Stop EATING ANIMALS

Stop EATING ANIMALS

Abril Domingo, Cecília Fondevilla, Paula Marro

Figure 1. Token close-up. Picture taken by Cécilia Fondevilla, March, 11, 2021.

INTRODUCTION

Graffiti and street art are seen from two vastly different perspectives. When following a negative-oriented approach, people understand these messages as vandalism and incitement to hatred, but when following a positive-oriented approach, graffiti, street art and others are described as art, self-expression, and being mind-opening. Besides that, these signs can have a positive impact on society, influencing changes and the evolution towards a better future. According to Miladi (2015, p.129), "graffiti and street art have, on the one hand, signaled the flourishing of a multiplicity of voices. On the other hand, such forms of social activism have proven to be effective tools for breaking the monopoly on information, dissemination, public opinion and control over the communicative spheres". 

Inspired by this brief explanation of the positive effects that this text typology has, we have chosen a graffiti sign to explore Englishisation in Lleida. The token that will be explained in this entry consists of a graffiti (Figure 1) on a pillar in Jaume II street, 3, in Lleida’s neighbourhood of Cappont. With only three words and using two different types of lettering, the token contains a transgressive message in monolingual English: ‘Stop eating animals’. As it can be seen, it presents the Roman alphabet. 

By its meaning, it can be said that the activity domain is sociocultural (Backhaus, 2008, Ben-Rafael & Ben-Rafael, 2015), as it deals not only with morals and ethics but the author also tries to have an influence on society’s animal consumption habits. Besides that, because it is an activist message, it could also be related to sustainability and for animals’ rights. Moreover, this sign is aesthetic due to its use of transgressive language practices through inscriptions, which call the attention of the passerby. 

CONTEXTUALIZATION

In terms of contextualisation, our Linguistic Landscape is situated in the Catalan/Spanish city of Lleida, more precisely in Carrer Jaume II. Besides, this street belongs to Cappont's neighbourhood (see Figure 2 below), an apparently old area that is currently being renovated, with the incorporation of new buildings in the area. It is also in constant growth since there are different buildings of the University of Lleida. Hence, it is considered to be a neighbourhood that is influenced by different cultures, as it can easily be seen as we take a walk for its streets.

Figure 2. Lleida's neighbourhoods.

If we take a look at Cappont Sociodemographic's and the official Socioeconomic Bulletin of Lleida from 2012, we will see that 81.56% of the citizens living in the mentioned neighbourhood are Spanish. Thus, it can be generalised that the majority of the people living there can have access to education. In regards to counting the percentage of Spanish people living there, it can be observed that only 18.44% of the population come from other countries. Taking into account the city of Lleida as a whole, the statistics show that 78.43% of the population is Spanish, while the foreigners represent 21.57%.  

Figure 3. Percentages of Spanish and foreign people in Lleida. Taken from the Butlletí Socioeconòmic de Lleida.

Regarding sociodemographics, Cappont is made up mostly of old buildings that give a low socioeconomic portrait of the neighbourhood. Despite this image that carries Cappont, this area of ​​Lleida is going through a process of modernization. New buildings are being constructed in the neighbourhood, giving the district an air of modernity that suits the faculty of Lleida that is within its limits.

In terms of multilingualism in Cappont, it can be observed that Catalan and Spanish are the most current languages, but others from migrant communities are also present, such as Chinese or Arabic. In Figure 4 we can see how on the same street as our token, there are different grocery stores and restaurants that reflect the multiculturalism of the neighbourhood.

Figure 4. Different examples of shop banners in Cappont, next to the graffiti. Picture taken by Cecília Fondevilla, March, 11, 2021.

METHODOLOGY

In order to collect data for this project, the members of this group decided to go for a walk to get inspired by the multilingual landscape of Lleida. Two members took pictures of a street called “Carrer Major”, and another one went along the neighbourhood of Cappont. Since the photos were taken in “Carrer Major” were too typical and did not inspire us to go further, we decided that our focus of analysis would be related to the topic of linguistic identity. In Cappont, one of our group members took a photo in Carrer Jaume II of graffiti that said “Stop eating animals”. This photo was taken on the 10th March 2021. Since it was directly linked to the identity of a particular vegetarian or vegan community, we decided that it was going to be highly useful for this project. 

Regarding the top-down language policies in Lleida, according to Ajuntament de Lleida (2018) it has been regulated that all public signs must be written in Catalan. That is why in Figure 4, there is a sign that prohibits parking there which is addressed in Catalan ('gual permanent'). However, the use of Spanish is also common for an international audience, since Catalonia is a bilingual region.

Figure 5. Example of Catalan signs: 'gual permanent'. Picture taken by Cecília Fondevilla, March, 11, 2021

In terms of advertisement, Catalan is preferably recommended to be the language of use. However, other languages concerning the audience are also present. As can be regarded in Figure 4, in this neighbourhood, a great number of shop banners are written in different languages such as Spanish, English and Catalan. However, there is some migration in this neighbourhood, since there is a “kebab” restaurant. So as to sum up everything that has been stated in this paragraph, it can be concluded that the street displays multilingualism.

Related to our LL token and in terms of top-down policies, graffiti and paintings without legal authorisation are prohibited.  However, when it comes to discussing bottom-up language policies in Cappont, it can be found that graffiti is used so as to address a message to a wider population. 

In the case of the graffiti (see Figure 6), English is used because it is a way of internationalising a political and cultural claim in Lleida. In relation to that, since it has become highly international, the message is addressed in this language to make sure that the more people get it, the better to widespread the message.

