Cover not available

Article published In: Linguistic Landscape
Vol. 6:3 (2020) ► pp.265–296

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

The linguistic landscape of Nuuk, Greenland

ORCiD logo with link | University College London | Uppsala University
 | University College London
Published online: 22 June 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.19010.val
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to present and analyse public and private signs in the Linguistic Landscape of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. Nuuk is a trilingual environment including the indigenous language (West Green-​landic), the former colonial language (Danish), and a global language (English). West Greenlandic is a somewhat unusual case among indigenous languages in colonial and postcolonial settings because it is a statutory national language with a vigorous use. Our analysis examines the use of West Greenlandic, Danish, and English from the theoretical perspective of centre vs. periphery, devoting attention to the primary audiences (local vs. international) and chief functions (informational vs. symbolic) of the signs. As the first investigation into the Greenlandic Linguistic Landscape, our analysis can contribute to research on signs in urban multilingual indigenous language settings.
Abstrakt
Formålet med denne artikel er at præsentere og analysere offentlige og private skilte i det sproglige landskab i Nuuk, Grønlands hovedstad. Nuuk er et tresproget miljø, herunder det oprindelige sprog (vestgrønlandsk), det tidligere kolonialsprog (dansk) og det globale sprog (engelsk). Vestgrønlandsk er et noget usædvanligt tilfælde blandt oprindelige sprog i koloniale og postkoloniale omgivelser, fordi det er et lovpligtigt nationalt sprog der er meget velfungerende. Vores analyse undersøger brugen af vestgrønlandsk, dansk og engelsk ud fra det teoretiske perspektiv af center vs. periferi, idet vi fokuserer på de primære målgrupper (lokale vs. internationale) og hovedfunktioner (informativ vs. symbolisk) af skiltene. Som den første undersøgelse af det grønlandske sproglige landskab kan vores analyse bidrage til forskning i skilte i byernes flersprogede oprindelige sproglige omgivelser.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Greenlandic language policy and sociolinguistic background
    • 1.2Short history of Nuuk
    • 1.3Theoretical framework and research questions
    • 1.4Methodology
  • 2.Analysis
    • 2.1West Greenlandic at the centre
      • 2.1.1Signs marking state institutions
      • 2.1.2Public information signs
      • 2.1.3Supermarket signs and product labels
      • 2.1.4Informal community-produced advertisements
      • 2.1.5Road signs
      • 2.1.6Traditional pub signs
    • 2.2Danish at the centre
      • 2.2.1Construction and home improvement signs
      • 2.2.2Public health and safety signs
      • 2.2.3TV station sign
    • 2.3English at the centre
      • 2.3.1International shipping
      • 2.3.2Local retail, restaurant, and services signs
      • 2.3.3Wall murals and graffiti
  • 3.Summary and conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (42)
References
BBC (2009). Row over ‘standard’ Hebrew signs. Retrieved on 8 August 2019, from [URL]
Ben-Rafael, E., Shohamy, E., Amara, M. H., & Trumper-Hecht, N. (2006). Linguistic landscape as symbolic construction of the public space: The case of Israel. International Journal of Multilingualism, 3(1), 7–30. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bigon, L., & Dahamshe, A. (2014). An anatomy of symbolic power: Israeli road-sign policy and the Palestinian minority. Environment and Planning D Society and Space, 32(4), 606–621. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bjerregaard, P., Curtis, T., & the Greenland Population Survey. (2002). Cultural change and mental health and Greenland: The association of childhood condition, language, and urbanization with mental health and suicidal thoughts among the Inuit of Greenland. Social Science & Medicine, 54(1), 33–48. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blommaert, J. (2007). Sociolinguistics and discourse analysis: Orders of indexicality and polycentricity. Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 2(2), 115–130. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bradley, A., & DuBois, A. (2010). NWA. In A. Bradley, & A. DuBois (Eds.), The anthology of rap (pp. 232–247). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Central Intelligence Agency. (2017). The world fact book 2017, retrieved on 5 May 2019, from [URL]
Coupland, N. (2012). Bilingualism on display: The framing of Welsh and English in Welsh public spaces. Language in Society, 41(1), 1–27. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Emmel, N. (2013). Sampling and choosing cases in qualitative research: A realist approach. Los Angeles: SAGE. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Frederiksen, K., & Olsen, C. (2017). Det grønlandske sprog i dag: Rapport over det grønlandske sprog, standpunkt og anbefalinger. Nuuk: Saammaateqatigiinnissamut Isumalioqatigiissitaq.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gorter, D. (Ed.). (2006). Linguistic landscape: A new approach to multilingualism. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grenoble, L. (2015). Leveraging language policy to effect change in the Arctic. In M. Jones (Ed.), Policy and planning for endangered languages (pp. 1–17). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grydehoj, A. (2014). Constructing a centre on the periphery: Urbanization and urban design in the island city of Nuuk, Greenland. Island Studies Journal, 9(2), 205–222.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2016). Navigating the binaries of island independence and dependence in Greenland: Decolonisation, political culture, and strategic services. Political Geography, 551, 102–112. