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Article published In: Linguistic Landscape
Vol. 4:1 (2018) ► pp.1–28

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Emplacing hate

Turbulent graffscapes and linguistic violence in post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina

 | The University of Bern
Published online: 26 March 2018
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.17011.bil
Abstract
In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the 1992–1995 war is the foundation on which its citizens are building their future. Contested spaces marked by violence are (re)created by means of graffiti frequently conveying locally hegemonic (re)narrations of legitimacy and attestation. Following the lead of scholars like Wee, L. (2016). Situating affect in linguistic landscapes. Linguistic Landscape, 2(2): 105–126. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, Stroud, C. (2016). Turbulent Linguistic Landscapes and the Semiotics of Citizenship. In R. Blackwood, E. Lanza & H. Woldemariam (Eds.), Negotiating and Contesting Identities in Linguistic Landscapes (pp. 3–18). London, New York: Bloomsburry.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, Rubdy, R. & Ben Said, S. (Eds.). (2015). Conflict, exclusion and dissent in the linguistic landscape. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, this paper scrutinizes how the ongoing struggles of Bosnia-Herzegovina are constituted and sustained through/in the intersection of language and space. The first set of analysed graffiti is taken from an online database and the second is collected during fieldwork in areas where territorial status is especially fraught. I offer a three-part analysis of the key ways explicitly partisan and sometimes intimidating messages are realized through the subtle interplay of semiotic and spatial resources. Turbulent graffscapes (Stroud, C. (2016). Turbulent Linguistic Landscapes and the Semiotics of Citizenship. In R. Blackwood, E. Lanza & H. Woldemariam (Eds.), Negotiating and Contesting Identities in Linguistic Landscapes (pp. 3–18). London, New York: Bloomsburry.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) of Bosnia-Herzegovina are materializations of linguistic violence (Tirrell, L. (2012). Genocidal Language Game. In I. Maitra & M. K. McGowan (Eds.), Speech and Harm: Controversies Over Free Speech (pp. 174–221). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), generating hateful places which sustain and potentially deepen social tensions between ethnic groups.
Hrvatski
U Bosni i Hercegovini, ratni period 1992–1995 je osnov na kojem njeni građani temelje svoju budućnost. Kontestirani prostori obilježeni nasiljem su (re)kreirani kroz grafite koji često prenose lokalno hegemonijske (re)naracije o legitimnosti i ovjeravanju. Slijedom vodstva naučnika kao što su Wee, L. (2016). Situating affect in linguistic landscapes. Linguistic Landscape, 2(2): 105–126. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, Stroud, C. (2016). Turbulent Linguistic Landscapes and the Semiotics of Citizenship. In R. Blackwood, E. Lanza & H. Woldemariam (Eds.), Negotiating and Contesting Identities in Linguistic Landscapes (pp. 3–18). London, New York: Bloomsburry.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, te Rubdy, R. & Ben Said, S. (Eds.). (2015). Conflict, exclusion and dissent in the linguistic landscape. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, ovaj rad istražuje kako se trenutne borbe Bosne i Hercegovine konstituiraju i održavaju kroz/u raskrižje(u) jezika i prostora. Prva grupa analiziranih grafita je preuzeta iz internet baze podataka, dok je druga prikupljena tijekom terenskog rada u područjima gdje je teritorijalni status naročito problematičan. Rad prikazuje trodijelnu analizu ključnih načina na koji su eksplicitno pristrane i ponekad zastrašujuće poruke ostvarene kroz suptilnu interakciju semiotičkih i prostornih resursa. Turbulentni pejzaži grafita (Stroud, C. (2016). Turbulent Linguistic Landscapes and the Semiotics of Citizenship. In R. Blackwood, E. Lanza & H. Woldemariam (Eds.), Negotiating and Contesting Identities in Linguistic Landscapes (pp. 3–18). London, New York: Bloomsburry.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) Bosne i Hercegovine su materijalizacija lingvističkog nasilja (Tirrell, L. (2012). Genocidal Language Game. In I. Maitra & M. K. McGowan (Eds.), Speech and Harm: Controversies Over Free Speech (pp. 174–221). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), te stvaraju mjesta mržnje koja održavaju i potencijalno produbljuju društvene napetosti prisutne između etničkih skupina.
Article outline
  • 1.Setting the scene: The beginnings of violence
  • 2.Turbulent graffscapes: Moving beyond words and beyond “hate speech”
  • 3.Graffscapes and/as linguistic violence: Innerspaces, banal spaces, restricted spaces
    • a.The graffiti of innerspaces – Turf wars
    • b.Graffiti in banal spaces – Everyday provocations
    • c.Graffiti in restricted spaces – Bold incursions
  • 4.Conclusion: “The war is not over”
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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