Covid-19: Methodological Considerations, Design and Experience in Linguistic Landscape Studies

Abstract

This article draws on personal experience of undertaking a Master of Research Linguistic Landscape (LL) project, building on my undergraduate dissertation (O'Neill 2020) into city branding and the LL of Liverpool (UK) and Bari (Italy) by investigating the impact of Covid-19 on the city brand as inscribed in the LL of Liverpool. The research also explores Jowett's (2020) suggestion that, while we need to acknowledge the challenges brought about by the pandemic, the restrictions could stimulate the creation of new methodological approaches by exploring the application of autoethnographic approaches and use of archival and remote sources in this project. Restrictions on movement and measures to reduce potential risk for researchers and participants imposed as a result of the pandemic made the use of physical surveys and face-to-face ethnographic approaches in LL research more challenging. The research community has stepped up to address these difficulties, collaborating to share suggestions, including the use of online resources and interviews. However, many researchers perceive these as an unsatisfactory compromise, particularly in time-constrained projects. This article argues that these innovations may democratize LL research by removing barriers created through difficulties with physical access, while the use and analysis of images in the Virtual Linguistic Landscape could create new insights into how we make meaning of place. The discussion will highlight the potential for researchers to undertake unexpectedly detailed research created by this period of significant and unforeseen disruption; for this project the pace of change allowed examination of Blommaert's (2013) proposal that study of the LL can be used to detect early change in complex systems. The article will conclude by suggesting that addressing difficulties created by the pandemic may have allowed researchers to be actively involved in advancing methodological approaches.