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Article published In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 43:3 (2020) ► pp.302–336

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A layered investigation of Chinese in the linguistic landscape

A case study of Box Hill, Melbourne

ORCiD logo with link | The University of Melbourne
ORCiD logo with link | The University of Melbourne
Published online: 19 March 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.18049.yao
Abstract
Increased attention to urban diversity as a site of study has fostered the recent development of linguistic landscape studies. To date, however, much of the research in this area has concerned the use and spread of English to the exclusion of other global languages. In a case study situated in Box Hill, a large suburb of Melbourne, we adopted a layered approach to investigate the role of Chinese language in Australia. Our data set consisted of hundreds of photographs of street signage in one square block area of the shopping district. Results of our analyses show that signage portrays a variety of code preferences and semiotic choices that in turn reveal insights into the identities, ideologies, and strategies that help to structure the urban environment. As demonstrated in our study, such complexity requires a renewed and situated understanding of key principles of linguistic landscape research (Ben-Rafael, E., & Ben-Rafael, M. (2015). Linguistic landscapes in an era of multiple globalizations. Linguistic Landscape, 1(1–2), 19–37. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar).
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Linguistic landscape research in superdiverse environments
  • 3.Researching the Chinese LL of Australia
  • 4.Towards a layered approach
    • 4.1Site of the study
    • 4.2Analytical procedures
  • 5.Quantitative analysis
    • 5.1Language combinations
    • 5.2Varieties of Chinese
    • 5.3Domains of signs
  • 6.Social semiotic analysis
    • 6.1Textual resources
    • 6.2Visual resources
    • 6.3Contextual resources
      • 6.3.1Inclusive strategies
      • 6.3.2Cultural connotations
  • 7.Discussion: Structuration of LL in the era of superdiversity
  • 8.Conclusion
  • References
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