Spring Special: "English for Commercialisation"
SPRING SPECIAL: "ENGLISH FOR
COMMERCIALISATION"
Authors: Natàlia Castelló, Raquel Ayala and Marta Gallart
1. INTRODUCTION
The Linguistic Landscape “Spring Special” is placed in Carrer Sant Antoni, 26, in Lleida. This street is part of the commercial area in the middle of the city. As shown in our token, it is situated in a window display of male fashion show. "Springfield" is a multinational and after checking its official website, we have seen that the language used is English and also depending on our location the language change. This shop is placed in 61 countries.
The token is part of the commercial typology and the values that offers are aesthetic and productive. Its activity domain is aimed at commerce. This sign is posted by individuals, in this case by the shop assistants, and this makes it a bottom-up sign, addressed to male consumers.
2. CONTEXTUALISATION
The address of our LL token is Carrer Sant Antoni, 26. It is the oldest part of the city. It is one of the streets that are part of the “Eix comercial”, which is known as the place with more commercial shops, which is why it is called that.
After visiting the street, we arrived at the conclusion that the neighbourhood's demographic profile is migrant populated and middle-class. Moreover, it is also tourified. As we can see in Table 2: “Statistics of Spaniards and Foreigners in Lleida” the number of Spanish people in Centre Històric is 55.19%, and 44.81% have a different nationality, comparing to Torres de Sanui which presents a 3.95% of foreigners. The inhabitants of the neighbourhood, Centre Històric, present a remarkable homogeneity regarding the nationality of the citizens. The street where is situated our neighbourhood, Carrer Sant Antoni, 26, is known to be a middle-class socioeconomic profile. We observed that the people who were walking through the street were mostly women and middle-aged people. Besides, there were some beggars that were sitting next to the shops asking for money and most of them were migrants.
After visiting the street, we arrived at the conclusion that the neighbourhood's demographic profile is migrant populated and middle-class. Moreover, it is also tourified. As we can see in Table 2: “Statistics of Spaniards and Foreigners in Lleida” the number of Spanish people in Centre Històric is 55.19%, and 44.81% have a different nationality, comparing to Torres de Sanui which presents a 3.95% of foreigners. The inhabitants of the neighbourhood, Centre Històric, present a remarkable homogeneity regarding the nationality of the citizens. The street where is situated our neighbourhood, Carrer Sant Antoni, 26, is known to be a middle-class socioeconomic profile. We observed that the people who were walking through the street were mostly women and middle-aged people. Besides, there were some beggars that were sitting next to the shops asking for money and most of them were migrants.
Table 1. Inhabitants of the neighbourhood (Ajuntament de Lleida, 2016)
Table 2. Percentage of Spaniards and Foreigners in Lleida (Ajuntament de Lleida, 2012)
Figure 1. Centre Històric (Localising English in Lleida, Google Maps)
Figure 2. Carrer Sant Antoni (Google Maps)
3. METHODOLOGY
We employed an interpretative critical sociolinguistics approach. From this perspective, our data includes ethnographic visits through observation, censuses and audiovisual materials.
The first time we saw the token it was on Wednesday the 13th of march at 11 a.m. As it was during the month of march, and it is the beginning of spring, some shops were on sale. As a result, the token was in one of the window displays in a shop situated at the beginning of Carrer Major. It announced sales. The street was little crowded, there were just some middle-aged women. However, the second time we went to visit it, it was Thursday the 21st of march and the sign had already been removed, although it was the first day of Spring. It was at 5 p.m. and in the street we could observe that there was a great variety of pedestrians such as elderly women and men, tourists with suitcases, immigrants who asked for money and also youngsters. In fact, in that day, there was a University party in Cappont so, it is not strange that so many youngsters were there. Besides, we returned there on Saturday the 23rd and the token was not there either but taking into account that it was at 8 p.m., the streets were crammed with a lot of families with children, elderly people, youngsters, a large group of tourists and also immigrants.
Figure 3. Street view. Picture taken by authors.
We employed an interpretative critical sociolinguistics approach. From this perspective, our data includes ethnographic visits through observation, censuses and audiovisual materials.
