This book offers a comprehensive exploration of the multilingual linguistic landscape in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, focusing on the impact of new immigrants and the diverse range of languages they speak, across urban and peripheral areas. It contributes to broader global discussions on multilingualism, language policy and language planning.
This book offers a comprehensive exploration of the multilingual linguistic landscape in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, focusing on the impact of new immigrants and the diverse range of languages they speak, across urban and peripheral areas. It examines the city's transition from a predominantly monolingual or bilingual Chinese–English signage environment to a vibrant multilingual one shaped by Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean and Southeast Asian languages. Employing ethnographic methods and geosemiotic analysis, the study investigates code preferences and writing types on public and private signage. Additionally, it delves into community perceptions of the multilingual linguistic landscape and its implications for language policy and planning, providing valuable insights into evolving linguistic dynamics. The authors move beyond theoretical exploration to deliver practical insights with implications for institutions, policymakers, researchers, educators, students and practitioners alike. Ultimately, this work aspires to enrich understanding not only of Taiwan’s linguistic landscape but also of broader global discussions on multilingualism, language policy and language planning.
Reviews
Na and Coronel-Molina offer a compelling analysis of how multilingual signage in Taoyuan City reflects Taiwans shifting identities amid Asian immigration. This insightful ethnography reveals the public sphere as a space of cultural negotiation and belonging that offers a valuable contribution to sociolinguistics and migration studies, and a model for reading cities as globalized texts. * Michael T. Ndemanu, Ball State University, USA * This book offers a broad and open-minded approach to multilingual signs in Taoyuan. It covers a greater variety of areas within the city, making sure were getting 'the whole picture'. Particularly noteworthy is the inclusion of interview data in the second part of the analysis, which is a wonderful addition to the sign data. * Peter Backhaus, Waseda University, Japan *
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Sheds light on the profound impact of new immigrant communities on the linguistic and cultural fabric of cities
Figures, Tables and Images
Preface
PART 1: EXPLORING THE LINGUISTIC ECOLOGY
Chapter
1. Why Study Linguistic Landscapes in Taiwan?
Chapter
2. Understanding Taiwan: Sociohistorical and Sociolinguistic
Overview
Chapter
3. Approaches to Understanding Taoyuan Citys MLL
PART 2: READING THE LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE
Chapter
4. Regulations and Implementations: A Geosemiotic Look at the MLL
Chapter
5. Exploring MLL in Diverse Spaces
Chapter
6. Code Preference and Multilingual Writing Types in the MLL
Chapter
7. Community Members Perceptions of the MLL in Taoyuan City
Chapter
8. Bringing It All Together: What Does It All Mean?
References
Index
Ching-Yu Na works as a public-school English teacher at Futai Elementary School and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied English at Kainan University, Taiwan.
Serafín M. Coronel-Molina is a Full Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education, Director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Head Coordinator of the Global Indigenous Studies Network in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University Bloomington, USA.
