Italianisms and Italian sounding in the business language: The case of Istanbul linguistic landscape

Abstract

Italian fashion is a reference point of style and elegance all over the world. Tangible linguistic signs of "Italianess" in the Istanbul Linguistic Landscape (LL) have been collected and analysed in this paper. LL takes into account the "visibility and salience of languages on public and commercial signs in a given territory" (Landry & Bourhis, 1997). This research is based on the quantification and linguistic analysis of the linguistic visual signs observed in the target area. "Laleli" district, an area located in the surroundings of Istanbul Üniversitesi, has been specifically explored. The photographic collection has been used as starting point for interviews with local shop owners in order to enrich a visual quantitative approach with a qualitative interpretation. The collection and analysis of Italian signs in Istanbul LL aims to demonstrate the vitality of the "Italianess" and the effectiveness of Italian Sounding often adopted as a winning marketing strategy in Turkey. Furthermore, this investigation serves as a powerful reminder of the attractiveness exercised by Italian products not only in Istanbul LL, but all over the world. Made in Italy contributes to Italian economic growth, but also to increase the Soft Power of Italy abroad (Nye, 1990). A final reflection highlights to what extend Italians are often not aware of the fame and vitality of their mother tongue abroad. Contrary to what happens in other European countries, Italians often prefer to adopt unnecessary anglicisms mistreating the beauty and the musicality of their language (Testa, 2017).