The announcements in the Athens Metro stations: An example of glocalization?

Maria Sifianou

doi:10.1515/iprg.2010.002

Abstract

This article explores the parallel English and Greek announcements heard in the Athens Metro stations. It is argued that these announcements constitute a new genre, characterized by a specific format including three stages (opening, main body, closing) and manifesting the interplay between global and local linguacultural influences. The way English is used in this context diverges from native English speaker norms and, despite the expected brevity because of the temporal and acoustic constraints of the environment, elaborate constructions are employed. Both the Greek and the English announcements are verbose, since elaboration is assumed to indicate the required formality and politeness. This in turn contributes to the construction of a serious and polite institution, which can therefore be trusted by passengers. The underlying assumption seems to be that in impressive surroundings such as the Athens Metro, the linguistic code should be equally impressive rather than follow the norms of pithy announcements heard in the London Underground stations. This partly reflects the current linguistic reality in Greece, where elaborate formal constructions are thought to convey “seriousness” and “importance”.

The announcements in the Athens Metro stations: An example of glocalization?

Abstract

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