Linguistic Landscape: A New Approach to Multilingualism

Language is all around us as it is displayed in texts on shop windows, commercial signs, posters, official notices, etc. Given a multitude of languages there, it does not come as a surprise that an increasing number of researchers have taken a closer look at languages on signs in the public space. The book reports on studies of the linguistic landscape in cities in countries around the globe: Israel, Japan, Thailand, the Netherlands (Friesland) and Spain (the Basque Country). Their cultural, socio-economic and political circumstances are very divergent. Multimillion cities are included such as Bangkok and Tokyo, but also smaller cities such as Ljouwert-Leeuwarden and Donostia-San Sebastian. Multilingualism turns out to be an important dimension of the linguistic landscape everywhere, as well as the reflection of the process of globalisation, visible through the use of English. The study of the linguistic landscape is applied here as a means to increase our understanding of multilingualism and future directions are outlined.