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The policies on public signage in minority languages and their reception in four traditionally bilingual European locations

The policies on public signage in minority languages and their reception in four traditionally bilingual European locations
The policies on public signage in minority languages and their reception in four traditionally bilingual European locations
In contemporary Europe, support for autochthonous minority languages is expressed by displaying messages in these languages alongside messages in the majority language(s) on public signs, such as road signs, street signs, signs on the buildings of public institutions etc. Such form of support is part of explicit language policies at the national level in a number of countries of Europe as well as at the Council of Europe level. This study deals with the implementation of these policies and their reception by the local populations in Wales, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia. The responses to the presence of minority languages on signs vary and have a number of motivations. The qualitative analysis presented in this study has identified several features as significant for the implementation of bilingual signage and its reception across the research locations: (1) decentralization of public administration, (2) ethnicization of language policies, (3) territoriality of signage, (4) collective historical memory, (5) bilingual sign design and (6) the indexical vs. symbolic functions of bilingual signage.
language policy, bilingual signage, bilingual signs, minority languages, Wales, England, Czech, Teschen, Bekescsaba, Hungary, Pula, Croatia
1882-5303
51-88
Sloboda, Marian
163be4ef-709e-48bd-bb19-67467407288d
Simicic, Lucija
aa5c60f2-302c-4324-876b-e8cb792a1b73
Szabo-Gillinger, Eszter
8b7f843f-65a5-4f20-9ba2-d33bae30be2b
Vigers, Dick
54fd8e51-9d1b-4421-9a27-fee1272be9a0
Sloboda, Marian
163be4ef-709e-48bd-bb19-67467407288d
Simicic, Lucija
aa5c60f2-302c-4324-876b-e8cb792a1b73
Szabo-Gillinger, Eszter
8b7f843f-65a5-4f20-9ba2-d33bae30be2b
Vigers, Dick
54fd8e51-9d1b-4421-9a27-fee1272be9a0

Sloboda, Marian, Simicic, Lucija, Szabo-Gillinger, Eszter and Vigers, Dick (2012) The policies on public signage in minority languages and their reception in four traditionally bilingual European locations. Media and Communication Studies, 63, 51-88.

Record type: Article

Abstract

In contemporary Europe, support for autochthonous minority languages is expressed by displaying messages in these languages alongside messages in the majority language(s) on public signs, such as road signs, street signs, signs on the buildings of public institutions etc. Such form of support is part of explicit language policies at the national level in a number of countries of Europe as well as at the Council of Europe level. This study deals with the implementation of these policies and their reception by the local populations in Wales, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia. The responses to the presence of minority languages on signs vary and have a number of motivations. The qualitative analysis presented in this study has identified several features as significant for the implementation of bilingual signage and its reception across the research locations: (1) decentralization of public administration, (2) ethnicization of language policies, (3) territoriality of signage, (4) collective historical memory, (5) bilingual sign design and (6) the indexical vs. symbolic functions of bilingual signage.

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More information

Published date: 30 November 2012
Keywords: language policy, bilingual signage, bilingual signs, minority languages, Wales, England, Czech, Teschen, Bekescsaba, Hungary, Pula, Croatia
Organisations: Modern Languages

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 349090
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/349090
ISSN: 1882-5303
PURE UUID: 05df4f26-6753-468e-abc0-9d91cce45f52

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Date deposited: 22 Feb 2013 14:50
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 13:09

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Contributors

Author: Marian Sloboda
Author: Lucija Simicic
Author: Eszter Szabo-Gillinger
Author: Dick Vigers

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