What the signs say: Gentrification and the disappearance ofcapitalism without distinctionin Brooklyn

Abstract

We examine shop signs in Brooklyn, New York, as sociolinguistic technologies of place-making that operate through specific language ideologies which represent class struggles for material wealth. We find two salient types of signs which we call Old School Vernacular and Distinction-making signage. The first indexes multiple inclusions in the neighborhood economy before gentrification and thus suggests a capitalism without distinction. These signs also challenge linguistic and literacy prescriptivism. In contrast, Distinction-making signs signal an exclusivity that for some readers also represents exclusion. We discuss how these data can reveal and disguise rent gap opportunities as both old and new signs co-inhabit the same space in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn.Examinamos los letreros de las tiendas de Brooklyn, New York como tecnolog ıas socioling€ u ısticas de place-making (producci on de lugares) que operan a trav es de ideolog ıas espec ıficas del lenguaje, las cuales representan las luchas de clase por el bienestar y la riqueza material. Identificamos dos tipos sobresalientes de letreros a los cuales hemos llamado Old School Vernacular [vern aculo de vieja escuela] y Distinction-making signage [productor de distincci on]. El primero enumera ideas de inclusiones m ultiples en la econom ıa vecinal antes de la gentrificaci on y por lo tanto sugiere un capitalismo sin distinci on. Estos letreros, que tienden a ser evaluados negativamente por algunos pr osperos reci en llegados, tambi en cuestionan las ideas del prescriptivismo ling€ u ıstico y del c odigo letrado. Por el contrario, los letrerosproductores de distinci on señalan una exclusividad que, para algunos lectores, tambi en representa exclusi on. Discutimos c omo estos datos pueden revelar y ocultar oportunidades de inversi on, porque ambos letreros, viejos y nuevos, cohabitan en el mismo espacio en una Brooklyn que se gentrifica con rapidez. [Spanish]

Old School Rules

“…Elsewhere, we have identified and described the features of the two distinct and salient styles of storefront signage (Trinch & Snajdr, 2017). Old School Brooklyn Vernacular, which represents pre-gentrified Brooklyn, is everywhere throughout the borough and is most prevalent in our data.…”

“…We have found that this type of sign in its Brooklyn New School manifestation is actually not so pleasing to some residents and consumers in the neighborhood. In addition to textual brevity (and arguably wit), these New School signs contain sociolinguistic features that indicate, following the work of Bourdieu (1990), a distinction-making exclusivity and the exclusion and gating of certain publics (Trinch & Snajdr, 2017). The features of New School signage include polysemic or cryptic names, languages other than English (that index sophistication and worldliness, but not native speech communities), erudite historical and literary references, and ironic word play.…”

“…5 / We asked a sample of informants (including both long-time residents and gentrifying newcomers) to look at three examples of each of the two salient sign-types that we discovered and to tell us what the signs communicated to them and what they communicated about the stores. The survey included three Old School signs and three New School signs from our photo archive (seeTrinch & Snajdr, 2017) 6 / "Hood" is a colloquial term for neighborhood. "Nabe" is a newer term, often used by and associated with gentrifiers.…”

(De)constructing distinction: Class inequality and elite authenticity in mediatized food discourse

“…The handiwork behind some dishes is as simple as a 5sauté pan, butter and a few accents and herbs. Aside from the obvious matter‐of‐factness of the restaurant's name (cf. Trinch and Snajdr ), note the critic's positive evaluation of ‘not [trying] too hard’ (line 1) and of being ‘humble in reach’ (line 2). This is the effortlessness I mention above, or rather, it is the guise of effortlessness.…”

“…As a contemporary site of gentrification, Brooklyn has been of increasing sociolinguistic interest in recent years (e.g. Trinch and Snajdr 2017). Historically a borough of immigrants, it has been named the fifth most expensive city (for residents) in the U.S., 7 and additionally experienced a so-called 'culinary renaissance' (LeBesco and Naccarato 2015).…”