A Dimensional Study Of Linguistic Landscape In Streets Of Beijing From The Perspective Of Language Planning

Linguistic landscape refers to the visibility and salience of languages on public and the commercial signs in a given territory or region.The setting and improvement of linguistic landscape concerns not only the image of our country and the city but also the further development of a city.Language planning,among the key perspectives of linguistic landscape research,especially the choice of language and the implementation of functions,bears significant values.Linguistic landscape study was relatively new in China,the achievements are not yet fruitful,most of them concentrating on the translation of language signs in public places.There were rare studies to combine the research of specific linguistic landscapes with urban language planning so as to achieve a comprehensive understanding and control of language setting and language use.From the perspective of language planning,this study analyzed the linguistic landscape in streets of Beijing,focused on the language use in public space and public places,and explored the language choice and landscape types.The study may contribute to the theoretical research of urban linguistic landscape with practical significance and evidence as well as the construction of social language environment,city image and the dissemination of local Beijing culture.It can also provide references for similar studies concerning other cities.The selected sites of this study are Chang’an Street,Zhongguancun Street and Xidan Commercial Street,three representative streets in Beijing.Following the three-dimensional space theory of Trumper-Hecht and language management theory,this study,through linguistic landscape pictures,interviews and the analysis of laws and regulations related to linguistic landscapes,examined the setting and motivation of the linguistic landscapes in Beijing from physical space,living space,and conceptual space.The results revealed that Chinese occupied an overwhelming percentage in the linguistic landscapes of the three typical streets.Beijing,a representative of international metropolis,played a key role as a platform and window for foreign affairs concerning politics,economy,and culture.English,as the most widely used language around the world and the most important international communication tool,was the second choice in linguistic landscapes.Meanwhile,the linguistic landscapes of these three streets had obvious differences in terms of language use,landscape type,colour matching,and the severity of language control.Such differences were inseparable from the political and historical status,commercial value and functions of the streets,resulting from the full consideration of integrated factors of politics,economy,technology,commerce,history,and culture.