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Why diachronicity matters in the study of linguistic landscapes

Pavlenko, Aneta; Mullen, Alex

Authors

Aneta Pavlenko

ALEX MULLEN Alex.Mullen@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Ancient History and Sociolinguistics



Abstract

It is commonly argued that the proliferation of urban writing known as linguistic landscapes represents “a thoroughly contemporary global trend” (Coupland, 2010: 78). The purpose of this paper is to show that linguistic landscapes are by no means modern phenomena and to draw on our shared interest in multilingual empires to highlight the importance of diachronic inquiry and productive dialog between sociolinguists of modern and ancient societies. We will argue that while signs do operate in aggregate, the common focus on all signs at a single point in time on one street is problematic because the interpretation of signs is diachronic in nature, intrinsically linked to the preceding signs in the same environment and to related signs elsewhere, and the process of reading “back from signs to practices to people” (Blommaert, 2013: 51) is not as unproblematic as it is sometimes made to look.

Citation

Pavlenko, A., & Mullen, A. (2015). Why diachronicity matters in the study of linguistic landscapes. Linguistic Landscape, 1(1-2), https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.1.1-2.07pav

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 15, 2015
Publication Date Jun 26, 2015
Deposit Date Aug 7, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Linguistic Landscape
Print ISSN 2214-9953
Electronic ISSN 2214-9961
Publisher John Benjamins Publishing
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 1
Issue 1-2
DOI https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.1.1-2.07pav
Keywords Greek; Latin; Multilingualism; Roman Empire; Russian; diachronicity; epigraphy; indexicality; linguistic landscapes
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/753722
Publisher URL http://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/ll.1.1-2.07pav
Related Public URLs http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/jbp/ll/2015/00000001/F0020001/art00008
Additional Information Pavlenko, Aneta, Mullen, Alex: Why diachronicity matters in the study of linguistic landscapes, Linguistic Landscape: an international journal, v. 1, No. 1-2, 2015, pp. 114-132.