Signs of Resistance in the Asturian Linguistic Landscape
This study is a linguistic landscape analysis grounded in the ideas of contestation and resistance, and carried out using Scollon’s concept of place semiotics. It was conducted in four cities located in the Asturias region of Northern Spain. The primary goals of the project were to investigate and interpret the (in)visibility of Asturian, an endangered language spoken primarily in and around the capital city of Oviedo. Distinct patterns on public signage involving font alterations, layering, and material selections indicate that the linguistic landscape was being used as an asynchronous public forum between Asturian advocates and unseen actors. Drawing on similar studies of deliberately modified linguistic landscapes, this paper introduces the concept of the asynchronously layered linguistic landscape in which evidence of contestation and resistance can be found in strategic juxtapositions of sign materiality.
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