FES MATCH AMB XIAOMI: THE EMERGENCE OF COMMERCIAL ENGLISH IN LLEIDA
English has taken over the world during the last century. As Caine (2008) develops, we live in an era marked by the significant spread of English worldwide, with speakers of English as a second, foreign, or other language outnumbering native speakers.
The linguistic landscape (LL) that we selected in order to analyze it in this project is a slogan from a Xiaomi shop located in Carrer Major in Lleida “Fes Match amb Xiaomi”. This increase in the use of English can be seen when it comes to advertising products, a popular marketing technique that companies that opened their doors internationally use, such as in the case of this token.
In Figure 1 we can observe the chosen token, which is written in English, using the Roman alphabet. Together with this slogan, we can observe a picture of Cupid, which is reinforcing the message of the text. Moreover, the color of this slogan and image is red. This color is used as it is associated with love and passion (Chen et al., 2018). Accordingly, the color red matches the idea of the text.
The loanword “Match” that we will focus on in our Linguistic Landscape (LL) is used as an instrument to engage with a specific consumer in order to sell a product. The word is already used in English among people, so the company Xiaomi decided to take advantage of this word with the finality of using it in marketing. This could be directly related to globalization. As Cenoz & Gorter (2009) explain, one of the causes of the spread of English is globalization, a process usually defined in economic terms of markets, production, and consumption.
The present paper is embedded within a much larger project –entitled ‘Localizing English in town’ and organized by Dr. Maria Sabaté-Dalmau–, which was first implemented in the English Studies degree of Universitat de Lleida, a bilingual public institution in Catalonia, during the academic year 2017/2018. The central aims of this language landscaping project are to enable students to produce knowledge related to sociolinguistics phenomena and develop an intercultural and plurilingual understanding (Sabaté-Dalmau, 2022), as well as to integrate the Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Technology of knowledge acquisition (TKA), and Technology of empowerment and participation (TEP/TEP) skills, as specified by Prego Vázquez and Zas Varela (2018). This is done in a twofold way: by using (1) a Google Maps map to create an overview of the LL of Lleida and (2) a Blogger blog to write an entry whereby a thorough analysis of the social meanings of the LL token selected is generated.
2. CONTEXTUALISATION
The chosen token has been selected from one of the most well-known areas in Lleida, Carrer Major. It is considered to be part of what is called Eix Comercial, a commercial area, and therefore has a high chance of including a varied amount of tokens. The banner belongs to Xiaomi, a Chinese brand that has dominated the market with its low prices and quality phones, surpassing even popular brands such as Apple (see Figure 2). Figure 2. A comparative graph of different phone brands in Spain. Source: StatCounter. (2023). Mobile Vendor Market Share Spain. Retrieved from: https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile/spain
Although the oppressing presence of the pandemic made some consumers reticent of the brand’s trustworthiness due to its Chinese origin, their low pricing and high quality have kept them relevant in the Spanish market, as customers continue purchasing their goods and their sales have remained significant in both 2022 and 2023, as can be seen in Figure 2 above. It is interesting to note that the company chooses to adapt to the regions it sets up stores in, as the usage of Catalan, in this case, does not seem to be something that is taken into account in the original business plan, especially as the native language of the company is Mandarin. It does seem like the company operates in a franchise-like fashion, and each manager decides the type of marketing that is to be used in each region.
The address of the store presented in this picture is Carrer Major 1 (see Figure 3). It is situated right in the middle of a bustling area of the city. This region is known in Lleida for its commercial value. Carrer Major, as part of the Eix Comercial, is the place to go within the city to satisfy one’s shopping needs, as it contains a great diversity of items sold, as well as an ever-growing catering service, which can be seen present in the surrounding cafés.
Figure 3. The location of the chosen linguistic token. Source: Fotonostra, 2023.https://www.fotonostra.com/albums/catalunya/carrermajor.htm Interestingly enough, there have been voices opposing this modernization of Carrer Major,
as imported commercial activities seem to have become more and more globalized, to the point where it can affect the local presence of certain local businesses. This fact has increased the price of the properties present in this area exponentially, and it can be seen as one of the
downsides of the globalized commercial world we live in today. It also affects an area that is considered part of the cultural and historical centers of Lleida, “El Casc Antic”, which creates the contrast between renovated ground floors which contain the flashy new shops with the upper floors, which are aged and in dire need of investment from the government. (Mora, 2010). Another detail that is to be noted is the fact that Catalan is a mandatory language within the territory. All commerces must present full translations to Catalan, and the service must also be provided in the language whenever a customer requires this said service. As Gencat (2022) states, it is mandatory to provide all written information about a product within a store in Catalan, as this is a strategy to maintain the language alive within the area.
3. METHODOLOGY
The first contact with the specific token was made on the 10th of February by Thea while
investigating the area to find possible picture-worthy businesses to be used within the local LL.
Our group considered the area to be bustling with activity, and thus more filled with multilinguistic and multicultural tokens.
The token at hand was a temporary one, as it is themed around Valentine’s day, which is on
February 14th.
