ISSN 1923-1555[Print]

Studies in Literature and Language ISSN 1923-1563[Online]

Vol. 15, No. 1, 2017, pp. 1-9 www.cscanada.net
DOI:10.3968/9816 www.cscanada.org

Linguistic Landscape of China: A Case Study of the Language Use of Shop Signs
in Wuhan

GUO Guihang[a]; LI Bingjie[a],*

[a]
Professor, School of English for International Business, Guangdong richness, language policy, power relations and lingual
University of Foreign Studies, China. environment. The languages employed in signs manifest
[b]
M.A., School of English for International Business, Guangdong
University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China.
the influence of economic, social, cultural, ethnical, and
*Corresponding author. historical and globalization development on the linguistic
landscape in a given area. Many international studies have
Received 17 May 2017; accepted 10 July 2017 achieved great progress in shop signs investigation from
Published online 26 July 2017
varied perspectives such as their effects on marketing and
brand promotion (Masai, 1972), global French linguistic
Abstract fetish in certain industries (Ong et al., 2013), prestige and
This study with a focus on the shop signs of Wuhan, positive attitudes towards certain languages in shop signs
investigates the linguistic landscape in China. By taking (Hussein et al., 2015) and influence and wide spread of
and processing photos of 147 commercial shops, it aims English in shop signs around the world (Nikolaou, 2006;
to analyze the language use of shop signs in Han Street, Mcarthur, 2000; Schlick, 2002; Griffin, 2004). However,
Wuhan, China and provides feasible explanations for such in China, most of researches focus on the translation of
language choice from three new perspectives, namely public signs like street names, inscriptions on tourist sites
commercial drive, English as lingua franca and current and so on. And investigation on shop signs is rare and
Chinese language policy. limited. Therefore, this case study aims to investigate the
Key words: Linguistic landscape; Language use; languages employed in shop signs in Wuhan, the capital
Shop signs; Commercial needs; English; Language policy city of Hubei province, China, to enrich the study of
linguistic landscape in China, find out the possible reasons
Guo, G. H., & Li, B. J. (2017). Linguistic Landscape of China: A of the language use pattern and help people have a better
Case Study of the Language Use of Shop Signs in Wuhan. Studies understanding of the linguistic landscape in China.
in Literature and Language, 15 (1), 1-9. Available from: http://www.
cscanada.net/index.php/sll/article/view/9816 DOI: http://dx.doi.
org/10.3968/9816
1. BRIEF REVIEW ON LINGUISTIC
LANDSCAPE RESEARCH IN CHINA
In China, linguistic landscape (LL) research mainly
INTRODUCTION covers themes ranging from LL translation and the
As Gorter (2006) points out, linguistic tokes scatter more norms, characteristics of domain-specific LL to theory
intensively and weigh high in numbers in shopping areas and methodology in LL study (Zhang, 2015; Zhang &
in cities, thus linguistic cityscape can replace the name of Xu, 2015; Yang & Liu, 2010), which has achieved much
linguistic landscape. Especially in metropolis, the number progress in the past forty years especially in researches on
of shopping malls and markets is huge and as a result, public signs.
there are more chances for people to see the commercial Zhang (2015) calculated the numbers of published
shop signs which play a significant role in constructing journal articles about linguistic landscape from the
and shaping a city’s linguistic landscape. The various database of China National Knowledge Infrastructure,
types of shop signs and different languages they adopt and categorized the research objects in China in recent
can form unique linguistic landscape reflecting cultural 34 years (see Table 1). According to his research, 520

