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The Semiotic Landscape in Nuuk, Greenland

Valijarvi, R; Kahn, L; (2018) The Semiotic Landscape in Nuuk, Greenland. In: (Proceedings) FEL XXI Communities in Control: Learning tools and strategies for multilingual endangered language communities. (pp. pp. 1-9). Foundation for Endangered Languages Green open access

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Abstract

This paper explores the semiotic landscape in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The connection between images and choice of language in both public and private signs is analysed in relation to the function of the signs, Greenlandic culture, history and politics, and the space where the signs, notices, and advertisements are displayed. The data was collected in May 2017. The focus is on signs depicting the sun, polar bears, and people. The use of the images and the choice of languages reveals centralising, reclaiming, localising or even transgressive tendencies in the civic frame, the school system, the community, the marketplace, and on the walls of social housing. The data also shows the importance of English in the global marketplace (tourism and shipping), the tertiary education system, and graffiti. The Greenlandic language is firmly in the centre in almost all contexts, but Danish appears in the civic and community frames and in the marketplace for practical reasons.

Type: Proceedings paper
Title: The Semiotic Landscape in Nuuk, Greenland
Event: FEL XXI Communities in Control: Learning tools and strategies for multilingual endangered language communities
Location: Alcanena, Portugal
Dates: 19 October 2017 - 21 October 2018
ISBN-13: 978-0-9560210-9-0
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Publisher version: https://www.ogmios.org/proceed.htm
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of Hebrew and Jewish Studies
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > SSEES
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10061157
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