Linguistic escapism and symbolic value of signs of (good) times

Abstract

Our research describes the linguistic landscape of three Croatian towns where we compare the signs on coffee shops and bars in reference to the symbolic function of foreign languages used on them, especially when compared to the mostly informative value of signs in Croatian. The sampling method applied was Cook’s and Campbell’s Diversity or Heterogeneity Sampling (1979:75–77) where the survey areas are illustrative, and not representative examples of the linguistic landscape. The results indicate that the higher percentage of signs in a foreign language, predominantly English, may be seen as an instantiation of processes related to economic and cultural globalization in a multilingual world (Gorter, 2013) when foreign language signs imply prestige and positive connotations, as confirmed by the sample of interviews with informants, coffee shop owners and patrons alike. In areas burdened by the politically charged atmosphere foreign language signs are seen as a form of escapism from the implications the use of any of the minority or majority language signs may cause.