1 Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture

Linguistic Landscape of China: A Case Study of
the Language Use of Shop Signs in Wuhan

journal articles and these were classified into several as commercial needs for attracting customers, and prestige
groups in terms of their research directions and themes, and brand promotion as well as shop image improvement.
which revealed that public signs and translation of those Zheng (2006) made an investigation on 1,783 names of
signs were the focus of those researches. For example, shops in five cities and found that shop names involved
Yang and Liu (2010) conducted a five-year research language varieties and deficiencies in naming elements.
aiming to improve the translation of bilingual signs under She suggested that the shop names as language codes and
the background of the success of 2008 Beijing Olympics commercial campaign should abide by the regulations and
and the approaching of the Shanghai World Expo 2010. laws governing the use of language. Jia (2003) discussed
Duan (1990) and Wu (1998) published their papers to list linguistic characteristics and cultural connotations of
the examples of translation errors in linguistic signs in shop names, indicating that shop names are not only
China and put forward strategies to solve these problems. sign system for identification but also social and cultural
Focusing on improving the quality of bilingual translation phenomena. As for the translation of Chinese shop names,
of public signs, many standards and regulations have been a group of translators from Canada devoted themselves
issued by the central and local Chinese governments and to finding the comparable store names and signage in
discussions about the translation theories and methods North America to increase the cross-cultural awareness in
were held among Chinese scholars. And with the deepened translation (Fu et al., 2005).
reforms and opening-up, as an uprising economy, China is Compared to those comprehensive and various foreign
attracting more and more foreigners visiting or investing studies which cover varied aspects such as minority
in this country. To establish and show a good image of language, multilingualism and language policy, study on
the country and to create a good language environment linguistic landscape in China in general is limited and
for people who are coming to China, the translation of needs to expand the scope of research. Although there
the bilingual signs should be of high-quality and avoid is some progress in the field of research on shop names,
misunderstandings. more attention of researchers is needed as shop signs are
Table 1 an indispensable part of the linguistic landscape and are
Classifications of Researches on LL in China (1980- exerting greater influence on our life.
2014)
Search word Journal Academic dissertation Total
Core+ CSSCI Master PhD
2. PERSPECTIVES OF STUDIES ON
Public signs/labels 81 195 0 278 LANGUAGE USEOF SHOP SIGNS
Publicizing language 43 22 2 68
2.1 Functions of Languages Used in Shop Signs
Couplets 28 10 1 39 As Berlage et al. (1996) pointed out, the process of
Store/shop name 12 21 0 33 naming actually is associating symbolic meaning to a
Language life 19 3 1 23 particular person, object or property, to label it and to
Billboard 17 6 0 23 define it. As for the languages used in shop signs, they can
Street/road name 10 7 0 17 deliver information and construct certain symbols (Landry
& Bourhis, 1997). “The configuration of languages
Street nameplate 7 3 0 10
present in the linguistic landscape can provide important
Slogan/ signboard 7 3 0 10
information about the diagnostic nature of a particular
Institutional name 7 0 0 7 bilingual or multilingual setting” (Landry & Bourhis,
Propagation 1 6 0 7 1997, p.26). In other words, language used on signs can
Linguistic landscape 3 0 0 3 deliver messages regarding the importance, significance,
Total 236 280 4 520 power and relevance of this language vis-à-vis other
languages in a community or society (Shohamy, 2006).
Source: Zhang, 2015.
Especially in multilingual settings, the dominance of one
It also can be seen from Table 1 that compared to language over others usually displays the higher status
public signs, researches on store or shop names are of its language group than other language groups. Thus
limited in number, most of which mainly concentrate languages presented in shops signs can be informational
on the changes of shop names, their characteristics and by delivering information to attract readers’ attention and
naming methods, cultural and social indications as well as are symbolic in the way of indicating status and value of
translations of Chinese shop names into English ones. Liu such languages compared to other languages.
(2009) initiated a case study concerning the evolution of Language use of shop signs also plays commercial
shop names located on Beijing Road, Guangzhou, China, functions in terms of marketing and brand promotion.
which mainly revealed the changes of shop names in a Based on their research, Ong et al. (2013) suggested that
period of time and possible reasons for such changes, such the French and English blended shop signs in Singapore

Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture 2

 GUO Guihang; LI Bingjie (2017).
Studies in Literature and Language, 15 (1), 1-9

indicated a global French linguistic fetish in beauty and private signs in their community. Therefore, the further
food industries and a local Singaporean prestige and study on those signs in China should be made and valued.
quality appealed to the needs of the local consumers.
2.3 Factors Influencing Language Use in Shop
In this case, the global language played a great role in Signs
marketing and image establishment. Hussein et al. (2015)
As shop names are commercial signs, commercial drive
investigated 680 shop signs in Amman based on a three-
to seduce potential customers, promote brand prestige
section sociolinguistic questionnaire, revealing that shop
and establish cosmopolitan image plays an essential role
signs using foreign names were connected with “prestige,
in language use of those signs. Shohamy (2006) pointed
positive attitudes towards foreign names, commercial
out that sociologists like Ben-Rafael et al. (2006) had
interests, types of goods/services and the educational and
put forward three forces behind language choice and
economic levels of customers.” (p.154)
dominance in the linguistic landscape, namely power
2.2 Types of Languages Used in Shop Signs relationship, community identity, self-presentation and
Languages used in shop signs can be either monolingual customer’s reaction and influence. The last factor is also
or multilingual. As the multilingual signs are increasing, mentioned in other researches (Batra et al., 2004; Liu et al.,
more and more attention is paid to this important research 2006) which state that customers living in less developed
subject. Ben-Rafael et al. (2006) studied three major countries might prefer products or brands from more
languages of Israel-Hebrew, Arabic and English on private developed countries. Campbell (2004) pointed out “need”
and public signs. Macgregor (2003) investigated the and “prestige” associated with languages and customers
language of shop signs in Tokyo and analyzed the various also exerted influence on language used on shop signs.
languages used in those signs. Backhaus (2006) also In terms of the influence of language policy on
conducted an empirical research on the multilingual signs linguistic landscape and the dominance of English, Wang
in Tokyo. (2013) investigated the multilingual environment of China
Besides, in multilingual signs, English has become by studying the names of 89 shop signs in Wangfujing
dominant over other languages. Nikolaou (2016) studied Street. Wang referred to the language policy of China
the linguistic composition of commercial signs in the as “the standardization of Chinese, the propagation of
linguistic landscape (LL) of cities like Athens, Greece. English and the development of minority languages”
A total of 621 shop signs were collected and analyzed (Wang, 2013, p45), which has an effect on the distribution
to get the result that a significant number of shops of different languages on those shop signs. Shang and
used English either monolingually or multilingually Guo (2016) argued that the phenomenon of multilingual
together with the home tongue, Greek. And he also signs in Singapore might result from a mixture of social
pointed out that English plays the dominant role in and cultural factors among which the state’s current
languages employed which could attract customers and macro language policy could not be neglected and
boost sales. His study demonstrates the wide spread of underestimated.
English and its dominance in the linguistic landscape.
Other researchers also have paid attention to the use of
English on commercial signs at different places across
3. CURRENT STUDY: SHOP SIGNS OF
Europe (Mcarthur, 2000; Schlick, 2002; Griffin, 2004), HAN STREET
which manifested the dominance of English over other
languages coexisting with it for its attractiveness, 3.1 Purpose and Research Questions
refinement, fashion and poshness. For instance, McArthur This paper centers on Han Street-the longest commercial
(2000) found that 44% of 86 shop names in Uppsala adopt street in the world to disclose the most popular language
English language. Therefore, the study on the use pattern adopted in China’s commercial business and reveal the
of English language in the linguistic landscape becomes language use patterns on shop signs. Based on that, this
necessary and important. paper also aims to give explanations accounting for the
With China’s integration into the global economy, shop owner’s language choice. As the study on China’s
bilingual and multilingual signs are becoming more private signs especially the shop signs has received less
and more common and can be seen in many cities. For attention, this study can also help to fill in the gap in
instance, Wang (2013) made an investigation on the this field. The research questions to be answered are as
multilinguistic signs in Beijing, China. He indicated the follows: a) What languages are displayed in the shop
influence of current language policy on the construction of signs? b) How are those languages allocated in shop
multilingual linguistic landscape. Besides, there are more signs? c) What are the factors influencing language
and more foreigners choosing to travel or settle down in choices by shop owners? The answers to the questions
China and Chinese people embracing different cultures may reveal the status quo of language use in Han Street,
and languages, people speaking different languages get present us the picture of linguistic landscape and display
together and influence the languages used in public or the multilingual environment in China.

