Linguistic Landscape

Astoria, Queens
Sarah Viola
LCD 205
 Cenoz & Gorter’s Linguistic
Landscape
• Studied bilingual communities in Spain and
Netherlands
• Analyzed each establishment on a main
block in each area
• (Each establishment as a unit of analysis)
• Compared use of the majority and minority
languages
• Counted and photographed each text
• Observed characteristics of multilingual
signs
• Concluded that majority language was used
 Astoria, Queens
• Steinway St. between 25 & 28 Ave.
• Generally Egyptian/ Middle Eastern
area since 1970s
• Known to some as “Little Cairo”
• Mostly bilingual area: English and
Arabic
• Increasing Latino population in
surrounding areas since 1990s
• English as “official” language
 Research Questions
• Which languages are used on
storefront signs in Astoria?
• What are the functions of each
language?
• What are the characteristics of the
text on multilingual signs?
 Method
• Observed all signs and window text
on each establishment
• Counted and photographed each
storefront
• Each storefront as a unit of analysis
(not entire establishment)
• Distinguished between monolingual
and multilingual signs
• Identified all languages used on signs
 Factors Considered for Each
Unit of Analysis
• Number of languages
• Languages used
• Translation?
• Transliteration?
• Neither?
• Relative size of font
Data: Monolingual Signs
Data: Multilingual Signs
Data: Translation and
Transliteration
Data: Relative Font Size
 Findings
• English the dominant language
overall: more frequent in monolingual
and multilingual signs; more
prominent font size
• Non-translated Arabic texts appeal to
the Arab community, i.e. designation
of a restaurant as “Halal” using
Arabic script
• Use of English transliteration makes
 Findings, Cont.
• Two out of the three signs with
Spanish text: Spanish in larger font
(Other with equal size)
• Spanish having an increased
influence in the area
• Spanish texts used to appeal to the
increasing population
 Conclusion
• Generally, the multilingual
atmosphere in Astoria is created to
appeal to various groups of people
• Although English is dominant, other
languages help to welcome others to
the area and create a foreign
atmosphere