Localising English in Lleida

  BARBERIA LOS HERMANOS:  MULTILINGUALISM AND THE INCORPORATION OF MIGRANT LANGUAGES IN LLEIDA by Carla Garcia and Ariana Díaz INTRODUCTION Nowadays, the world has become increasingly globalized, where cities and urban spaces reflect linguistic diversity through advertisements, commercial displays, and signage, shaping Linguistic Landscapes (LL) of specific areas (Landry & Bourhis, 1997). Sociolinguistics, the study of the relationship between language and society, examines how languages vary depending on age, gender, location, ethnicity and social class (Holmes, 2008). Consequently, LL provides insights into cultural identity, language prestige or social interactions.  Moreover, Sabaté-Dalmau (2022) emphasises the use of LL as pedagogical tools to explore and analyse multilingualism and Englishisation in urban spaces, which demonstrates how global languages such as English are integrated and adapted to local settings and contexts. Particularly, in this project, it ca...

Figure 1. Ria Money Transfer.  Source: picture taken by Yasmina Jamad & Amin Bouakel       1. Introduction. T he linguistic landscape of “Ria Money Transfer” is skillfully embodied in its sign—a commercial presentation that reflects the establishment's dual identity as both a tech store and a money transfer service. Positioned prominently through window displays in Lleida, Catalonia, the sign employs the Roman alphabet exclusively, with English serving as the primary language to appeal to a global audience while Catalan provides a supportive local grounding.  This design preserves the brand’s worldwide recognition and meaning, effectively attracting customers in need of money transfer and phone selling/repair services. By integrating these language choices into a single, visually compelling medium, the establishment signals its commitment to modern technology and traditional community services, thereby connecting local communities with internationa...