An adaptation of J. Cenoz and D. Gorter’s “Linguistic Landscape and Minority Languages”
An adaptation of J. Cenoz and D. Gorter’s “Linguistic Landscape and Minority Languages”
A Linguistic Landscape on:
• Two blocks in two bilingual cities that are part of the same village.
• English as the primary language.
• Spanish, is spoken as a minority language.
An analysis of:
• 39 Signs
• The use and characteristics of languages used on each
establishment and the relationship to its sociolinguistic context.
Village of Hempstead, NY
• Front Street, UniondaleEnglishSpanish
• Fulton Street, HempsteadEnglishSpanish
Nassau County
Hempstead/Uniondale
Background Information
Hempstead
• Population in 2000: 56,554– Value: 14,036 Persons/Sq Mile
• Projected Population in 2007: 754,613
• Approximately 12.8% of the population can understand, speak or write Spanish
Hempstead
• Races: % value •Languages: % value
Uniondale
• Population in 2000: 23,011– Value: 8,427 Persons/Sq Mile
• Projected Population in 2007: 25,294
• Approximately 24.7 % of the population can understand, speak or write Spanish
Uniondale
• Races: % value •Languages: % value
• Which are the languages displayed in the linguistic landscape of Uniondale and Hempstead?
• What are the characteristics of bilingual signs?
Research Questions
Methodology
• Digital pictures of texts
• Variables:– Number of languages on the sign– Languages on the sign– First language and type of font on
bilingual signs
Research question 1: Number of Languages
displayed
97
15
8
0
10
20
30
40
1 2
Uniondale Hempstead
Language on sign
6 6 63
5 53
51 00
10
20
30
40
E/S E S/E S Other
Uniondale Hempstead
E: English S: Spanish
HempsteadMonolingual English
HempsteadMonolingual Spanish
HempsteadEnglish/Spanish
HempsteadSpanish/English
UniondaleMonolingual English
UniondaleMonolingual Spanish
UniondaleEnglish/Spanish
UniondaleSpanish/English
Research Question 2: The characteristics of bilingual
signs
First language on bilingual signs
6 6 5 5
0
10
20
30
E/S S/E
Uniondale Hempstead
E: English S: Spanish
HempsteadBilingual Sign S/E
UniondaleBilingual Sign E/S
Type of font on bilingual signs
0 0
1210
0
10
20
30
Same Different
Uniondale Hempstead
HempsteadBilingual sign with Different Fonts
UniondaleBilingual sign with Different Fonts
Translation in bilingual signs
12
12
7
0
10
20
Word to word Partial Translation
Uniondale Hempstead
HempsteadWord to Word Translation
HempsteadPartial Translation
UniondaleWord to Word Translation
UniondalePartial Translation
Conclusions• The signs show that in both Hempstead
and Uniondale, English is the prominent language.
• There are more bilingual signs than monolingual signs in both cities.
• English appears first in the majority of bilingual signs.
• The type of font used in bilingual signs is bigger for English than for Spanish.
• The study shows that both English and Spanish are used for communication in shops and other businesses around the area, which reflects the power and influence that the minority language has in both cities.