English in the mallscape: Exploring linguistic landscape (LL) of quasi-public space in India

Vol.17,No.2(2024)
Discourse and Interaction

Abstract

India has only recently witnessed LL-based studies, where gaps are still evident. Shopping malls are mushrooming in urban and semi-urban neighborhoods, providing fertile grounds to witness LL-based phenomena from the vantage point of English. An LL-based case study of shopping malls in the city of Siliguri has been attempted with the analysis of 170 photographic data that constitute the “mallscape” of the city. Findings reveal that English dominates the mallscape as a language of symbolic capital while indigenous languages assume an associate role in the mallscape. The prominence of English has negatively impacted the visibility of native languages, whereas the former occupies a more prestigious position. This has not only led to cultural erosion but has also hampered the identity of the indigenous communities.


Keywords:
linguistic landscape; mallscape; multilingualism; symbolic capital
Author biographies

Birendra Bhujel

Indian Institute of Technology Patna, India

Birendra Bhujel is a doctoral research scholar at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology Patna, India. His research interests include sociolinguistics, sociology of language, ethnic identity, and sociology of migration.

Sweta Sinha

Indian Institute of Technology Patna, India

Sweta Sinha is Associate Professor and head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology Patna, India. She is also the coordinator of the Center for Endangered Languages in the institute. She has more than 50 research publications to her credit and has received various awards for her academic excellence. Her research areas include sociolinguistics, forensic linguistics, and cognitive linguistics.

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