Key Features:
- Contains a state of the art review of a young field
- Provides an illuminating case study about Tokyo's linguistic landscapes
Summary:
"Linguistic Landscapes" is the first comprehensive approach to language on signs. It provides an up-to-date review of previous research, introduces a coherent analytical framework, and applies this framework to a sample of signs collected in Tokyo. "Linguistic Landscapes" demonstrates that the study of language on signs provides a unique research perspective to urban multilingualism.
Review:
Backhaus's volume is a welcome contribution not only to the study of linguistic landscapes and landscaping, but also to language contact and multilingualism in Japan. Linguistic Landscapes is clearly structured, well written and requires little or no prior theoretical knowledge of linguistic landscape issues.
Mark Irwin, Yamagata University, Japan, on Linguist List 19.1760 This book is a welcome and useful addition to the study of LL, particularly for its contribution of well needed empirical studies. The research on Tokyo’s LL is precise in its definition and classification of empirical analysis, well-informed with regards to all categories analyzed and methodically thorough. It is commendable that Backhaus uses both qualitative and quantitative methods in such detail in his research of Tokyo’s LL. This comparative study on language on signs is a valuable contribution to the field of multilingualism and language contact research.
Anastassia Zabrodskaja, SKY - Journal of Linguistics (the annual journal of The Linguistic Association of Finland, Suomen Kielitieteellinen Yhdistys) I think that this is a real masterpiece of linguistic landscape study. This is as such a genuine contribution to this field.
Eliezer Ben-Rafael , Tel-Aviv University
Author Biography:
Peter Backhaus is research fellow at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo. His research interests include sociolinguistics, semiotics, writing, and Japanese linguistics. He has published various papers about linguistic landscape research, including 'Signs of multilingualism in Tokyo: A diachronic look at the linguistic landscape' (International Journal of the Sociology of Language 175/176, 2005) and 'Multilingualism in Tokyo: A look into the linguistic landscape' (International Journal of Multilingualism 3.1, 2006). At present he is preparing a publication about Japan's linguistic landscape (with Florian Coulmas and Hiroshi Shôji).
Readership Level:
Postgraduate, Research/Professional, Undergraduate
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