The first time we saw the token it was on Wednesday the 13th of march at 11 a.m. As it was during the month of march, and it is the beginning of spring, some shops were on sale. As a result, the token was in one of the window displays in a shop situated at the beginning of Carrer Major. It announced sales. The street was little crowded, there were just some middle-aged women. However, the second time we went to visit it, it was Thursday the 21st of march and the sign had already been removed, although it was the first day of Spring. It was at 5 p.m. and in the street we could observe that there was a great variety of pedestrians such as elderly women and men, tourists with suitcases, immigrants who asked for money and also youngsters. In fact, in that day, there was a University party in Cappont so, it is not strange that so many youngsters were there. Besides, we returned there on Saturday the 23rd and the token was not there either but taking into account that it was at 8 p.m., the streets were crammed with a lot of families with children, elderly people, youngsters, a large group of tourists and also immigrants.
Apparently, the languages heard in Carrer Major are mainly Catalan and Spanish. In fact, in the shop where we can find the token, the shop assistants usually talk in Spanish to the customers. Actually, the truth is that near the commercial street, still in the same neighbourhood (Centre Històric) there are a lot of empoverished streets with low price flats mostly occupied by immigrants. Therefore, there is a great variety of languages. For instance, Arabic and Romanian were the ones we could hear the most. Nevertheless, Carrer Sant Antoni is a tourified street which means that there are a lot of tourists and also Erasmus students who speak English, Dutch, French, Corean, Italian, Japanese, etc.
Regarding top-down language policies in Lleida, they are addressed by an authority, in this case by the town council La Paeria. This policy says that “la retolació pública de tota mena s’ha de redactar normalment en català” (Article 14, Ajuntament de Lleida, 2018), that is that normally all the public signs have to be written in Catalan and, moreover, another policy states that “fora de l’àmbit lingüístic català, la publicitat s’ha de fer preferiblement en versió doble: català i la llengua pròpia del territori on va adreçada o en castellà” (Article 17.2, BOP, 2014), which means that publicity has to be written in Catalan and in the language spoken in the country, therefore, Spanish. Although our token is a bottom-up sign, we can associate it with these policies presented by the town council. Our sign “Spring Special” uses a minority of Catalan and Spanish. However, our linguistic landscape uses these official languages in a secondary view and makes of English the main language, so it contradicts these policies. In relation to this, we can say that “the linguistic landscape is a testament to the languages actually being used in a place. That is, it is not the case that the only languages used in a community are the “official” languages.” (Mooney & Evans, 2015, pg. 97). In the case of our token, English is used as an instrument for marketing in order to make the products sellable. So, it is a linguistic fetish, which has a connotative meaning because not all the passers have to understand English.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In relation to the writing, the use of Catalan and Spanish is only present in the expression used to mention the length of the offer “hasta/ fins a” and in the small letter information, which remarks that not all the products are under a 50% of discount, and other requests of the shop. In the case of English, it is used for monetisation, marketisation and for commercial strategies, because it is the language of supremacy and because it is getting economic power. In Lleida, English is a non autochthonous language but it is gaining power with the official languages of the city: Catalan and Spanish. All in all, English is used as a linguistic currency. As a consequence of globalization and Englishasation, many shops in the city have English references. Moreover, as it has been explained before, today, there is a great amount of erasmus students and tourists, so for the shopkeepers, using English is a chance to not limit their clientele. However, English is not present in everybody’s life, this means that many Lleida’s citizens are not able to understand the language, but they take it as a sign of "innovation/internationalisation".
Figure 2. The token "Spring Special". Picture taken by authors.
