Conditions of commodification: Russian as a transient commodity in an Arctic tourism resort

IF 1.1 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS
S. Muth, Maiju Strömmer
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract Based on an ethnography incorporating interview, linguistic landscape and observational data, this research illustrates how temporary linguistic value is negotiated and how an Arctic tourism destination is made fit for consumption for a specific audience. Set within a tourism resort in the Finnish Arctic during two weeks in Winter when the region habitually receives a large influx of Russian-speaking visitors, we illustrate how Russian is conceptualized as a means of economic practice by stakeholders in the local tourism industry. While some offer services specifically for a Russian-speaking audience as part of a short-term high-risk/high-reward investment, others regard Russian as an expression of a negative niche market that compromises the overall image of the Arctic as a global tourism destination. We discuss these different understandings of commodity value and highlight, how stakeholders in the local tourism economy imagine and discursively construct Russian-speaking tourists. In doing so, this paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the conditions of language commodification and the processes involved in the valuation and devaluation of linguistic resources within temporary linguistic markets.
商品化条件:俄罗斯作为北极旅游胜地的过渡商品
摘要:本研究基于民族志,结合访谈、语言景观和观测数据,阐述了如何协商暂时的语言价值,以及如何使北极旅游目的地适合特定受众的消费。故事发生在芬兰北极地区的一个旅游胜地,在冬季的两周内,该地区习惯性地接待大量讲俄语的游客,我们将说明俄语是如何被当地旅游业的利益相关者概念化为经济实践的一种手段。虽然有些人专门为讲俄语的受众提供服务,作为短期高风险/高回报投资的一部分,但其他人认为俄语是一个负面利基市场的表现,损害了北极作为全球旅游目的地的整体形象。我们讨论了这些对商品价值的不同理解,并强调了当地旅游经济中的利益相关者如何想象和话语建构讲俄语的游客。在此过程中,本文旨在有助于更好地理解语言商品化的条件以及临时语言市场中语言资源的估值和贬值过程。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
International Journal of the Sociology of Language
International Journal of the Sociology of Language Arts and Humanities-Language and Linguistics
CiteScore
2.30
自引率
0.00%
发文量
66
期刊介绍: The International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) is dedicated to the development of the sociology of language as a truly international and interdisciplinary field in which various approaches – theoretical and empirical – supplement and complement each other, contributing thereby to the growth of language-related knowledge, applications, values and sensitivities. Five of the journal''s annual issues are topically focused, all of the articles in such issues being commissioned in advance, after acceptance of proposals. One annual issue is reserved for single articles on the sociology of language. Selected issues throughout the year also feature a contribution on small languages and small language communities.
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