Home Linguistics & Semiotics Chapter 6. The linguistic landscape of Cairo from the Rosetta Stone to the Ring Road billboards: Signs of their times
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Chapter 6. The linguistic landscape of Cairo from the Rosetta Stone to the Ring Road billboards: Signs of their times

  • Marilyn Plumlee
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Applied Linguistics in the Middle East and North Africa
This chapter is in the book Applied Linguistics in the Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

Linguistic Landscape (LL) studies, i.e. the study of multi-lingual signage in public places, move our understanding of multilingualism and linguistic diversity beyond spoken forms of languages in contact into a realm blending social interaction with semiotics. The paper analyzes tokens from four categories of Cairo’s contemporary linguistic landscape: (1) vestiges of bygone eras, (2) signage in multi-ethnic neighborhoods, (3) emerging appearance of chat script in public signage, and (4) symbolic uses of English on billboards. The paper thus portrays Cairo less as an urban center displaying signs of a new-found super-diversity than as a city already rich in multilingual signage, but a city in which new patterns displayed in the LL reflect ongoing changes in the contemporary social context.

Abstract

Linguistic Landscape (LL) studies, i.e. the study of multi-lingual signage in public places, move our understanding of multilingualism and linguistic diversity beyond spoken forms of languages in contact into a realm blending social interaction with semiotics. The paper analyzes tokens from four categories of Cairo’s contemporary linguistic landscape: (1) vestiges of bygone eras, (2) signage in multi-ethnic neighborhoods, (3) emerging appearance of chat script in public signage, and (4) symbolic uses of English on billboards. The paper thus portrays Cairo less as an urban center displaying signs of a new-found super-diversity than as a city already rich in multilingual signage, but a city in which new patterns displayed in the LL reflect ongoing changes in the contemporary social context.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Acknowledgments ix
  4. Chapter 1. Applied linguistics research in the Middle East and North Africa 1
  5. Section I. Language in society
  6. Chapter 2. When the president loses his voice, the people capture speech 11
  7. Chapter 3. Religion and identity in modern Egyptian public discourse 37
  8. Chapter 4. English between Egyptians 61
  9. Chapter 5. The age of global English 89
  10. Chapter 6. The linguistic landscape of Cairo from the Rosetta Stone to the Ring Road billboards: Signs of their times 115
  11. Chapter 7. The ongoing rivalry between English and French in Lebanon 161
  12. Section II. Language in education
  13. Chapter 8. A Qatari case for authenticity in the investigation of reading abilities and strategies 185
  14. Chapter 9. The development and validation of an Arabic language test in Saudi Arabia 203
  15. Chapter 10. A survey of English language proficiency requirements for admission to English-medium universities in Arabic-speaking countries 227
  16. Chapter 11. Student teachers’ computer-mediated narratives-in-interaction 249
  17. Chapter 12. Arabic language teacher education 269
  18. Chapter 13. Corpora and the study of Arabic vocabulary 289
  19. Section III. Future directions of applied linguistics in the MENA countries
  20. Chapter 14. Whither Arabic? 307
  21. Chapter 15. A forward-looking conceptual framework for Arabic curriculum design and instructional methodology 343
  22. Chapter 16. Applied linguistics in the MENA countries 363
  23. Biographies 377
  24. Author index 383
  25. Subject index 387
https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.15.06plu

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Acknowledgments ix
  4. Chapter 1. Applied linguistics research in the Middle East and North Africa 1
  5. Section I. Language in society
  6. Chapter 2. When the president loses his voice, the people capture speech 11
  7. Chapter 3. Religion and identity in modern Egyptian public discourse 37
  8. Chapter 4. English between Egyptians 61
  9. Chapter 5. The age of global English 89
  10. Chapter 6. The linguistic landscape of Cairo from the Rosetta Stone to the Ring Road billboards: Signs of their times 115
  11. Chapter 7. The ongoing rivalry between English and French in Lebanon 161
  12. Section II. Language in education
  13. Chapter 8. A Qatari case for authenticity in the investigation of reading abilities and strategies 185
  14. Chapter 9. The development and validation of an Arabic language test in Saudi Arabia 203
  15. Chapter 10. A survey of English language proficiency requirements for admission to English-medium universities in Arabic-speaking countries 227
  16. Chapter 11. Student teachers’ computer-mediated narratives-in-interaction 249
  17. Chapter 12. Arabic language teacher education 269
  18. Chapter 13. Corpora and the study of Arabic vocabulary 289
  19. Section III. Future directions of applied linguistics in the MENA countries
  20. Chapter 14. Whither Arabic? 307
  21. Chapter 15. A forward-looking conceptual framework for Arabic curriculum design and instructional methodology 343
  22. Chapter 16. Applied linguistics in the MENA countries 363
  23. Biographies 377
  24. Author index 383
  25. Subject index 387
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