Linguistic Landscape in Downtown Zagreb

master's thesis

• Author: Marko Krstanović
• Mentor: Anđel Starčević (mentor)
• Committee member: Višnja Josipović-Smojver (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Marina Grubišić (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Anđel Starčević (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2020-09-30, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to study the linguistic landscape of downtown Zagreb. In the area of downtown Zagreb, in April 2018, 723 signs were analyzed and categorized based on the languages they feature. 563 of those feature one language, and 146 feature two. There are only 14 signs with multiple languages. The most prominent languages are Croatian and English, with Croatian appearing on 77.4% of all signs, and English on 41.4%. Both languages appear on 20.8% of the signs. Other languages include German, Italian, Korean, French, Arabic and several others, all apearing several times or less. In order to put these numbers into context, two people were interviewed about their views on public signs in downtown Zagreb. Both of them were disappointed by the relatively high frequency of signs bearing text in English, but agreed that English was a necessity because of tourists and businesses. They also endorse the standard language ideology by claiming that Standard Croatian should be used as much as possible in public spaces.
These results indicate that the area of downtown Zagreb is oriented towards its non-native visitors, with almost half of all the signs featuring English. At the same time, foreign languages other than English are scarcely represented, which suggests that the intended audience is general and not specific. The insights gleaned from the interviewees point not only towards the practical use of English, which is unavoidable considering the area is very much tourist-oriented, but also the practical and symbolic roles of Standard Croatian on public signs in the same area.

• Keywords: linguistic landscape; Standard Croatian; English; multilingualism; public space; public signs
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:024370
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation, TEFL; Course: Linguistics; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Study programme: Title: Linguistics (double major); specializations in: General Linguistics, Comparative Linguistics, Computational Linguistics, Aplied Linguistics and Cognitive Linguistics, Cognitive; Course: Comparative Linguistics; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra lingvistike (magistar/magistra lingvistike)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2020-09-30 21:24:52