Figure 6. Graffiti Stop EATING ANIMALS. Picture taken by Cecília Fondevilla, March, 11, 2021

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

The token that has been analysed in this paper, consisting of ‘Stop eating animals’ written on a construction pillar, can be attributed several values as well as social meanings concerning a global language, English, and therefore an Englishisation process in the Catalan city of Lleida.

In terms of the values of our token, and according to the European Landscape Convention (2000), it can be said that it has an aesthetic value, because, even though the graffiti could be qualified as simple, as it is small and not very colourful, it can be considered as part of the “street” art. However, the fact that it uses two different fonts makes the token more appealing and boosts its message. According to Hughes (2009), graffiti talk about the past, present and future, and it must be considered as a public form of art. It can be considered aesthetic because it plays with the image so as to express a message. Moreover, it indexes transgression. In addition, the graphism has been carefully chosen because it pretends to highlight the importance of the message.

Moreover, it indexes linguistic identity values as well because it aims to spread a social message linked to a sociocultural movement: a complaint on eating habits a citizens' claim on stopping consuming meat. This graffiti represents a part of the population that defends animals’ rights and reports the current problems within the meat industry. Because it refers to animal product consumption, we can also link it to an economic context, as it is directly attacking the industry and its production. Its objective is to stop the commercialisation of products coming from animals, therefore affecting the profits and the economy.

It is expressed in English because it has become a global language. The choice of using English has not been randomly picked, but, since it is a sign of internationalisation of the claim, the message is addressed in English so as to make sure that a wider number of people can access it. It can also connote that the ones who are educated and can understand the message should stop eating animals. Apart from that, this graffiti gives the possibility of giving voice to a minority who is fighting for their moral or ethical principles.

Lastly, vegetarianism and veganism are considered to be activist and social movements, that is why this graffiti also represents ethical values, being linked to practices and beliefs surrounding eating habits and determinate lifestyles. This graffiti has been written in English as well because, as mentioned before, it is considered to be global, and it is a way of giving voice to a local minority through what is worldwide known. The reason for it to have social values is that it is a way of deconstructing what has been traditionally seen as correct or normative in this group, and to make people raise awareness of the fact that they must stop eating animals.

But although the use of English to spread this message might be useful in terms of effect and prestige, it is also surprising to find a monolingual sign in English in a small Catalan city, as it is common to mix languages (e.g: Catalan or Spanish with English) to ensure that the message reaches all the population, as the main spoken languages of the audience in Lleida are Catalan and Spanish, and the percentage of English users is much lower. However, this could be explained because the use of English is nowadays common among young populations, highlighting the fact that the same message circulates online. 

CONCLUSION

After a long process of analysis and self-awareness about linguistic diversity in town, we have realized that this project has not only shown us the ostensible aspects of the research but has also opened our eyes to another vision of languages in the city of Lleida.

One of the most worked aspects during the elaboration of this study has been the presence of English in our city. We have noticed that this language has not only gained a position in Lleida but that it coexists with Catalan and Spanish, maintaining a cordial relationship. Despite this, we can see a hierarchy between languages ​​that puts foreign languages ​​below Catalan or Spanish. English is used in many aspects of our lives today, which is accurately reflected in the linguistic landscape we chose. 

We would also like to highlight how English is taking roots as a language to give voice to a global claim, as is the example of our token. Being one of the languages most spoken worldwide, it gives that international projection that social changes and movements that seek a revolution or a large-scale impact need. 

This task has opened our eyes to another reality, showing us how in particular environments individuals or individual groups use languages ​​not only to communicate banalities but also many other things with great communicative weight. An example could be our token. At first glance, it seems a minimalist graffiti, but as we carry out a deeper analysis we can see how Lleida is in contact with transnational movements via English.

Despite being a small city, Lleida has shown us the great cultural and linguistic variety found within its territory. This project has helped us see how the linguistic landscape communicates more than it seems, be it aesthetically, political, social, cultural aspects, among others. 

Being Lleida a bilingual capital, we have realized the influence of other languages ​​such as English in our city, apart from Catalan and Spanish. Moreover, we have been able to see the importance of critical linguistics in sociolinguistics, influencing our society from different uses of languages This project has allowed us to discover many aspects of our city that would have gone unnoticed, without the knowledge acquired in this process.

REFERENCES 

Ajuntament de Lleida. (2018). Ordenança Municipal de civisme i convivència de la ciutat de Lleida. Retrieved March 30, 2021 from http://www.lleidaparticipa.cat/public/197/docs/6c2e2ab8cee8ef11cc82f1e8621d78b5.pdf

Backhaus, P. (2006). Multilingualism in Tokyo: A Look into the Linguistic Landscape. International Journal of Multilingualism, 3(1), 52-66. Retrieved March 20, 2021 from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14790710608668385

Council of Europe. (2000). European language convention. Retrieved March, 30, 2021 from https://rm.coe.int/1680080621

Hughes, M., L. (2009). “Street Art & Graffiti Art: Developing an Understanding.” Thesis, Georgia State University. Retrieved March 20, 2021 from https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/art_design_theses/50/

La Paeria (2012). Butlletí Socioeconòmic de Lleida. Retrieved from http://paeria.cat/butlletieconomic/2012/03-juliol/06-poblacio.pdf  

Miladi, N. (2015). Alternative fabrics of hegemony: City squares and street graffiti as sites of resistance and interactive communication flow. Journal Of African Media Studies, 7(2), 129-140. Retrieved March 20, 2021 from https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/intellect/jams/2015/00000007/00000002/art00003;jsessionid=3hjnsepb7g4rf.x-ic-live-01