Linguistic landscape in transnational areas: a comparative study of African and Korean neighbourhoods in Guangzhou

Not only does language practice in shop signs generate a sense of place with particular meanings to visitors, it also indicates the kind of economic activity performed in that place. By investigating and comparing the shop name signs in the two largest foreign migrant neighbourhoods in Guangzhou, specifically, Baohan Straight Street (African community) and Yuanjing Road (Korean community), this study aims to reveal the distinctive economic patterns reflected by the two different linguistic landscapes and to shed new light on the relationship between linguistic landscape and economy. Quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to interpret the messages the shop name signs convey, including an examination of language choices and combinations as well as other visual resources used in the signs. The findings suggest that the foreign languages, namely, English and Korean, perform contrasting functions, with the former providing more practical information while the latter being more of an index of ‘Korean authenticity’. The disparate linguistic landscapes in these two contexts emerge as an outcome of two specific economic patterns, namely, ‘low-end globalisation’ and ‘symbolic economy’.