3 Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture

Linguistic Landscape of China: A Case Study of
the Language Use of Shop Signs in Wuhan

3.2 Methodology landscape in Han Street, we have tried our best to take
Han Street, situated in China’s beautiful riverside photos of all shops distributed on both sides of this
city—Wuhan, is the capital city of Hubei Province commercial street. Usually, the shop name presented on
and comprises three districts—Wuchang, Hankou and the shop front or top was photographed and nearly all
Hanyang, ranking the top 10 megacities nationwide. shops had their names displayed on the front or top plate.
As an economic, industrial and transportation hub for Only several shops showed their names on the nameplate
central China, Wuhan boasts 10.22 million permanent hung on the wall and in this case, we took photos of the
residents with an area of 8, 494 square kilometers by 2013 plate. As some shops were in decoration and did not have
(“Introduction to Wuhan”, 2014). With Yangtze River, the their shop signs, a total number of 147 shops names were
world’s third longest river flowing through this city and collected and the languages used were analyzed and put
dozens of railway roads and expressways passing through into our database for further reference.
it, its convenient transportation attracts a vast amount of After the collection of the data, we grouped the photos
foreign investment and makes a great deal of contribution taken in light of their business types and coded them in
to the city’s development and prosperity. As part of the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. By referring to the data
Wuhan’s Central Cultural District, Han Street embraces coding method adopted by Shang and Guo (2016) in their
commercial and cultural features and becomes the symbol research, this study paid special attention to the following
of commercial prosperity of this city. With a length of aspects:
1,500 meters and the architectural style similar to that a) Languages of the full shop name signs
of the Republic of China, it covers an area of 210,000 b) Number of languages used in the sign
square meters and has become the world’s longest city c) F orms of Chinese characters(i.e. traditional or
commercial pedestrian street. Its unique scenery line simplified) and Chinese Pinyi
has attracted approximately 200 merchants at home and 3.3 Findings and Analysis
abroad to open commercial shops here to provide services
like recreation, leisure, catering and shopping. It is now 3.3.1 Languages Used in All Shop Signs
not only a cultural street but also a commercial one. The As the types of business of these shops are different, shop
whole street is divided into three districts distributed with owners need to choose the fitful language to name their
shops selling or providing such goods and services as stores. In this part, the types of the languages used in shop
fashion clothing, experience services, food specialties, signs are identified and classified. In light of the number
gold and jewelry, etc. When shoppers or travelers strolling of languages used, this study categorizes the shop signs
on the street, they are viewing shop signs and influenced into the following three groups: unilingual, bilingual and
by the language, color and size of the signs all the time. multilingual signs. The last group means the sign uses more
The photos of shops on Han Street were taken in than two languages. And it is found that the three types of
January 2017. In order to fully present the linguistic signs are not equally used by the shop owners (see Table 3).
Table 3
Number of Languages in Shop Signs
Unilingual Bilingual Multilingual Total
Number 83 63 1 147
Percentage 56.4% 42.9% 0.7% 100%

From Table 3, it is clear that the unilingual or shop signs in a limited place may get customers confused
monolingual shop signs take the predominant position and difficult to understand the meaning of the signs.
with a total number of 83 signs which surpass the total Speaking of the types of language used in shop signs,
of bilingual and multilingual ones, accounting for about it is found that there are in total 8 languages, which are:
56.4%. The last two groups account for 42.9% (n=63) and Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Spanish, German,
0.7% (n=1) respectively. Thus, the unilingual and bilingual Korean and Italian, among which English (67.3%, n=99,
signs together take up nearly 100% of all shop signs and English-only, Chinese-English bilingual, English-Korean
comprise the vast majority. Based on this result, it is bilingual & Trilingual) is the dominant language followed
inferred that shop owners in this street have a preference by Chinese and French as well as others. Names on signs
for unilingual and bilingual signs. However, they do not in Chinese ranks the second (n=94, 63.9%) with 31 in
like to choose more than two languages to present their Chinese only and 63 in a combination of Chinese and
signs as there is only one multilingual sign. The feasible other languages among which English is the dominant.
explanation may be due to the visual conciseness required Therefore, signs in Chinese and English (n=128, 87.1%),
by urban planning as Wuhan is planning to develop itself either in the sole linguistic code or a combination of the
into a national civilized city and to create a good city image two take up the overwhelming majority. Table 4 displays
nationwide. Besides, too many languages appearing in the the results.

Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture 4

 GUO Guihang; LI Bingjie (2017).
Studies in Literature and Language, 15 (1), 1-9

Table 4
Number of Languages on Shop Name Signs of Han Street (n=147)
Unilingual 83 Bilingual 63 Multilingual 1
Chinese 31(21%) Chinese + English 54(36.7%) Chinese +English +Korean 1(0.7%)
English 43(29.3%) Chinese + French 2(1.4%)
French 4(2.7%) Chinese + Japanese 4(2.7%)
Japanese 1(0.7%) Chinese+ Italian 2(1.4%)
Spanish 2(1.4%) English + Korean 1(0.7%)
German 2(1.4%)

In Table 4, the unilingual signs (n=83), are further (see Table 4). Other bilingual groups like Chinese and
classified into six categories, namely Chinese (21%), French (1.4%), Chinese and Japanese (2.7%), Chinese
English (29.3%), French (2.7%), Japanese (0.17%), and Italian (1.4%), English and Korean (0.7%) are rarely
Spanish (1.4%), and German (1.4%). The majority of seen in those ship signs (see Table 4). There is only one
shop signs are in English (n=43) which accounts for trilingual sign in Chinese, English and Korean (0.17%).
51.8% of the unilingual group, and this finding is also in The percentage of each language group is calculated by
accordance with Wang’s (2013) guessing that “English dividing the total number of all shop signs (n=147).
would have a significant presence in shop signs” (Wang, Therefore, when choosing shop signs, shop owners
2013, p43). In China, the status and importance of English prefer names written in the combination of Chinese and
Language as lingua franca in the world is highly promoted English which is the common case nationwide. Chinese
and emphasized as China is playing a greater role in the and English used together can make it easy for Chinese
world arena and seeking to participate actively in global and foreign readers to understand the shop name and at the
competition, either economically or politically. Shop same time make the shop name sound a bit “international”.
names using Chinese monolingual signs (n=31) account There is only one multilingual shop name sign which is
for 37.3% of all unilingual signs. There are only small written in English, Korean, and Chinese (Figure 1). This
numbers of ship signs in other languages, among which shop belongs to Korean fried chicken store chain. From
French is dominant. And these names actually are the Figure 1, it can be seen that the white scripts in Korean
original brand name such as “L’Oréal Paris” and “VERO locates both in the middle of and at the left of the shop
MODA”. Thus, brand name as the shop signs also plays a sign. And the Chinese characters are on the right side.
crucial role in the linguistic landscape in Han Street. Below them there is a rather small plate inscribed English
Non-monolingual shop signs including bilingual and words ‘Fusion Chicken Factory’ to tell what product it
multilingual types account for 43.5% of all shop signs, sells. So in this sign, English plays the informational
of which bilingual groups take up an overwhelmingly function and the other two languages are used to identify
proportion, especially the Chinese-English bilingual ones the country of origin of the shop and indicate the linguistic
(n=54) that is 84.4% of the non-monolingual shop signs community where the shop is located.

Figure 1
A Trilingual Sign in LL
3.3.2 Shop Signs for Business Types famous brands such as ‘ONLY’, “JACK&JONES”,
The type of business can affect the language choice “H&M”, “GAP” and so on. Charmasson (2000) asserted
by shop owners. In this research, it is found that signs that brand name could define the attributes of products
for fashion or sporting clothing shops (n=23) and and services and contribute to their marketing and
experimental retail shops (n=14) dominate the English- acceptance by consumers. Using the original foreign brand
only group in unilingual shop signs (see Table 5). This name without Chinese translation can make the shop
phenomenon may be due to the fact that most of the look trendy and leave customers with the impressions of
fashion or sports clothing shops belong to international internationalism and globalism.

