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Article published In: The Political Economy of Linguistic Landscapes:
Edited by Johan Järlehed, Tommaso M. Milani and Tove Rosendal
[Linguistic Landscape 9:3] 2023
► pp. 306–327

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Language battles in the Linguistic Landscape of a divided capital

A comparative study of political economies of Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot commercial establishments

ORCiD logo with link | University of Reading
 | Near East University
 | Near East University
Published online: 21 August 2023
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.22039.the
Abstract
In this paper we explore multilingual practices in the Linguistic Landscape which are geared towards commercial goals. We study simultaneously the commercial areas of two conflict-affected communities in Nicosia (Cyprus) which are divided by a UN-controlled buffer zone. Ledras (Greek-Cypriot) is a street in the south and Arasta (Turkish-Cypriot) is in the north of the divide. We investigate how these communities’ political economies and ideologies shape language choice in public space and how the language of the other community, namely Greek or Turkish, is discursively framed as economically valuable or worthless. Photographs of shopfront signs and a thematic analysis of interviews with shopkeepers revealed that language choice in Nicosia’s commercial area is highly strategic. We demonstrate that this area is a politically and economically charged space where language battles, triggered by power relations, differing language hierarchies, ideologies, and political economies, become visible in the LL.
Περίληψη
Σε αυτή τη μελέτη ερευνούμε πολυγλωσσικές πρακτικές στο γλωσσικό τοπίο που αποσκοπούν σε εμπορικούς στόχους. Μελετάμε ταυτόχρονα τις εμπορικές περιοχές δύο κοινοτήτων στη Λευκωσία (Κύπρο) που έχουν πληγεί από συγκρούσεις και χωρίζονται από μια ζώνη ασφαλείας που ελέγχεται από τον ΟΗΕ. Η οδός Λήδρας (Ελληνο-Κυπριακή) βρίσκεται στα νότια και η οδός Αράστα (Τουρκο-Κυπριακή) στα βόρεια του διαχωρισμού. Διερευνούμε πώς οι πολιτικές οικονομίες και ιδεολογίες αυτών των δύο κοινοτήτων διαμορφώνουν την γλωσσική επιλογή στον δημόσιο χώρο και πώς η γλώσσα της άλλης κοινότητας, δηλαδή η Ελληνική ή η Τουρκική, θεωρείται ως οικονομικά πολύτιμη ή ανώφελη. Οι φωτογραφίες πινακίδων των καταστημάτων και η θεματική ανάλυση συνεντεύξεων με καταστηματάρχες αποκάλυψαν ότι η επιλογή γλώσσας στην εμπορική περιοχή της Λευκωσίας είναι εξαιρετικά στρατηγική. Αποδεικνύουμε ότι αυτή η περιοχή είναι ένας πολιτικά και οικονομικά φορτισμένος χώρος όπου οι γλωσσικές μάχες, που πυροδοτούνται από σχέσεις εξουσίας, διαφορετικές γλωσσικές ιεραρχίες, ιδεολογίες και πολιτικές οικονομίες, γίνονται ορατές στο γλωσσικό τοπίο.
Özet
Bu makale, ticari hedeflere yönelik olarak desenlenen dilbilimsel manzaralarda çokdillilik uygulamalarını araştırmaktadır. Birleşmiş Milletler kontrolündeki bir tampon bölge ile ikiye ayrılmış olan Lefkoşa’da (Kıbrıs), geçmişte çatışmalardan etkilenmiş iki toplumdaki ticari bölgeler eş zamanlı olarak incelenmiştir. Bahsi geçen bölgenin güneyinde Ledra Caddesi (Kıbrıslı Rum), kuzeyinde ise Arasta Caddesi (Kıbrıslı Türk) vardır. Bu toplulukların siyasi ekonomileri ve ideolojilerinin, halka açık alanda dil seçimini nasıl şekillendirdiğini ve diğer topluluğun dili olan Rumca veya Türkçe’nin ekonomik olarak değerli veya değersiz olarak nasıl söylemsel bir şekilde sunulduğuna odaklanılmıştır. Mağaza önü tabelalarının fotoğrafları ve mağaza sahipleri ile yapılan mülakatların tematik analizi, Lefkoşa’nın ticari bölgesinde dil seçiminin son derece stratejik olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Bu alanda, dil savaşlarının, güç ilişkileri, farklı dil hiyerarşileri, ideolojiler ve siyasi ekonomiler tarafından tetiklenen, dil manzarasında görünür hale geldiği ortaya koyulmaktadır.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The political economy of language and space
  • 3.Conflict and political economy in Cyprus
  • 4.Language, ideologies and conflict in Cyprus
  • 5.Research methods
    • 5.1Data collection
    • 5.2Analytical framework
  • 6.Analysis
    • 6.1Language as economic resource
    • 6.2Language as part of the division
    • 6.3Language as act of everyday peace
  • 7.Discussion and conclusions
  • Note
  • References
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Cited by (2)

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Karpava, Sviatlana
2024. Linguistic landscape of Pyla, a bi-communal village in Cyprus: multilingualism, ethnolinguistic vitality and internationalisation. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2025. Multilingualism and Linguistic Landscapes of Protest and Conflict. In The Handbook of Linguistic Landscapes and Multilingualism, ► pp. 127 ff. DOI logo

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