Mapping the Linguistic Landscape of Kuala Lumpur

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2021

The linguistic landscape of a territory may disclose information on the power and vitality of certain languages within the community in that particular territory. This study analyses the language use in shop signs along two main streets in the multilingual city of Kuantan, Malaysia. 179 still images of shop signs in the area are captured and procured for the data. A textual analysis on the shop sign images based on the language patterns of monolingual, bilingual and multilingual framework is carried out. The frequencies of the language patterns are used and categorized based on the framework to determine the proprietors' language preferences for their shop signs. The analysis indicates that the number of bilingual and multilingual signs combined far exceeded the number of monolingual signs. The analysis further shows that bilingual signs of Bahasa Malaysia (BM) and English are the most preferred choices for the shop signs despite the enactment of the National Language Policy, soliciting that BM must be used for the public signs. Such preference implies the proprietors' keenness in embracing the image of modernity and sophistication for their shops, indicating that language use in business in business cannot be simply regulated by any policy. Rather, it is moving towards personal freedom, signifying the business community solidarity of which language(s) is deemed appropriate for their businesses despite the mandatory policy.

Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 2020

The study attempts to map the linguistic landscape of Sentul, the new urban area of Kuala Lumpur. It aims to examine the preferred language of shop signs in the area. Data were collected primarily from visible shop signs and categorized through a sign coding scheme based on Sunwani’s (2005) model. The analysis indicates that the area preferred a mixture of English, BM, and Chinese for the shop signs. The findings show diverse factors govern the choice of language use on the shop signs attributed to identity, nature of business owners, and shop location. Keywords: Linguistic Landscape; Shop sign; Multilingual; Language Learning. eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Beha...

International journal of academic research in business & social sciences, 2024

The study of linguistic landscape (LL) is an interdisciplinary field that examines the visible presence and use of languages in public space. However, studies on LL in Malaysia are still scarce and have yet to be conducted extensively, especially in the tourism context. To address the lack of LL research in Malaysia, the present study seeks to explore the representation of language use in the public space of Malaysian tourism context. Based on a quantitative approach, pictorial data (64 pieces of signage) along the coastline of Teluk Batik beach were photographed and analysed as data samples. The frequency of language use was collected using the frameworks described by (Huebner, 2009; Cenoz and Gorter, 2010). This study also looked into the language choice and preferences, as well as the type of sign employed in Teluk Batik. The research identifies Teluk Batik as a tourism destination with multilingual inequality. The LL of Teluk Batik is still dominated by Bahasa Melayu (BM), even though it is known to be one of the most famous tourist sites in Perak. English, occupying a secondary position in monolingual signs is still lacking in its presence as the number is limited, whereas bilingual signs incorporating Mandarin and Arabic are comparatively less numerous. The findings of this study may contribute to a better understanding of the LL and tourism readiness in Teluk Batik, which are vital for a successful and sustainable tourism industry.

NeuroQuantology, 2023

This research on language phenomena of public signs in Patong Beach of Phuket Province, which is a famous tourist destination of Thailand, consists of two objectives: to analyze language characteristics on public signs in Patong Beach; and to analyze the relationship between the language on the signs and the context of Phuket tourist city. Data were collected from 689 signs of government and business sectors. The data were analyzed using the conceptual framework of linguistic landscape of Landry and Bourhis (1997). The findings indicated that the most common languages on the signs were Thai and English, with Thai always having a position above English, while English has larger fonts than Thai. This illustrates Thailand's tourism policy in providing information to tourists through the use of English as an international language, which is in line with the promotion of Phuket as an international tourist destination. Chinese and Arabic languages are also mostly found on signs, which represent the large number of tourists visiting Phuket. Therefore, informational public signs must accommodate the main tourists in the area.

International journal of linguistics, literature and culture

Linguistic Landscape (LL) is the display of languages in public spaces, including signs, billboards, advertisements, and graffiti. The paper reports on the findings of a qualitative study on the pattern and representation of linguistic landscape in multilingual context in Selong. The investigation focuses on sign patterns of linguistic landscape and what they represent in terms of language situation in a multilingual context. Landry and Bourhis’s theory on the definition and the functions of LL, Reh’s theory on the type of multilingual signs and Spolky and Cooper’s theory on the signs categories are used as the theoretical lense in this study.The data were collected from signs in some public spaces and along the main roads in Selong by using observation and documentation. The collected data are then classified, analyzed and interpreted. The findings of this study reveal three lingual patterns; monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual sign, written in English, Indonesian and Sasak la...

