The linguistic landscape in China: a case study of Shangri-La ethnic primary school

In this article, drawing on Gorter & Cenoz's framework for analysing the functions and quantitative distribution of languages in signage, we explore the linguistic landscape of an ethnic primary school in China. The finding reveals a diverse distribution of languages, encompassing monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual contexts. The creators of the linguistic landscape adhere to various laws, regulations, and policy documents, which in turn reflect institutional ideologies in the linguistic landscape's purposes and functions. However, the linguistic landscape of the school does not accurately reflect students' language practices. The study finds that teachers predominantly value Chinese for its perceived importance and utility for students, while students themselves regard Chinese as beautiful, useful, and important, and express a strong desire to learn English. There is widespread support among both teachers and students for the standardised use of Chinese, Tibetan, and English in public signage within the school's domain. These linguistic landscapes are indicative of a multifaceted interplay between language ideology, language choices, language education and implicit curriculum, making it a representative case study in the educational field. It also mirrors a tenuous link between the translanguaging and linguistic landscape.