The languages used within the token chosen are Catalan and English. It can be therefore
indicated that the brand created an advertisement that took into account the local culture, as Catalan is a language that
has frequent usage locally. It connects to the local population through the use of Catalan (which is one of the co-official languages in the region),
but it also creates a fetish-like sensation through the usage of English, as it is the lingua franca
of the 21st century. According to Kelly-Holmes (2014), the linguistic token we have chosen is on
that presents a more fetishized use of the English language, as rather than have a specific usage it symbolizes a certain status, without necessarily adding to the message.
Within the area surrounding the linguistic token, there are varied businesses, divided into two sectors - catering and commerce. This establishment has in its closest vicinity two cafés (Kawaii and el Molinet). One of the aforementioned cafés targets a more international-minded demographic (see figure 4), with its generic east Asian branding - including bubble tea on the menu, using kawaii as the name of the brand, which is a Japanese word, and having Chinese staff. The other café, on the other hand, focuses on catering to the local demographic focused on maintaining Catalan as a language relevant by using this aforementioned co-official language, Catalan, in their branding, which creates a feeling of closeness with the customers who want to support businesses made in proximity (even if that implies paying a higher price) (see figure 5). Another detail that is to be noted is the fact that Catalan is a mandatory language within the territory. All commerces must present full translations to Catalan, and the service must also be provided in the language whenever a customer requires this said service. Lleida has come under fire recently, as individuals complained about the lack of usage of Catalan in certain commerces, which in the end was reinforced by the Ajuntament (the local government) (Catalunyapress, 2016).
Figure 4: Kawaii - Café on Carrer Major Source:https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/117921313825919057154/photos/@41.5094429,1.3948329,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m3!8m2!3m1!1e1
Figure 5. Cafè el Molinet
In reference to the values established by the European Linguistic Landscape observatory (2023), we believe that this token has three main values: productive, aesthetic, and identity values.
It is produced as the English language is used commercially, in other words as a linguistic fetish in order to sell a product. It provides financial benefits, converting its elements into resources. Moreover, it can be understood even by non-English local users. In addition, this single word in English, as it is surrounded by Catalan words, can also be pronounced in a Catalan way by the locals.
It has identity values due to the positive stereotype of English. It is a sign of innovation and leadership. In other words, it is a clear case of its cosmopolitanism and internationalization. Moreover, it also has a Catalan local identity in it, as the logo is all in Catalan except one word, which makes the users perceive the brand positively, as it adapts to the local culture appropriately.
The LL token we analyzed during our research showed a mix of two languages previously mentioned: Catalan and English. In this slogan, “Fes Match amb Xiaomi”, the company Xiaomi decided to use a loanword from the English language “Match” to attract customers within various age ranges, as they use what is called advertising English, which is understood by the vast majority of people and is seen as modern, international and cosmopolitan. This word is used in order to describe whether they would date someone
or not. Xiaomi used it smartly to promote its campaign during Valentine's Day season. Moreover, this slogan is complemented by an image of Cupid, who increases the meaning of the text, as it showcases the multimodality that was intended by the publishers, through the usage of different symbols and signs within the final banner.
Even if the majority of the slogan is written in Catalan as a result of the location of the token (Lleida, Catalonia), almost everyone who uses social media in their daily lives will know about the word “Match”. That is why the idea of combining both languages this way was very intelligent and successful.
Using English as a way to advertise products is very successful as it shows the globalization of the language and one of its many uses. Moreover, we can see that using English also means that the product is modern, and of high quality. In other words, it is reinforcing a positive stereotype for the commercial realm. We could advertise the products in our modern tongue, but we choose to do so in English anyway because we are aware of the impact it has on the consumer. It also engages with younger generations and their slang. In this case, the word “match” indexes modernity, together with internationality and cosmopolitanism as previously mentioned. Maybe older generations would not really understand the concept, however, they would still be interested as the fact that there is an English word would catch their attention. As the team of the company AndaYa! (2020) explain, the new trends tend to change the name of the moods for the English word as they seem cooler. They believe that this statement is true not only for young generations but for people of all ages.
Moreover, through this project, we have learned that in such a small city like Lleida, many languages coexist around us. Languages are used for different purposes. One of its uses is advertising sales or products, such as in the case of “Fes match amb Xiaomi”. We have really enjoyed participating in this project, as we consider that now we are more aware of all the languages that live with us, even if we do not always realize it. In addition, we feel like, as part of a young generation, we are able to create more knowledge through this mix of languages, and we firmly believe that in the future multilingualism will expand all over the world creating a planet where everyone is able to speak more than one language.
Throughout this project, we enjoyed being competent observers and knowledge providers, as it helped us build confidence in our work and our field. Besides, linking the theory with the practice in real life was a great way to break with the established patterns and live firsthand what we were studying.
Also, by using the Technology of knowledge acquisition (TKA) such as the Map and the Technology of empowerment and participation (TEP) with the Blog we were able to complete our project in depth. At first, it was a bit difficult to get used to both the blog and the Map. But after working on it and being persistent, we thought they were very useful tools.
Finally, thanks to this project we learned more about the languages in Lleida which are constantly in contact and in contrast. We reached the conclusion that Englishisation is growing faster and faster and even it may seem scary as it may cause a loss in our mother tongues, if we use it right, it can complement all the languages without the need of losing local terms or idioms.
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