2021

Linguistic Landscape (LL) is a study that focuses on the use of language in public spaces, whether monolingual, bilingual, or multilingual. The growth of coffee shops in the city of Medan is increasing due to the increasing development of coffee consumption so that it appears around the Ringroad road which reflects its uniqueness and various different racial backgrounds. This research deals with the linguistic landscape and the use of certain languages on coffee shop signage. The purpose of this study was to determine the use of language in language in public spaces, to explain the characteristics used on coffee shop signboards and the reasons why shop owners chose a particular language in naming coffee shops. This research method is qualitative by applying the data collection of coffee shop signage. Methods of data collection is done by observation, interviews, documentation. Methods of data analysis with data collection, data condensation, data display and drawing conclusions. The...

Ranah: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa

The existence of local languages in Indonesia, including Balinese language is often related to marginalization issue. Some previous research revealed that Balinese language is rarely used in public spaces. The local government implements Governor Regulation Number 80 of 2018 to officially protect the language, including its existence in public spaces. This research explores the existence of Balinese language and script on the lingual street signs in Singaraja, North Bali. Further, the distribution of the lingual street signs is also investigated to reveal the government's primary and secondary target areas in language protection. The subjects of the study are 151 street signs that are placed by the department of transportation of Buleleng regency. The data are obtained through photograph taking and observation. The research reveals that the presence of Indonesian language marginalizes Balinese language. The regulation only successfully improves the use of Balinese script instead...

Linguistic landscape (L.L) is the study of written languages in the public space. This paper is an endeavor to explore and describe the linguistic make-up of Casablanca as it is conveyed in its Linguistic Landscape in order to explore the languages used in its public signs, the characteristics of these signs, and language attitudes at play that shape the public space of this city. Two different places, Prince Moulay Abdellah Avenue and Idris Alharti Boulevard, were chosen as sites of investigation. The data include over 177 pictures of language signs that were analyzed so as to determine the number of languages used, the languages on the signs and the characteristics of monolingual, bilingual and multilingual signs, with a special attention given to bottom-up signs (non-governmental signs). Although Arabic and Tamazight are official languages in Morocco, their presence in the LL is not equal. The signs in Casablanca's linguistic landscape reveal language attitudes that are present and sometimes promote one language over another. On the same line, close-ended questionnaires (60) and interviews (7) with shop owners give a good insight into their language choice. The findings indicate that the linguistic landscape is, to a large extent, shaped by language attitudes that construct the public space with certain languages and that there are important differences between the two settings-Prince Moulay Abdellah Avenue and Idris Alharti Boulevard.

AWEJ, 2022

Shop signs are a visible indication of the linguistic landscape of a place, hence the need for public policies to control, particularly, bottom-up signs in situations where there are issues, such ensuring consistency and correct representation in the second language. To investigate the linguistic landscape of bilingual shop signs in Saudi Arabia, this study examines the lettering in bilingual shop signs in shopping malls in Riyadh and Jeddah in terms of relative size, information, and the quality of English-Arabic (E-A) and Arabic-English (A-E) transliteration or translation. This was done in view of the national policy in Saudi Arabia which aims to ensure correct Arabisation when inconsistencies have been observed in the Arab world. Moreover, it gives an indication of the linguistic landscape, which is necessary given the need to prepare the kingdom for the Saudi 2030 Vision and cater to the growing number of international visitors. Altogether, 184 signboards were observed and categorised, of which 68 were shortlisted for further analysis. Of these, 54 were A-E signs and 17 were E-A signs, with two in both categories. The majority (83.3%) of signs were bilingual with slight variation in relative size and display of information. Same sized lettering was displayed in 66.7%, and the same information in 64.8%. Remedial suggestions are given for language policy-makers to address the issue found of a few inconsistent and erroneous transliterations and spellings, which together accounted for 9.3%. Overall, the case is not as bad in Saudi Arabia as noted in some other Arab countries.

English Education Journal

It is surprising to find that there have been many shops in Banda Aceh that use English on their signs. This study was conducted to investigate the shop owners’ reasons for using English on their shop signs. To obtain the data from the shop owners, observation sheet and interview guide were used as the research instruments. The data were analyzed by using the model proposed by Miles, Huberman, and Saldana (2014). It was found that the 10 shop owners gave four reasons they used English in their shop signs, which can be classified into the themes. They are 1) to be easily remembered; 2) to follow the trend; 3) to use their own name; and 4) to be unique. In conclusion, among four terms of reasons of shop owners in using English in their shop signs, the theme of “becoming unique” or distinctive is the most given reason by the shop owners.