{"title":"公共空间中的语言可见性:津巴布韦马斯温戈的语言景观","authors":"Vincent Jenjekwa","doi":"10.1080/02572117.2022.2094085","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates the language situation in the public space in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, from a linguistic landscape point of view. The data consists of written information displayed on billboards, road signs and buildings. Data were also generated through in-depth interviews and documentary study. The theoretical underpinnings of the study are founded in the linguistic landscape and post-colonial theories. The study established the overwhelming dominance of English both in the cityscape and landscape. While Shona, one of the major indigenous languages of Zimbabwe, appears in a few instances in the form of proper names, most local languages are not part of the visible signs on roads, billboards and buildings in Masvingo. This gives English de facto status as the sole official language, regardless of the fact that the constitution of Zimbabwe officially recognises 15 indigenous languages in addition to English. This silencing of indigenous languages has serious implications for equity in language use in Zimbabwe. The study recommends equitable treatment of languages in the public space to ensure that the languages and cultures associated with all languages of Zimbabwe do not gradually die.","PeriodicalId":42604,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of African Languages","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Language visibility in the public space: the linguistic landscape of Masvingo, Zimbabwe\",\"authors\":\"Vincent Jenjekwa\",\"doi\":\"10.1080/02572117.2022.2094085\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"This article investigates the language situation in the public space in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, from a linguistic landscape point of view. The data consists of written information displayed on billboards, road signs and buildings. Data were also generated through in-depth interviews and documentary study. The theoretical underpinnings of the study are founded in the linguistic landscape and post-colonial theories. The study established the overwhelming dominance of English both in the cityscape and landscape. While Shona, one of the major indigenous languages of Zimbabwe, appears in a few instances in the form of proper names, most local languages are not part of the visible signs on roads, billboards and buildings in Masvingo. This gives English de facto status as the sole official language, regardless of the fact that the constitution of Zimbabwe officially recognises 15 indigenous languages in addition to English. This silencing of indigenous languages has serious implications for equity in language use in Zimbabwe. The study recommends equitable treatment of languages in the public space to ensure that the languages and cultures associated with all languages of Zimbabwe do not gradually die.\",\"PeriodicalId\":42604,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"South African Journal of African Languages\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":0.4000,\"publicationDate\":\"2022-05-04\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"South African Journal of African Languages\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"1085\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1080/02572117.2022.2094085\",\"RegionNum\":0,\"RegionCategory\":null,\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"0\",\"JCRName\":\"LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"South African Journal of African Languages","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02572117.2022.2094085","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
Language visibility in the public space: the linguistic landscape of Masvingo, Zimbabwe
This article investigates the language situation in the public space in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, from a linguistic landscape point of view. The data consists of written information displayed on billboards, road signs and buildings. Data were also generated through in-depth interviews and documentary study. The theoretical underpinnings of the study are founded in the linguistic landscape and post-colonial theories. The study established the overwhelming dominance of English both in the cityscape and landscape. While Shona, one of the major indigenous languages of Zimbabwe, appears in a few instances in the form of proper names, most local languages are not part of the visible signs on roads, billboards and buildings in Masvingo. This gives English de facto status as the sole official language, regardless of the fact that the constitution of Zimbabwe officially recognises 15 indigenous languages in addition to English. This silencing of indigenous languages has serious implications for equity in language use in Zimbabwe. The study recommends equitable treatment of languages in the public space to ensure that the languages and cultures associated with all languages of Zimbabwe do not gradually die.
期刊介绍:
The South African Journal of African Languages is a peer-reviewed research journal devoted to the advancement of African (Bantu) and Khoi-San languages and literatures. Papers, book reviews and polemic contributions of a scientific nature in any of the core areas of linguistics, both theoretical (e.g. syntax, phonology, semantics) and applied (e.g. sociolinguistic topics, language teaching, language policy), and literature, based on original research in the context of the African languages, are welcome. The journal is the official mouthpiece of the African Language Association of Southern Africa (ALASA), established in 1979.