English in Asian Linguistic Landscapes

A multi‐sited analysis of the linguistic landscape of Hong Kong through a center‐periphery approach

“…A few also comment on how the brand name in English (often a transliteration of the Chinese name or Romanized Cantonese) reflects the identity of the shop as much as the brand name in Chinese (cf. Bolton et al 2020aBolton et al , 2020b. Here in Zone 3 with a different order of indexicality, English is no longer a marker of prestige, status or globalization as in Zone 1 or as has been noted in many previous studies, but instead a symbol of local hybrid identity.…”

“…Bolton et al. 2020a, 2020b). Here in Zone 3 with a different order of indexicality, English is no longer a marker of prestige, status or globalization as in Zone 1 or as has been noted in many previous studies, but instead a symbol of local hybrid identity.…”

“…A younger strand of sociolinguistics that also deals with the interaction between language and place is linguistic landscape. For the past three decades or so, the field of linguistic landscape has made some key contributions to our understanding of such issues as language policy, multilingualism and world Englishes through three waves of research into signs and space (for recent reviews, see Bolton, Botha, & Lee, 2020a, 2020b. As people come into closer and more frequent contact with one another across physical and digital spaces as a result of international trade and tourism, communication technologies and global migration, the dynamicity of place is further intensified in our age by superdiversity and transcultural flows.…”