An Investigation into the Linguistic Landscape of Shop Signs in Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf Governorate: A Sociolinguistic Study

Abstract

The topic of the linguistic landscape is an increasingly researched area within the domain of sociolinguistics as it has the potentiality of exposing the languages used in a specific community and the views and ideologies associated with them. One of the demonstrations of the linguistic landscape is via the shop signs in the streets and markets of a certain community. Thus, this study attempts at cultivating the use of English in the shop signs of Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf Governorate centre, which is located in the southwest of the capital, Baghdad. It basically aims at investigating the distribution of shop signs that demonstrate the use of English in central and peripheral areas, as well as investigating the factors that have the potentiality of being responsible for using English from the point of view of shop owners. The data are collected from three areas starting from the city centre to the peripheral areas. The method used in this study is a qualitative descriptive method by giving a detailed description of the types and functions of the linguistic landscapes used in the shop signs. The results show that English is used in the central areas  as in Al-Rawan and Al-Muthanaa streets more than the peripheral ones as in Al-Wafaa and Al-Askarii area. Besides, the targeted customers, English competency and the educational level of the shop owner, effect of main trading cities, and creating a name that is easily remembered by customers due to its association with the products and services provided by the shop, the prestigious social class inhabiting the center of the city, their educational level and high economic income are the main factors that affect the choice of English in shop signage.