Metrolingual Linguistic Repertoire and Business Sovereignty: Geosemiotic Analysis of Linguistic Landscapes in Sydney Chinatown

Abstract

Previous studies have focused on global Chinatowns in the U . K. and the U.S. regarding the visual language use, but few studies have investigated Sydney Chinatown that has held abundant linguistic resources and history. Dixon Street, the centre of Sydney inner-city Chinatown is marked by the community and enclave of various cultures. The diverse Linguistic Landscapes (LLs) have been a significant linguistic index of Chinatown’s political, economic, and cultural history. This project collects and compares the LLs in pictures of Dixon Street, Chinatown, ranging from 1980s to 2021. This project investigates the LLs through the lens of geosemiotics, Systemic Functional Linguistics, and metrolingualism to unveil the development of Chinatown’s social functions and status. Metrolingualism in the case of Chinatown is redefined as the linguistic fluidity across business districts and borders of Chinese and Australian cultures. This paper argues that Chinatown constructs the business sovereignty upon the prevalent practice of metrolingua francas through the geosemiotic patterns of the LLs. Through the example of Sydney Chinatown, this study will contribute to future language policy and planning concerning linguistic diversity and social equality.