Complexity perspectives on linguistic landscapes

Abstract

Linguistic landscape studies (LLS) have become popular tools to investigate multilingual settings; yet they often lack theoretical elaboration. This paper tries to contribute to filling this gap by combining the postulates of complexity theory with the concept of ‘scale’. Taking Tallinn as a case study, I conceptualise scales as nodes of complexity, dynamically produced and reproduced by the inter-connection of different agents in interaction. The results show a significant degree of language heterogeneity in Tallinn’s LL, but one that adopts different forms in different places, something that indexes the diverse types of mobility in those settings. What appears as multilingual messiness becomes logically coherent when we look at how different semiotic resources are mobilized to co-construct different scalar frameworks. In conclusion, it is argued that a scalar analysis informed by a complexity perspective can be beneficially exploited for theoretical and methodological purposes in LLS.

Nomenclature of Chinese Street Food Names in Malaysia: A Scalar Analysis

“…Tsujimura, 2018), which reflect the territorial characteristic of multilingual Malaysia in frequent language contact and communication surrounding different scales of cultures. In a similar multilingual society, in comparison to Soler-Carbonell’s (2016) findings that the coexistence of languages in particular environments (Finnish at the port, Russian at the bus and train stations, English at the airport), the cultural diversity in Malaysia is also an outcome of the different groups of people. However, these influential people are mainly the ethnic Chinese food vendors rather than the tourists who transit these spaces.…”

“…This place identity helps identify a meaningful scale. The current study, a place-bound analysis, drew on trans-local, trans-regional, and trans-national scales (Soler-Carbonell, 2016) to explain the nomenclature issues of Chinese street food names in Malaysia. In this way, it is hoped that the levels of nomenclature of street food names, from the local to the global, can be captured by the different scales.…”

“…That study introduced the idea that language displayed in shop signs is related to the considerations of global or cultural specialties. The scope of scales of the signs (which were in Estonian, Russian, English and Finnish) was extended to display trans-local, trans-regional, and trans-national scales (Soler-Carbonell, 2016). The three concepts are co-created by different types of mobile people with different linguistic resources.…”

“…The three concepts are co-created by different types of mobile people with different linguistic resources. According to Soler-Carbonell (2016), the concepts are regarded as the orientation to receive trans-local or trans-regional mobile citizens. The trans-national scale features a higher degree of linguistic heterogeneity among its passersby.…”

Multilingualism, Language Contact and Majority–Minority Relations in Contemporary Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

“…Schwartz and Verschik 2013). The ecolinguistic situation of the Baltic states has also been investigated from numerous perspectives through linguistic landscape studies (Pošeiko 2015;Lazdiņa 2013;Marten 2010Marten , 2012Marten and Saagpakk 2017;Zabrodskaja 2014;Soler-Carbonell 2016). Such a research approach is taken up in chapter " Glocal Commercial Names in the Linguistic Landscape of the Baltic States" of this book by Pošeiko and chapter "The Multilingual Landscape of Higher Education in the Baltic States: Exploring Language Policies and Practices in the University Space" by Soler.…”