coalitions For and Against Minority Languages on Signs: Linguistic Landscape as a Social Issue
Abstract
Everyday passers-by, regular residents, as well as municipal officers may have a mental image and a set of discourses about the multilingualism of a linguistic landscape (LL) of their city which can be quite different from what scholars working with LL would ‘see’ and think. That is why we undertook our investigations about the perception of the linguistic landscape and wanted to shed light on how discourses on this perception can be instructive about social issues in the lives of urban residents. We hypothesized that the presence of a minority community in a town will engender discussion about the identification of this community (both from the inside and the outside) and about the perceived value of this community, its language, its customs or its culture. In order to trigger discussion and discourse data to analyse, we used people’s perception about LL as our departure point. Hence, elicited and naturally occurring oral and written data were collected on people’s opinions about local LL in four multilingual European locations with important minority communities. The analysis which follows documents our attempt at providing another snapshot of how LL and minority languages (and their speakers) shape each other.
Keywords
Language Policy Minority Language Public Sign Minority Community Core BeliefPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
- Backhaus, P. (2007) Linguistic Landscapes. A Comparative Study of Urban Multilingualism in Tokyo. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
- Boudreau, A. and L. Dubois (2005) ‘L’affichage à Moncton. Mirroir ou masque?’ Revue de l’université de Moncton, 36, 1, 185–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Bowen Committee (1972) Bilingual Traffic Signs. Arwyddion Ffyrdd Dwyieithog. Report of the Committee of Inquiry under the Chairmanship of Roderic Bowen. Cardiff: HMSO.Google Scholar
- Cenoz, J. and D. Gorter (2006) ‘Linguistic landscape and minority languages’. In D. Gorter (ed.) Linguistic Landscape. A New Approach to Multilingualism. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
- Dal Negro, S. (2009) ‘Local policy modeling the linguistic landscape’. In E. Shohamy and D. Gorter (eds) Linguistic Landscape. Expanding the Scenery. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Fischer, F. (2003) Reframing Public Policy: Discursive Politics and Deliberative Practices. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Gee, J. P. (2005) An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method. Milton Park: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Gorter, D. (2006) ‘Introduction: The study of the linguistic landscape as a new approach to multilingualism’. In D. Gorter (ed.) Linguistic Landscape: A New Approach to Multilingualism. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
- Hajer, M. A. (1993) ‘Discourse coalitions and the institutionalization of practice: The case of acid rain in Britain’. In F. Fischer and J. Forester (eds) The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning. Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
- Huebner, T. (2006) ‘Bangkok’s linguistic landscapes: Environmental print, code-mixing and language change’. In D. Gorter (ed.) Linguistic Landscape: A New Approach to Multilingualism. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
- Kübler, D. (2001) ‘Understanding policy change with the advocacy coalitions framework: An application to Swiss drug policy’. Journal of European Public Policy, 8, 4, 623–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Malinowski, D. (2009) ‘Authorship in the linguistic landscape: A multiperformative view’. In E. Shohamy and D. Gorter (eds) Linguistic Landscape: Expanding the Scenery. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Sabatier, P. A. and H. C. Jenkins-Smith (1993) Policy Change and Learning: An Advocacy Coalition Approach. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
- Sabatier, P. A. and H. C. Jenkins-Smith (1999) ‘The advocacy coalition framework: An assessment’. In P. A. Sabatier (ed.) Theories of the Policy Process. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
- Sabatier, P. A. and C. M. Weible (2007) ‘The advocacy coalition framework: Innovations and clarifications’. In P. A. Sabatier (ed.) Theories of the Policy Process (2nd edition). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
- Scollon, R. and S. Scollon (2003) Discourses in places: Language in the material world. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Shohamy, E. and S. Waksman (2009) ‘Linguistic landscape as an ecological arena: Modalities, meanings, negotiations, education’. In E. Shohamy and D. Gorter (eds), Linguistic Landscape: Expanding the Scenery. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Sloboda, M. (2009a) ‘State ideology and linguistic landscape: A comparative analysis of (Post)Communist Belarus, Czech Republic and Slovakia’. In E. Shohamy and D. Gorter (eds) Linguistic Landscape; Expanding the Scenery. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Sloboda, M. (2009b) Language Management in the Linguistic Landscapes of Multilingual Cities. Linee WP6a research report.Google Scholar
- Statut Istarske županije [Statute of the Istrian County] (2009) Služene novine Istarske županije 10/2009, available at http://www.istra-istria.hr/index.php?id=63, (accessed on 20 September 2011).
- Van Dijk, T. A. (2003) ‘Critical discourse analysis’. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen and H. Ehernberger Hamilton (eds) The Handbook of Discourse Analysis. Malden: Blackwell.Google Scholar
- Weible, C. M. (2007) ‘An advocacy coalition framework approach to stakeholder analysis: Understanding the political context of California marine protected area policy’. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 17, 95–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar