Chapter published in:
Linguistic Landscape in the Spanish-speaking World
Edited by Patricia Gubitosi and Michelle F. Ramos Pellicia
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 35] 2021
► pp. 341–364

Chapter 13
Donde su visión se hace realidad

Landscaping the linguistics of Orlando’s Plazas

| University of Arizona
This chapter examines the Linguistic Landscape of business plazas in Orlando, Florida to identify the roles of Spanish and English and illustrate how signage converges with local neighborhoods. Data consists of storefront signage for 119 businesses in 10 Orlando plazas. Quantitative data analysis demonstrated how language represented the surrounding populations (Van Mensel, Vandenbroucke, & Blackwood, 2016). By integrating grammar of visual design (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 1996), geosemiotics (Scollon & Scollon, 2003), and multimodality (Kress, 2003, 2010), I examined how multimodal choices further index certain populations. Findings indicate the importance of neighborhood plaza culture in language choice and the role of gentrification and translocal identities in the creation of Orlando business signs.
Keywords: linguistic landscape, multimodality, geosemiotics, grammar of visual design
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Previous research on bilingual linguistic landscapes in the United States
  • Theoretical framework
    • Grammar of visual design
    • Geosemiotics
    • Multilingualism and multimodality in semiotic landscapes
  • Methods
    • Setting: Orlando, Florida
  • Data collection
    • Data analysis
  • Findings
    • Frequency count
    • Zooming in: The Plaza as the “Neighborhood”
    • Bilingualism count
    • Treat yourself or get a family plan: The case of Metro PCS
    • Surreal uses of Spanish and English: Donde su visión se hace realidad
    • Indexing customers through multimodal national colors, flags, and cultural artifacts
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 29 July 2021
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.35.13amg
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