5 Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture

Linguistic Landscape of China: A Case Study of
the Language Use of Shop Signs in Wuhan

Even some of the local Chinese experimental retail Chinese specialties and local food like “恩施炕小土豆”
shops such as “CREACE”, “bampo”, “aojo”, and (local dessert made of potato baked or dried by the heat
“SHINE”, use English only with the intention to make of fire in Enshi, Wuhan) and “周黑鸭” (local fast food
the shop names sound a bit “international” and establish chain known for its spicy duck). The adoption of sole
a good image in front of consumers. Crystal (1997) Chinese language is to represent local feature and attract
suggested that English is popular and attractive for it local people. Besides, the shop sign of a store belonging
symbolizes wealth and prestige. Though those English to the foreign fast food chain-Pizza Hut is localized by
names make no sense at all, local Chinese shop owners using Chinese name “必胜客欢乐餐厅” only without its
still choose them in the purpose of making their shops original English sign (Figure 2). Therefore, for restaurants
appear vogue and high-end. and local food stores in this street, their names are
In terms of Chinese-only shop signs (n=31), food localized by using Chinese to attract local customers who
specialties take the dominance, as most of them provide are mostly Chinese people.

Figure 2
A Picture of Pizza Hut in Han Street
Some famous foreign boutique shops selling cloth or translation of their names in Chinese is not necessary due
skin care products use their native languages to present to the fact that they are already recognizable and stand for
the origin of their country and catapult brand awareness as good taste.

Table 5
Unilingual Shop Signs by Business Type
Business type Unilingual
English Chinese French Japanese Spanish German Total
Food specialty 0 18 0 0 0 0 18
Experience services 0 3 0 0 0 0 3
Western food 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
Experimental retail 14 6 2 0 0 0 22
Dessert/drinks 3 3 1 0 0 0 7
Fashion/sports clothing 23 0 1 1 2 2 29
Bar 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
Total 43 31 4 1 2 2 83

In non-monolingual group, shop owners prefer to the food specialty shops, all of which are local Chinese
present their shop signs in Chinese-English combination. restaurants or local snack bars, they use English aiming to
So this section just focuses on different types of business attract foreigners to have a taste of their cuisine or food.
using a combination of English and Chinese to display Besides, English name can also make the shop sound
their shop names. From Table 6, it is clear that owners high-end and appealing. As for desserts or drinks which
of food specialty stores, experimental retail shops and are popular in English-speaking countries like UK and
dessert or drinks stores tend to choose bilingual signs in USA and get introduced to China not long ago, shops
a combination of Chinese and English because they want selling them usually adopt Chinese-English names to
to attract both local and foreign customers. Especially for explain what they are and mark the country of origin.

Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture 6

 GUO Guihang; LI Bingjie (2017).
Studies in Literature and Language, 15 (1), 1-9

Table 6 DISCUSSION
Chinese-English Shop Signs by Business Type (n=54)
First, prestige and brand awareness have an influence on
Business type C-E signs
Food specialty 13 shop owner’s adoption of foreign names. For instance,
Experience services 5 the multilingual character of shop signs can deliver
Western food 3 symbolic meaning in order to project ‘cosmopolitan,
Experimental retail 14 sophisticated and trendy outlook’ (Nikolaou, 2006).
Dessert/drinks 11 Many foreign language-only shop names are famous
Fashion/Sports clothing 3 international brand names which are interpreted as symbol
Gold/Jewelry 5 of internationalization and identified with a given country
Total 54
which can signal specific attributes of the products or
3.3.3 Forms of Chinese Characters and Pinyin on Shop services to customers, such as high grade and quality as
Name Signs well as exotic culture (Tufi & Blackwood, 2010; Low,
Chinese character can be written in two script forms. 2000; Palumbo& Herbig, 2000). As Simonson (1997)
One is the simplified Chinese and the other is the stated “foreign influences are strong in business, because
original complex form, called traditional Chinese. For the access to different culture is increasingly present in
now, the simplified Chinese character as the official daily life, where consumers are subject to the influence
and standard form is widely used in Mainland China, in of foreign images” (Hussein et al., 2015, p.155), with the
publication and education. There is no wonder that the increasing familiarity with foreign brands and improving
majority of Chinese shop names either in monolingual, economic conditions in China, Chinese customers are used
bilingual or multilingual form in this area is presented to perceive those brand names as the symbol of prestige
in simplified forms. The simplified form can make the and wealth, value them more than local brands and can
name recognizable and modern. Only eight shop signs are afford to purchase the products with willingness. Second,
displayed in traditional Chinese characters. For instance, the main purpose of the designing of commercial shop
the traditional Chinese character “華” combined with names signs is to attract customers and gain economic
other simplified characters forms the shop sign “文華書 profits. In this sense, consumers’ attitude towards
城”, which makes the book store elegant and special. And shops signs has a considerable impact on shop owners’
the traditional character seems to tell the customers that preference for languages used in signs. Piller (2001)
this shop is trustworthy with a long history and deliver concludes that global customers’ linguistic identities are
antique sensibility to the viewers. multilingual and English-dominant. There is no exception
Interestingly, there are seven shops using both Chinese for Chinese consumers. Their high exposure to English
characters and Chinese Pinyin in their shop signs (Table or other foreign languages make them bilingual speakers,
7) (a system of Romanized spelling in China used to which also has an influence on their consumption behavior
transliterate Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet). such as having preference for foreign brands.
At the first look, people may think they are English Schlick (2003) revealed that English plays the primary
names but a closer look at those alphabetic scripts can and dominant role in store signs. Such phenomenon can
make people realize that they are Pinyin annotation of the be ascribed to the powerful and high status of English
corresponding Chinese names. Pinyin, the Romanized serving as lingua franca and becoming the language of
spelling, is regarded as the symbol of state sovereignty media and international presence in the world (Hussein et
and concerns about national identity and dignity. So the al., 2015). Crystal (1997) is of the view that “A language
appearance of Pinyin reflects China’s language policy achieves a genuinely global status when it develops a
which highlights national identity. And the functions of special role that is recognized in every country.”(p.2) And
these signs are decorative and symbolic in an attempt English is an example considering its wide spread and
to make the shop mark identity and culture. Their
global status as the undisputed language of education and
resemblance to Roman letter also make the shop keep
business. After entering the World Trade Organization
abreast with the trend that English is widely spreading and
(WTO) and adopting the opening-up policy, China
used over the world.
has received English as the priority foreign language
Table 7 to increase its competitiveness and opportunity in
Chinese Shop Signs With Chinese Pinyin
globalization. In business, employees are expected to
Chinese-only signs Chinese pinyin Business type
develop proficiency in English and the mastery of this
周黑鸭 ZHOU HEI YA
TAN YU
language is a measurement of job seeker’s qualification
探鱼
Food specialty for job (Nunan, 2003). Many companies register English
川城 CHUANG CHENG
择物 ZEWOO names for entering the global competition. Proficiency
Experimental retail
阿吉豆 AJIDOU in English can enhance economic advantage in business
大卡司 DAKASI
Dessert/Drinks
and the use of English names can make the company
幔城鲜果 MANCHENG internationalized.

7 Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture

Linguistic Landscape of China: A Case Study of
the Language Use of Shop Signs in Wuhan

Language policy serves as the guidance for language to a commercial street in Wuhan. The purpose of this
use in a nation or society. To promote the normalization, study is to expand the scope of research of linguistic
standardization and healthy development of the standard landscape in China to enrich the study on multilingualism
spoken and written language, the Law of the People’s in China like what Wang (2013) did before. There are
Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written many big cities in China where commercial shops are
Chinese Language was adopted in the 18th Meeting of emerging like mushrooms after rain. The languages used
the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People’s in shop signs can contribute to the richness of linguistic
Congress of the People’s Republic of China on October landscape and reflect the multilingual environment,
31, 2000 and went into effect on January 1, 2001. language policy, and commercial considerations, influence
According to Article 2, “the standard spoken and written of western culture and language and globalization in
Chinese language means Putonghua (a common speech China. Therefore, researches on linguistic landscape can
with pronunciation based on Beijing dialect) and the be conducted from these varied perspectives and enrich
standardized Chinese characters”, most local Chinese shop the content of linguistic landscape.
owners in Han Street follow this regulation and adopt
standardized Chinese Characters in their shop names
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