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Part of
Current Theoretical and Applied Perspectives on Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics
Edited by Diego Pascual y Cabo and Idoia Elola
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 27] 2020
► pp. 273–294

Chapter 13
Public signage in a multilingual Caribbean enclave

The linguistic landscape of Old Providence and Santa Catalina, Colombia

| University of Florida

This study examines the linguistic landscape of the islands of Old Providence and Santa Catalina, Colombia, a language contact scenario. Over 700 pictures were geotagged in order to analyze the use and location of Spanish, Islander Creole, and English in public signage and to examine the factors that contribute to the distribution of these languages. The linguistic landscape analysis shows Islander Creole and English clustered into specific locations in these islands, where the community has made attempts to preserve their ancestral languages. Conversely, results show Spanish highly associated with businesses and local government in areas of financial and commercial importance. This study offers a description of the implicit language policies and the de facto language practices in islands where Spanish coexists with Creole languages.

Keywords: linguistic landscape, language contact, language policies, Islander Creole
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Methodology
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Authorship
    • 3.2Zone
    • 3.3Authorship and zone
  • 4.Discussion
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgment
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 4 June 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.27.13res
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