‘Quick Sec’: Multilinguistic use of graffiti in commerce in Lleida

Paulina Karolina Hajdamowicz

Miriam Ibrahim

1.     Introduction

Figure 1. Photography of the graffiti, Hajdamowicz. March 5, 2025.

The Linguistic Landscape (LL) we chose for our project is a graffiti created around 20 to 30 years ago by an anonymous artist for a laundry shop that closed up two years ago. The new business, ‘Montse: Serveri de Tintorería’, which works in the same field, uses this graffiti as part of its branding. The artwork falls into the domain activity of urban art, but at the same time, it serves a commercial purpose. ‘Quick Sec’ is located in the Rambla de Ferran-Estació neighbourhood, in ‘Carrer Comerç, 40’ to be more specific.

The main language, if we take into account the name of the laundry shop, which is in Catalan, the LL would be multilinguistic. However, the graffiti alone would be a hybridization of both languages (English and Catalan), as neither of both have the main focus, and both are written in a Roman alphabet.  

Figure 2. Google Maps Screenshot. 2025.

2.     Contextualisation

As preciously mentioned, the LL is located in Carrer Comerç, 40, in the Rambla de Ferran-Estació’s neighbourhood, near the train station in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. The business operates Monday to Friday from 9 am to 13 pm, and from 5 pm to 8 pm. The service is provided by the staff, meaning that it is not a self-service laundry shop.

Figure 3. Google Maps Screenshot. 2025.

Figure 4. Lleida's neighbourhoods. La Paeria, 2025.

According to the Institution of Statistics of Catalonia (2025), Lleida has a population of 144.878 people, with 31.924 being immigrants. The Rambla de Ferran-Estació neighbourhood represents 7,3% of the city total population, with 10.520 residents, of whom 4.826 are immigrants (La Paeria, 2025).

Figure 5. Google Map Screenshot. 2025.

The Deputation of Lleida and the Tourism Board (2023) claim that in 2023, a total of 253.466 foreign tourists visited the city. This is particularly important in terms of the commerce place where the token is. The laundry shop is located near the train station, with two hotels nearby. As the closest laundry service to these hotels, it offers a convenient option for visitors who prefer not to use the  typically more expensive hotel laundry service. To add, it is situated near the tourism office and a luggage storage facility called Good Guard, providing a great accessibility for the travellers.

3.     Methodology

The project was produced following a rigorous sociolinguistic methodology to analyse the social use of English language within a context of contrast and contact. The primary approach employed was the ethnographic method, commonly used in social sciences, with a focus on the observation of the token. A secondary methodology, although not so important, was the interview, when one of us entered to question about the author and history of the artwork.

Our first encounter with the LL occurred on March 5, 2025, at 14:30, when Hajdamowicz happened to come across it while returning home. We revisited the business on March 10, 2025, at approximately 11:15 to take another photography and verify that the business was still opened. The third visit took place on March 21, 2025, at 17:09, when Hajdamowicz entered the shop and asked about the graffiti. An employee explained that the author is unknown, as the token may have been created 30 years ago. While the local has always functioned as a laundry shop, the current owners took over the business only two years ago.

Figure 5. Photography of the graffiti, Hajdamowicz. March 21, 2025.

It is a bottom-up regulatory language policy, it is a non-official sign, produced by a small business, written by a citizen for other to see. The establishment follows the obligation by law of having at least some presence of the Catalan language on all public signs, as seen in Figure 6 (La Paeria, n.d.).

4.     Results and discussion

After a close analysis, we came to the result that the LL, based on COE (2000) and the LOoC (2025), showcases the following values: (1) aesthetic, as it has been carefully designed, (2) productive, as it aims to sell their services in order to produce money, and (3) identity, as it reflects the Catalan and local identity with the name of the laundry shop, Montse.

Figure 7. Photography of the red t-shirt, Hajdamowicz. March 21, 2025.

Figure 8. Photography of the washing machine, Hajdamowicz. March 21, 2025.

Figure 9. Photography of the iron, Hajdamowicz. March 21, 2025.

