Language, food and gentrification: signs of socioeconomic mobility in two Gothenburg neighbourhoods

Abstract

This paper examines at how language and food intersect and interact in gentrificationprocesses. As a capital-driven social process aiming at enhancing the socioeconomicvalue of urban space, gentrification implies mobility both in the sense that it attractsnew people, businesses and capital to an area, and in the form of displacement ofless affluent and prestigious people, businesses and semiotic resources from centralto marginal urban spaces. The paper examines linguistic and visual traces of suchmobilities in two neighbourhoods in Gothenburg, Sweden. Based on the observationthat food and food practices are central for the production and reproduction of socialdistinction, the analysis centres on food related establishments and signs. In particular,it discusses the distinction-making function of prestigious languages, elite gastronomicregisters, and gourmet food trucks, and how these depend on the marginalizationof low status languages, popular gastronomic registers and cheap generic food carts.People’s interaction with these resources contributes to the reconfiguration of socialand urban space.

Linguistic Landscapes of Gentrified Localities: A Case Study of China

“…Currently one of the most frequently discussed tendencies in the LL of gentrified areas is the omnipresent usage of the English language. Following the ideas of Vandenbroucke, we support the view that English has become a prestigious language, which is used by entrepreneurs and chain-stores in non-Anglophone countries to scale up the value of both the neighbourhood and its businesses [1,6].…”

“…Gentrification in socio-economic discourse is understood as 'upscaling of a neighbourhood and its inhabitants' [1] or 'the process of upgrading urban neighbourhoods' [2]. This process is traditionally followed by old buildings being renovated and converted into upscale residences or shops, aimed at new affluent communities of middle-class citizens, who displace working-class occupiers [3].…”

Introducing Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in Sweden: A social justice appraisal

“…The rent prices in several business spaces saw a 20–30% increase in 2018–2019. 14 Moreover, the specific efforts of the association to economically and socially uplift Gamlestaden are largely based on a specific plan for disciplining behaviours that would not fit into its new anticipated middle-class character (Järlehed et al, 2018) and, crucially, by physically displacing the most socially and economically vulnerable residents.…”

Alphabet city: orthographic differentiation and branding in late capitalist cities

“…They abbreviate words and names for reasons of economy and power: they are an effective means of creating inclusion and exclusion. Minimal, and to those who are not part of the intended audience, cryptic forms of writing are also deployed in commercial signage in gentrification processes, where they serve socio-economic distinction-making and contribute to redistribution of people and goods within urban spaces (Trinch and Snajdr 2017;Järlehed, Nielsen, and Rosendal 2018).…”