Our linguistic landscape “Spring Special” presents multiple values, which are the aesthetic and the productive one. On the one hand, it has an aesthetic value because it plays with the name of the shop and with the season of the year. In other words, the sign contains the words “spring special”, therefore, “spring” can be understood as the season or we can perceive it as the first part of the name of the shop “Springfield”. The colour of the sign is orange, which makes it loud and visually attractive. This claims that it does not only want the public to notice that spring is coming and that the shop is on sales, but it is also used to call the attention of the people walking next to it, provoking them the feeling of going inside the shop to buy clothes and the products offered. So, “where a sign is placed tells us something about its meaning and the intentions of the sign maker” (Mooney & Evans, 2015, pg. 90). On the other hand, it is productive basically because it is aimed at commerce. Besides, making reference to the aesthetic value, the word game can be understood by the target of the shop, because the customers are mainly young men. The sign offers up to 50% of discount in the clothes and products sold in the shop. Thus, our token is aimed at making money and English is used in order to make it more approachable to all customers.
5. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Lleida is a city that is constantly growing, that is why there is a variety of distinct cultures in the same city, that contributes to an interaction of languages. At the beginning of this project we were not conscious of the use of so many languages in Lleida. However, the chance of finding linguistic landscapes in our city has been useful for us to realize the importance of the languages we use, and that many languages are perceivable in the streets, as we have seen in Carrer Sant Antoni. Actually, we have found that even though we are not in an English-speaking country and English is not our official language, it is really present in our society. For instance, a clear example is that there are many shops which's names are written in English or that combine two different languages. In the case of our LL token, it varies between English, Catalan and Spanish and the name of the shop is an English name. This could be a consequence of globalization. Englishization is reflected in the use of English in commercial items such as discount advertisements, which is the case of “Spring Special”. This is because of the international power that this language has. Globalization affects not only big enterprises but small businesses. In other words, English is used as an international language. For example, we can see this in the shop’s name or in the information given to the customers. For this reason, it is not strange that a shop named“Springfield” can be located in Lleida but also in London. Having said that, the same happens with small businesses like the local ones. Thus, nowadays the number of local shops that use English within the commerce is increasing. This idea has to do with commercialisation and the aim of appealing to a specific public opening up their doors to the international market.
Personally speaking, we believed that using linguistic landscapes as an educational tool is beneficial because it allows the students to further their knowledge in this field. When using LL, we are more interested in recognising what surrounds us and, as a consequence, we are at the same time adding relevant concepts of language in and through society.
Personally speaking, we believed that using linguistic landscapes as an educational tool is beneficial because it allows the students to further their knowledge in this field. When using LL, we are more interested in recognising what surrounds us and, as a consequence, we are at the same time adding relevant concepts of language in and through society.
6. REFERENCES AND WEBSOURCES
- Ajuntament de Lleida (2018). “L’article 14 assenyala que la retolació pública de tota mena s’ha de redactar normalment en català”. Available in: https://www.paeria.es/cat/ajuntament/noticies.asp?Detall=True&IdNoticia=24811&Dia=-1&Mes=-1&Any=-1&IdDepartament=-1&TextCerca=&Consulta=False&PaginaAnterior=/cat/ajuntament/noticies.asp&Pagina=613
- Butlletí Oficial de la Província de Lleida (2014). Available in: https://seu.paeria.cat/documentPublic/download/2772
- La Paeria, Ajuntament de Lleida, (2016). “Població de Lleida”. Available in: https://www.paeria.es/doc/2016/2016.pdf
- La Paeria, Ajuntament de Lleida, Consorci de Promoció Econòmica, (2012). “Població al municipi de Lleida”. Available in: http://paeria.cat/butlletieconomic/2012/03-juliol/06-poblacio.pdf
- Mooney, A. & Evans, B., (2015). Linguistic Landscapes. In: Language, society and Power. London & New York: Routledge.
- Source of Figure 1 (consulted on March 15): https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1LCRMDaUyw-uq1_oVls8XH-vpFMBBkFQO&ll=40.454040236263445%2C-3.702342343964233&z=15
- Source of Figure 2 (consulted on March 21): https://www.google.es/maps/place/Springfield+SPF+Man+%26+Woman/@41.6122295,0.6220132,79m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x12a6e06cfb557beb:0x6473208efe775568!2sCarrer+Sant+Antoni,+26,+25002+Lleida!3b1!8m2!3d41.6122821!4d0.6221826!3m4!1s0x12a6e06cfcb50ffd:0xf6cf5e72e7cc5ce1!8m2!3d41.6122408!4d0.6222363
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