The expression of polyphonic city image: A perspective from the linguistic landscape of Beijing’s Hutongs

This study investigates how linguistic landscapes function as semiotic systems for the expression of city image, using Beijing’s Hutongs as a case study to explore the interaction between linguistic landscapes and urban identity formation. Adopting an ethnographic approach, the study employs a three-tier “frame-polyphony-semiotics” theoretical framework to identify four dominant frames in the Hutong linguistic landscape. These include the historical–cultural, globalization, political-discourse, and everyday-life frames, which respectively correspond to four distinct city images: “Old Beijing”, “Global Metropolis”, “Institutionalized Space”, and “Lived Community”. The findings suggest that linguistic landscapes not only mirror urban spatial configurations and everyday practices but also actively contribute to city-image construction through frame overlap and polyphonic interactions. By examining linguistic landscapes’ semiotic structures and social embeddedness, this study demonstrates their role as discursive instruments that mediate meanings across diverse contexts, shaping city image in dynamic ways. Finally, the study explores the ecological interplay between people, urban spaces, and semiotic resources, offering fresh perspectives on conceptualizing cities as readable and interpretable textual spaces.