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Article published In: Language Problems and Language Planning
Vol. 48:1 (2024) ► pp.75–102

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Legalities of language use in linguistic landscaping

Examining English linguistic imperialism in the Philippines

ORCiD logo with link | University of the Philippines Diliman
ORCiD logo with link | Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila
Published online: 5 July 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.24006.man
Abstract
Linguistic landscapes, according to Backhaus (Backhaus, P. (2009). Rules and Regulations in Linguistic Landscaping: A Comparative Perspective. In Linguistic Landscape: Expanding the Scenery, (pp. 157–172). London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar: 170), are “consciously shaped and controlled by official rules and regulations.” However, the current body of Philippine linguistic landscape research – under-studied as it already is – lacks a close examination of Philippine national laws governing the (re)production of public signage. This paper therefore investigates the linguistic and ideological underpinnings of select […] national sign laws by situating these not only within the context of their legal precedents, mandates, and history but also through an examination of 600 public signs collected from six diverse region centers in the Philippines. It examines how national laws prefer English in public signs over local and Indigenous languages, thereby perpetuating what Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar calls “English linguistic imperialism” and exacerbating the unequal power dynamics between those who speak English and those who do not in the Philippines.
Abstrak
Ayon kay Backhaus (Backhaus, P. (2009). Rules and Regulations in Linguistic Landscaping: A Comparative Perspective. In Linguistic Landscape: Expanding the Scenery, (pp. 157–172). London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, p. 170), ang mga linguistic landscape ay “hinuhubog at kinokontrol ng mga opisyal na tuntunin at regulasyon.” Gayunpaman, ang pag-aaral ng mga linguistic landscape dito sa Pilipinas ay kulang sa mga pag-aaral na malapitang sinusuri ang mga batas na namamahala sa produksyon ng mga karatula. Kaya naman ang papel na ito ay nag-iimbestiga ng mga piling batas pang-karatula ng Pilipinas sa pamamagitan ng paglalagay ng mga ito hindi lamang sa loob ng mga legal na diskurso kundi pati na rin sa mas malalawak na diskurso ng wika at pulitika. Sinusuri nito kung paano tuwirang pinapaboran ng mga pambansang batas ang Ingles sa mga pampublikong karatula kaysa sa mga lokal na wika. Ito rin ay nagpapakita sa pamamagitan ng isang case study ng mobile at fixed signs sa Intramuros, Manila kung paano nakakaapekto ang mga alituntunin at regulasyon sa paglilikha ng mga karatula, ang mga materyales na ginagamit sa mga ito, at ang mga sistema ng inskripsiyon ng mga karatula (Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. W. (2003). Discourses in place: Language in the material world. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Bilang pagtatapos, binibigyang diin ng papel na ito ang kahalagaan ng mga alituntunin at regulasyong pang-karatula sa pagbuo ng lokal na linguistic landscape.
Resumo
Lingvaj pejzaĝoj, laŭ Backhaus (2009: 170), estas “konscie fasonataj kaj regataj de oficialaj reguloj kaj reguligoj.” Tamen, al la aktuala korpuso de filipina esplorado pri lingvaj pejzaĝoj – temo jam subesplorata – mankas deproksima esplorado de naciaj filipinaj leĝoj rilate (re)produktadon de ŝildoj. La nuna referaĵo do ekzamenas elektitajn naciajn leĝojn pri afiŝoj, lokante tiujn leĝojn ne nur kuntekste de iliaj juraj precedencoj, mandatoj kaj historio, sed ankaŭ per ekzameno de 600 publikaj ŝildoj kolektitaj el ses diversaj regionaj centroj en Filipinoj. Ĝi ekzamenas kiel naciaj leĝoj daŭrigas tion, kion Phillipson (1992) nomas “anglalingva imperiismo”, kaj akrigas en Filipinoj la neegalan potencodinamikon inter tiuj kiuj parolas la anglan kaj tiuj kiuj ne parolas ĝin.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Philippine linguistic landscape studies
  • 3.Laws, signs, and linguistic landscapes
  • 4.Linguistic imperialism in the (Philippine) linguistic landscape
  • 5.Data and methodology
  • 6.Analysis and discussion
    • 6.1The language situation in Philippine Laws
    • 6.2A case study of the National Building code of the Philippines
      • 6.2.1The National Building code of the Philippines (NBCP)
      • 6.2.2The 2005 implementing rules and regulations of the NBCP
      • 6.2.3The 2007 additional rules and regulations on signs or signboard structures of the NBCP
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
  • Philippine laws, codes, and cases
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