[Linganth] AAA 2015 session: Linguistic Landscapes

[Strand, Thea]

Hi everyone,

We are putting together a AAA panel on ethnographic approaches to linguistic landscapes. A brief draft proposal is included below. Please let us know as soon as possible if you are interested in participating.

Thanks,

Thea Strand (Loyola University Chicago)
Michael Wroblewski (Grand Valley State University)



Interpreting Linguistic Landscapes: Familiar and Strange(r) Perspectives



A focus on linguistic landscapes - visual representations of language in public space - has emerged as an important theme in contemporary discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, and linguistic anthropology, with particular attention paid to multilingualism and diversity in urban signage (Landry & Bourhis 1997, Shohamy & Gorter 2008, Shohamy et al. 2010, Leeman & Modan 2009, Blommaert 2013). This panel contributes to the critical study of linguistic landscapes through ethnographically grounded analyses that emphasize not only diversity in visual linguistic representations, but also diversity in the interpretation of linguistic landscapes. Emphasizing that linguistic landscapes are understood differently by different kinds of social actors, we aim to consider, on the one hand, how those responsible for the creation and deployment of material manifestations of language understand their productions, and, on the other, how these signs are read and engaged by a diverse public, which is likely to include people who have varying degrees of familiarity with the language(s) represented, and who see a wide range of meanings in even a single sign. Moreover, we seek to expand the study of linguistic landscapes beyond densely populated urban centers, including analyses of written language in the public spaces of small towns, villages, and rural areas, which constitute a notable gap in the literature to date.


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Thea R. Strand, Ph.D.
Lecturer
Department of Anthropology
Loyola University Chicago
1032 W. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, IL 60660
USA
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