Understanding linguistic landscapes in a Chinese inland village: a chronotopic perspective

Abstract Linguistic landscapes are an important part of a lived space, and the social semiotics of rural linguistic landscapes can reveal the everyday social practices of Chinese peasants. In this paper, the first researcher, a native born and brought up in an average Chinese inland village, conducted an ethnographic study of the rural linguistic landscapes in his hometown village. Walking through the village, using observation, photography and interviews with villagers, enabled him to collect rich data of the characteristics of these linguistic landscapes. This data reveals the current Chinese peasants’ lived space-times – chronotopes, including their business practices, which are embedded in the traditional and usually harmonious interpersonal relationships that ground their everyday life. Modernity and mobility represented by the language signs signal that rural revitalization is taking place in this space. Other chronotopes identified in these linguistic landscapes relate to rural governance, village democracy and leadership of rural revitalization. This paper contributes to scholarly understanding of chronotopes and China’s rural revitalization and suggests that the villagers’ construction of rural linguistic landscapes needs to be actively supported by local authorities to bring about sustainable rural revitalization.