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Heller, M., Pujolar, J., & Duchêne, A. (2014). Linguistic commodification in tourism. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 18(4), 539–566. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jaworski, A., & Thurlow, C. (Eds.). (2010). Semiotic landscapes: Language, image, space. London: Continuum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kaae, B. C. (2006). Greenland/Kalaallit Nunaat. In G. Baldacchino (Ed.), Extreme tourism: Lessons from the world’s cold water islands (pp. 101–112). Amsterdam: Elsevier. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kallen, J. L. (2010). Changing landscapes: Language, space and policy in the Dublin linguistic landscape. In A. Jaworski, & C. Thurlow (Eds.) Semiotic landscapes: Language, image, space (pp. 41–58). London: Continuum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kelly-Holmes, H. (2013). ‘Translation in progress’: Centralizing and peripheralizing tensions in the practices of commercial actors in minority language tourist sites. In H. Kelly-Holmes, & S. Pietikäinen (Eds.), Multilingualism and the periphery (pp. 118–132). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kelly-Holmes, H., & Pietikäinen, S. (Eds.). 2013. Multilingualism and the periphery. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kleemann, N. (Ed.). (2018). Greenland in figures. 15th revised edition. Nuuk: Statistics Greenland.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq. (2019). Det bliver nemmere at være turist. 13 March 2019, retrieved on 27 September 2019, from [URL]
Langgård, P. (2001). Saperasi isumaqaleritsi – Grønlandsk domænevinding. Rapport til Sprogpolitisk referencegruppe præsenteret i november 2001. Nuuk: Oqaasileriffik.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Moriarty, M. (2014a). Languages in motion: Multilingualism and mobility in the linguistic landscape. International Journal of Bilingualism, 18(5), 457–463. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2014b). Contesting language ideologies in the linguistic landscape of an Irish tourist town. International Journal of Bilingualism, 18(5), 464–477. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Møller, A. (1988). Language policy and language planning after the establishment of the home rule in Greenland. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 9(1–2), 177–179. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nanoq Media (2020). [URL], retrieved on 22 March 2020.
Papen, U. (2015). Signs in cities: The discursive production and commodification of urban spaces. Sociolinguistic Studies, 9(1), 1–26. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. 3rd edition. London: SAGE.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pennycook, A. (2009). Linguistic landscapes and the transgressive semiotics of graffiti. In E. Shohamy, & D. Gorter (Eds.) Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 302–312). London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pietikäinen, S. (2013). Heteroglossic authenticity in Sámi heritage tourism. In H. Kelly-Holmes, & S. Pietikäinen (Eds.) Multilingualism and the periphery (pp. 77–94). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2014). Spatial interaction in Sámiland: Regulative and transitory chronotopes in the dynamic multilingual landscape of an indigenous Sámi village. International Journal of Bilingualism, 18(5), 478–490. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pietikäinen, S., Jaffe, A., Kelly-Holmes, H., & Coupland, N. (2016). Sociolinguistics from the periphery: Small languages in new circumstances. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Puzey, G. (2008). Planning the linguistic landscape: A comparative study of the use of minority languages in road signage in Norway, Scotland and Italy. Unpublished MA dissertation, University of Edinburgh.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sermitsiaq. (2012). Se den nye, strengere sproglov. 8 February 2012, retrieved on 27 September 2019, from [URL]
Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. W. (2003). Discourses in place: Language in the material world. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shohamy, E., & Gorter, D. (Eds.) (2009). Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Soler-Carbonell, J. (2015). Tallinn, a multilingual city in the era of globalisation: The challenges facing Estonian as a medium-sized language. In E. Boix-Fuster (Eds.), Urban diversities and language policies in medium-sized linguistic communities (pp. 85–111). Berlin: De Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Valijärvi, R.-L., & Kahn, L. (2018). The semiotic landscape in Nuuk, Greenland. In N. Ostler, V. Ferreira, & C. Moseley (Eds.), Communities in control: Learning tools and strategies for multilingual endangered language communities, Proceedings of FEL XXI (pp. 1–9). London and Leeuwarden: SOAS World Languages Institute and Mercator Research Centre.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Welsh Government. (2018). Traffic signs and road markings, retrieved on 8 September 2019, from [URL]
Wright, S. (2004). Language policy and language planning from nationalism to globalisation. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (3)

Cited by three other publications

Amos, Will
2025. « Nana sacs plastiques ». Linguistic Landscape. An international journal 11:3 ► pp. 233 ff. DOI logo
An, Ran & Guowen Shang
2025. Communication across time and space: chronotope in the linguistic landscape of a concession area. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Nilsson, Hanna Birkelund
2025. Challenges and opportunities. Linguistic Landscape. An international journal 11:4 ► pp. 325 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 26 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue