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Article published In: Diaspora and Asian Spaces in a Transnational World
Edited by Thom Huebner
[Linguistic Landscape 7:2] 2021
► pp. 128–150

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Language policy and linguistic landscape

Identity and struggle in two southern Thai spaces

ORCiD logo with link | Prince of Songkla University, Thailand
Published online: 19 February 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.20008.sav
Abstract
Analysis of signage has traditionally represented a point of entry into examinations of language policy, with the visibility of different languages seen to be potentially indicative of repression of multilingualism, of struggles between different language regimes or of grass-roots resistance to top-down agendas. This paper argues for a more discursive approach to the nexus between linguistic landscape and language policy in investigations of multilingual spaces. I present two case studies of the interaction between language policy and linguistic landscape in the southern Thai city of Hat Yai, the first examining part of the central commercial district and the second the cafeteria of the main university located in the city. The findings highlight numerous points of interaction between language policy and public signage, though they also underline the complex and sometimes tenuous nature of this relationship.
Povzetek
Analiza znakov v javnosti je eden izmed tradicionalnih načinov raziskovanja jezikovne politike, saj je vidljivost posameznih jezikov lahko indikator represije večjezičnosti, trenj med različnimi jezikovnimi režimi ali upora proti ukrepom, ki se lokalnim akterjem vsiljujejo od zgoraj. V tem članku se zavzamem za bolj diskurzivno obravnavo vozlišča med jezikovno krajino in jezikovno politiko pri raziskovanju večjezičnih prostorov. Predstavim dve študiji primerov interakcije med jezikovno politiko in jezikovno krajino v mestu Hat Yai na jugu Tajske: prva študija se posveti analizi dela poslovnega središča mesta, druga pa jedilnici glavne univerze v tem mestu. Čeprav med rezultati raziskave izstopajo primeri jasne interakcije med jezikovno politiko in rabo jezikov na znakih, opozorim tudi na kompleksnost in včasih vprašljivost tega razmerja.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Language policy and linguistic landscape: A discourse-ethnographic framework
  • 3.Hat Yai: Historical and sociolinguistic context
  • 4.Source of data and analytical approach
  • 5.Case studies
    • 5.1Case study A: Business naming practices in the central commercial district
    • 5.2Case study B: Menus in a university cafeteria
  • 6.Discussion
  • 7.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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