Linguistic Landscapes of Istanbul: John Wendel

Linguistic Landscapes
of Istanbul
John Wendel
Dokkyo University, Japan
3-Way Classification
• Official—Signs posted by national government, city,
municipality. Names of buildings. Religious markers on
mosques, temples or churches.
• Commercial– Signs posted by corporations or small
businesses. Brand names.
• Individual—Signs posted by individuals. Lost children or
pets. Meetings. Graffiti.
Additional analyses
1. Evaluation of ‘language richnes’ (LR index) for each district.
2. Evaluation of language function: symbolic vs.
informational.
Procedures
• All linguistic objects from ground level to 2nd floor level

(including carts, banners over streets, etc.)
• Each sign counted as I unit. Exceptions: multiples of
small signs in windows or store fronts—each cluster
counted as one sign.
• Each sign categorized in terms of…
– Agency: official, commercial, or individual sign
– Function: evaluated for function
– Number of languages: Monolingual , Bi-, Tri, etc.
– Languages present
• Photos taken and notes made for each neighborhood
and sign.
Study Sites
• Particular sites chosen because …
– Representative of “Istanbul”: Istiklal, Sultanahmet
– Traditional Turkish: Kuzguncuk
– Ethnic minorities: Fener, (Aksaray and Kumkapı in
progress)
• These sites have in common…
– Streets are commercial centers
– At least 300m for each site (both sides of the street)
– Daytimes, weekdays between noon and late afternoon
Kuzguncuk
—Istanbul—
Layers of
Major dates
--Constantinople, new capitol of Rome, founded in 330
--Mehmet II conquers Constantinople in 1453
--Republic of Turkey established in 1923
“Cross-linguistic encounters” 17th Century Istanbul
(Sinclair et al 2010)
17th Century Istanbul
“Cross-linguistic
encounters”
(Sinclair et al 2010)
“Nationality Map -- 1922”

(Clarence Richard Johnson. 1922. Constantinople Today)
Kuzguncuk:
mosques,
temples,
churches
Figure 1. Numbers of signs for each sign type in
the sample: Kuzguncuk.
Agency & Function (Kuzguncuk)
Turkish (T=244)
– O: 18.8%
– C: 78.2%
– I: 3.0%
English (E + TE=15)
– All comercial: modernity, cultural refererences (e.g.,
“Kuzguncuk Market” “Betty Blue” “Olive and beyond”)
Other (combinations of I,T,F,H,G=7)
– 5 associated with churches or temples
– 1 French-Turkish: “Café de Balık”
– 1 Italian: “Corvino”
– NO ARABIC, RUSSIAN!
What status to give the following…?
• Language on Christian churches, Jewish

temples.
• Ottoman Turkish found on…
– Mosques and other buildings
– Fountains
– Other (Galatasaray Lyseé, Galata Tower)
• Language on Byzantine or Roman structures
(e.g., cisterns, walls, gates, columns)
İstİklal
Figure 2. Numbers of signs for each sign type
in the sample: İstiklal.
Agency & Function (İstiklal)
Turkish (T=265)
– O: 9.8%
– C: 88.3%
– I: 1.8%
English (E+TE= 60)
– I=1; C=56; I=3. Most commercial (93%). One bilingual sign
“Galatasaray Hamamı”. One Monolingual English: “Black
Friday”
Other (combinations of G,F,A,E,T,I,C,OT)=34
– O=6;C=27;I=1. Most commercial (79%).
– Greek consulate (5 signs: Greek, Turkish, French, English)
– Arabic: All C= 19. Mono=5; Bi=7; Tri=7.
– Ottoman Turkish: one at Galatasaray Lyseé
– Italian: one mono. promoting Italian film festival
– French: Madame Toussaud (Grand Pera building)
in the sample: Fener.
Language Functions (Fener)
Turkish (T=78)
– O: 15%
– C: 82.%
– I: 3%
English (TE+E)=30
– Most C=28, e.g., “Rag’n Roll.” One graffiti; one T+E
bilingual history of Fener (O=municipality)
Other (combinations of G,I,OT/A=10)
– Greek: all 7=C (store near Greek Patriarchate: E,G)
– Italian: 2 signs=C, about types of coffee
– Arabic/OT: one plaque above a mosque entrance (Ali
Yazıcı Cami)
Sultanahmet
in the sample: Sultanahmet.
Language Functions (Sultanahmet)
English (E=151)
– Official T+E signs: tourism, regulatory
– English monolingual all commercial.
Other (combinations of A,T,F,R,G,J,Ko=28)
– C=25 (89% of all “Other”)
– Arabic (14 signs= 50% of “Other”): C=12; I=2
– Multilingual: Pharmacy, Menu, Money Exchange
To do…
• Kurdish: Kurdish demographics, language use, etc.—

any LL study of Istanbul must take into account the
disparity between absence of Kurdish in the
landscape, population figures.
• Demographic profiles of districts—population, ethnic
composition, age breakdown, mother tongue, tourist
populations, immigrant and transient populations
• Historical & Sociocultural profiles of districts—past
populations movements, social and political
upheavels
• Ethnographies—familiarity with each site, interviews
with residents.
References
• Leclerk, J. 1989. La guerre des langue dans l’affichage. Montréal: VLB
éditeur.
• Bourdieu, P. 1991. Language And Symbolic Power. Polity.
• Landry, J. and Bourhis, R. 1997. Ethnolinguisic vitality.
• Spolsky & Cooper. 1991. The languages of Jerusalem.
• Backhaus, P. 2008. The lingustic landscapes of Tokyo. Multilingual Matters.
• Blommaert, J. 2013. Ethnography, superdiversity and linguistic landscapes.
Multilingual Matters.
• Blommaert. J. 2010. Sociolinguistics of Globalization. Cambridge.
• Cenoz, J. and Gorter, D. 2006. inguistic Landscape and Minority Languages.
International Journal Of Multilingualism.
• Csató, Éva Á., Bernt Brendemoen, Lars Johanson, Claudia Römer and Heidi
Stein. 2010. The Linguistic Landscape of Istanbul in the Seventeenth
Century. In: The Urban Mind: Cultural and Environmental Dynamics.
References (Cont.)
• Searle, J. 1969. Speech Acts. Cambridge University Press.
• Halliday, MAK. 2004. The Language Of Science. Continuum.
• Pavlenko, Aneta. 2008. Linguistic Landscape of Kyiv, Ukraine: A Diachronic Study.
Routlege.
Postage Stamp source materials

• Istanbul on Stamps. 2001. Karakas, Anameriç & Rukanci. Ministry of Culture and

Tourism: Turkey. (Trans., H. Turner).
• “STAMP CATALOGUE” http://colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/8047-Turkey/
• “Postage stamps and postal history of Turkey.” http://www.wikiwand.com/en/
Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_Turkey
• Wipipedia. Postange Stamps and Postal History of Turkey. https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_Turkey

Linguistic Landscapes of Istanbul: John Wendel

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Linguistic Landscapes of Istanbul: John Wendel

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Linguistic Landscapes of Istanbul: John Wendel

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Linguistic Landscapes

• All linguistic objects from ground level to 2nd floor level

• Language on Christian churches, Jewish

• Kurdish: Kurdish demographics, language use, etc.—

Postage Stamp source materials

You might also like