Bilingual sign
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A bilingual sign (or, by extension, a multilingual sign) is the representation on a panel (
Bilingual signs are widely used in regions whose native languages do not use the
Around the world
The use of bilingual signs has experienced a remarkable expansion in recent years.[when?][citation needed] The increase in bilingualism there has been paralleled by increases in international travel and a greater sensitivity to the needs of ethnic and linguistic minorities.
Europe
Bilingual signs arose in places like
Switzerland has several cantons (
Another example is the German-speaking South Tyrol, which was annexed to Italy during World War I and eventually became the focus of assimilation policies. In observance of international treaties, Italy was eventually compelled to acknowledge and accommodate its German-speaking citizens through the use of bilingual signs. The situation of the Slovene minority living in the Trieste, Gorizia and Udine provinces is very different as only in recent years have the bilingual signs become visible and only in smaller villages. In the partially French-speaking Aosta Valley, official road and direction signs are usually in both languages, Italian and French.
In Greece, virtually all signs are bilingual, with the Greek text in yellow and the English in white. If a sign is in Greek only, an equivalent sign in English will often be situated nearby.
In Spain, bilingual signs in the local language and Spanish appear irregularly in the autonomous communities of Galicia, Basque Country, Navarre, Catalonia, Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands.
Bilingual signs are also used in the Republic of Ireland, with all roads, towns, important buildings etc. named in both the Irish and English languages. The Irish appears on the top of the sign (usually in italic text) with the English underneath. The exception to this is in Gaeltacht regions, where only Irish language signage tends to be used.
In
In
Bilingual signs are used in the
In parts of
), the law requires all official signs (including road signs) to be in both official languages. This regulation is not always strictly enforced, but nevertheless all road signs in these areas are bilingual.In many regions of
European airports have signs that are generally bilingual with the local language and English, although there are significant variations between countries. In multilingual countries such as Belgium and Switzerland, airports generally have signs in three or four languages. Some airports, such as Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, are used primarily by international travellers, and choose to use monolingual English signs, even though they are located in a country whose native language is not English.
North America
The
In the
Although Nunavut, an Inuit territory, is officially multi-lingual in English, French, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun, municipal road signs have remained in English only, other than stop signs.[citation needed] Some other road signs in various parts of Canada include other indigenous languages, such as the English/Squamish road sign in British Columbia shown here.
Quebec is officially monolingual in French, and the use of other languages is restricted under the Charter of the French Language. Commercial signs in Quebec are permitted to include text in languages other than French as long as French is "markedly predominant".[5]
At places near the U.S.–Mexico border, some signs are bilingual in English and Spanish,[6] and some signs near the U.S.–Canada border are bilingual in English and French.[citation needed] Additionally, large urban centers such as New York City, Chicago and others have bilingual and multilingual signage at major destinations.[citation needed] There are a few English and Russian bilingual signs in western Alaska.[citation needed] In Texas, some signs are required to be in English and Spanish. In Texas areas where there are large numbers of Spanish speakers, many official signs as well as unofficial signs (e.g. stores, churches, billboards) are written in Spanish, some bilingual with English, but others in Spanish only. In and around New Britain, Connecticut, it is not uncommon to see signs in Spanish and Polish as well as English.
In 2016, Port Angeles, Washington, installed bilingual signs in English and the indigenous Klallam languages to preserve and revitalize the area's Klallam culture.[7]
New York City's Chinatown has English–Chinese signs.[8] Seattle's Chinatown/Japantown has English–Chinese and English–Japanese signs.
Asia
In the
In Hong Kong and Macau, government signs are normally bilingual with Traditional Chinese and English or Portuguese, respectively. This is because, in addition to Chinese, English and Portuguese are official languages of Hong Kong and Macau, respectively. Trilingual road signs in English, Portuguese and traditional Chinese are seen in some newly developed areas of Macau.
In Israel, road signs are often trilingual, in Hebrew, Arabic and English.
In India, road signs are often multilingual, in Hindi, English and other regional languages. In addition, signs in Hindustani often feature synchronic digraphia, with an Urdu literary standard written in Arabic script and a High Hindi standard written in Devanagari.
In Sri Lanka, official road signs are in Sinhala, Tamil and English.
In Turkey bilingual (Turkish and Kurdish) village signs are used in Eastern Anatolia Region.[9][10][11] Airports and touristic areas include an English name after the Turkish name.
In the Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, road signs are often bilingual, in English and Arabic. Other signs (e.g. building signs) may also be displayed in English and Arabic.
Gallery
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Quadrilingual sign at Brussels-South railway station in French, Dutch, German, and English
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Quadrilingual sign in Masjid Nabwi, with Arabic at the top, followed by English, Urdu and Indonesian.
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A sign atTucson, Arizona, U.S., in Spanish and English
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Trilingual sign inUlster Scots
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Bilingual sign in the Republic of Ireland in Irish (italics) and English (uppercase, roman letters)
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Bilingual signs in English and Finnish in Hancock, Michigan
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Bilingual sign (Chinese, left; and Manchu, right) in the Forbidden City, China
See also
- Bilingualism in Canada
- Gaelic road signs in Scotland
- Linguistic landscape
- List of multilingual countries and regions
- Road signs in the Republic of Ireland
- Rules of the road
Bibliography
- Francescato, G. Le aree bilingui e le regioni di confine. Angeli
- Baldacci, O. Geografia e toponomastica. S.G.I.
- Baines, Phil. Dixon, Catherin. Signs. UK: Laurence King Co., 2004 (trad.ital. Segnali: grafica urbana e territoriale. Modena: Logos, 2004)
- Boudreau, A. Dubois, L. Bulot, T. Ledegen, G. Signalétiques et signalisations linguistiques et langagières des espaces de ville (configurations et enjeux sociolinguistiques). Revue de l'Université de Moncton Vol. 36 n.1. Moncton (Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada): Université de Moncton, 2005.
- Bhatia, Tej K. Ritchie, William C. Handbook of Bilingualism. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
- Shohamy, E. & Gorter, D. (Eds.), Linguistic Landscape: Expanding the Scenery. London: Routledge, 2009.
- Shohamy, E., Ben-Rafael, E., & Barni, M. (Eds.) Linguistic Landscape and the City. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, 2010.
References
- ^ "Language". Wales.com. Welsh Government. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Bilingual Roadsigns". BBC. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
- ^ "'Welsh First' for New Traffic Signs". Road Safety GB. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ "Bilingual Signs". Ontario Ministry of Transportation. 2010. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ^ Art. 58 of the Charter of the French Language[1], introduced by Bill 86 in 1993.
- ^ Hult, F.M. (2014). Drive-thru linguistic landscaping: Constructing a linguistically dominant place in a bilingual space. International Journal of Bilingualism, 18, 507-523.
- ^ Hopper, Frank (29 February 2016). "Bilingual Street Signs Herald a New Era of Language Revitalization". Indian Country Today. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "Kurdish Village Names Added to Signs in Kızıltepe". Firatnews.com. 27 January 2014. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ "Kurdish Name Inscribed on Village Sign in Diyarbakır". Today's Zaman. 26 November 2009. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ Baran, Firat (23 January 2014). "Kurdish Names, Signs Return to Van". SES Türkiye. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.