Semio-linguistic Norms and Variations of French in Urban and Commercial Spaces in Japan

Abstract

The presence of English has grown in public and commercial spaces of urban localities across the world, yet the French language is gaining an increasing presence in Japan and is thus characterizing its linguistic landscape of its cities. Many language signs in these cities containing names of shops or products in French, appear on storefronts and packages. These texts seemingly convey shop policies or product images rather than a correct use of the French language. These situations require us to cast questions such as the following: 1) Which categories produce signs in French? 2) Which demographics constitute targeted receivers of these signs? 3) To what extent to these demographics comprehend the language n these signs? 4) What are the formal features specific to these signs? 5) What are the motivations and identities of the stakeholders of signs? 6) What are the motives for opting for French rather than other foreign languages in Japanese society? To respond to these questions, in this article, I will report on my preliminary analysis of signage data collected over several years throughout Japan’s urban centres. For this, I will discuss the presence of foreign languages in Japanese society and its language (loanwords, writing systems, foreign language in the media), after which, the article alludes to the ethnolinguistic vitality of French in the society. This vitality of the French language in Japan’s urban linguistic landscapes is described by the form and presence of metalinguistic variation, that is, the form and meaning of elements of French in signage in Japan’s cities.