Figure 10. Photography of the token, Hajdamowicz. March 14, 2025.

The artwork features a red t-shirt hanging in the centre, symbolizing the drying service (Figure 7). On the left, a washing machine (Figure 8) indicates the primary function of the establishment, while the iron (Figure 9) on the right shows ither services they provide. The use of a blue background with the bubbles (Figure 10) is a strategic choice, emphasizing cleanliness and the high-quality service, all this promotes the selling of the services.

This composition reflects the internationalisation of small businesses caused by the globalisation of English and touristification in Lleida. It showcases how English as a linguistic currency, making the products and services more attractive to the possible costumers.

Although the place has a commercial realm it uses graffiti to advertise itself, which is extensively used within marketing for bigger companies (Jacobson, 2017). The business mainly showcases to a Catalan-speaking audience.

The word Quick is used in English in order to create a more international and globalised image of the commerce. According to Edelman and Gorter (2010), the English language is often associated with modernity or progress, making it a strategic choice for businesses to increase their sales. In this case, Quick could also be used to recall the attention of tourists or non-Catalan-speaking persons. Meanwhile, the Catalan word Sec (meaning ‘dry’), in addition to the Catalan name of the laundry shop Montse: Servei de Tintorería, reinforces the Catalan origin and identity of the owner.

5.     Concluding thoughts

Overall, this project has been an engaging and entertaining way to learn about the linguistic landscape of Lleida, and how English had been incorporated in the streets of the city without our awareness. It has given us the opportunity to enhance our empirical and collaborative research skills, facing several problems in our path while actively understanding the sociolinguistic aspects.

From our perspective, this project is an effective pedagogical tool for the integration of the Technology of Knowledge (TKA) and the Technology of Empowerment and Participation (TEP) skills. By getting engaged with real sociolinguistic researches, we developed a deeper connection with the city and their people while analysing the what, why and how questions behind the sociolinguistics. Additionally, it also helped us to understand the different use of graffiti, how people are able to use it not only to protest or create transgressive messages, but to sell.

6.     References and Web Sources

Council of Europe. (2000). European Landscape Convention. Council of Europe. Retrieved March 22, 2025, from https://www.coe.int/en/web/landscape/the-european-landscape-convention

Edelman, L., & Gorter, D. (2010). Linguistic landscapes and the  market. Language and the Market, 96-108. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Durk-Gorter/publication/315561817_Linguistic_Landscapes_and_the_Market/links/5c8efefb45851564fae47fcc/Linguistic-Landscapes-and-the-Market.pdf

Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya. (2025). El municipio de Lleida en cifras. https://www.idescat.cat/emex/?id=251207&lang=es

Jacobson, M. (2017). Marketing with graffiti: Crime as symbolic capital. Street Art & Urban Creativity, 3(2), 104-111. https://doi.org/10.25765/sauc.v3i2.86

La Paeria. (2025). Estratègia de desenvolupament integrat local (EDIL) Lleida 2025. Retrieved from https://www.paeria.cat/ca/ajuntament/projectes-estrategics/estrategia-de-desenvolupament-integrat-local-edil/estrategia-de-desenvolupament-integrat-local-edil/edil-lleida-2025.pdf

La Paeria. (n.d.). Ordenança municipal de civisme i convivència de la ciutat de Lleida. http://www.lleidaparticipa.cat/public/197/docs/6c2e2ab8cee8ef11cc82f1e8621d78b5.pdf

Landscape Observatory of Catalonia. (n.d.). Landscape glossary. Landscape Observatory of Catalonia. Retrieved March 22, 2025, from https://www.catpaisatge.net/en/landscape-resources/landscape-glossary

Patronato de Turismo de la Diputación de Lleida. (2025, 24 January). El Pirineo y las Tierras de Lleida revalidan su atractivo turístico con un 2024 que consolida los datos del año anterior. Ara Lleida. https://www.aralleida.cat/es/newnotes/el-pirineo-y-las-tierras-de-lleida-revalidan-su-atractivo-turistico-con-un-2024-que-consolida-los-datos-del-ano-anterior/