Linguistic landscape in transnational areas: a comparative study of African and Korean neighbourhoods in Guangzhou

Liao, Cecily Ran; Chan, Brian Hok-Shing

doi:10.1080/14790718.2022.2060233

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 45 publications

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“…In China itself there are also ethnic neighborhoods, similar to other ethnic neighborhoods and in some ways resemble Chinatowns around the world. In the city of Guangzou, Liao and Chan (2022) studied two such ethnic neighborhoods: one inhabited by semi-illegal migrants from various African countries, with over half of the businesses oriented toward trade, and the second a Korean ethnic neighborhood with half of the businesses operating as restaurants. The researchers found a sharp contrast between the two neighborhoods not only in their economic activities, but also especially in their linguistic landscapes.…”

Section: Box 71 Other Ethnic Minority Language Enclavesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Panorama of Linguistic Landscape Studies

Gorter¹,

Cenoz²

2023

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Section: Box 71 Other Ethnic Minority Language Enclavesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Panorama of Linguistic Landscape Studies

Gorter¹,

Cenoz²

2023

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The (un)making and (re)making of Guangzhou’s ‘Little Africa’: Xiaobei’s linguistic and semiotic landscape explored

2024

Lang Policy

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Partly as a result of China’s reform and opening-up and the broader trend of globalisation, Guangzhou in Southern China has risen to global prominence as a commercial and business hub. Strategically positioned as a centre of ‘low-end globalisation’, Guangzhou has attracted investors, traders and businessmen from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. In particular, the city’s Xiaobei area established itself as ‘Little Africa’ featuring (once thriving) ethnic economies with many halal restaurants and businesses oriented towards Muslim traders from various ethnolinguistic and sociocultural backgrounds. This enclave represents a transnational space and a typical example of superdiversity rarely seen in the rest of China. The presence of (legal and often illegal) Africans in Guangzhou (where inter-marriage with local Chinese women was not uncommon) was viewed as a problem and threat to the ‘purity’ of Chinese-ness and Chinese civilisation. This led to strict enforcement of immigration law around 2014, where many foreigners left Guangzhou. Various social and top-down language policy changes and more directly the strict Covid pandemic restrictions dealt further blows to the area. Drawing on data in 2013/2014 and 2023, this sociolinguistic study traces the transformations in Xiaobei’s linguistic landscape from a contrastive/diachronic perspective over 10 years, thus shedding light on the (un)making, (re)making and the de-Arabization and Sinicization of Little Africa’s LL in a context of socio-political and language policy changes. Then synchronic LL analysis in 2023 shows how various linguistic and multimodal elements combine to still give the area a unique identity.

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Linguistic landscape as a way to construct multiple identities in the context of globalization: the case of an ancient town in China

Zhang

2024

Social Semiotics

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Linguistic landscape in transnational areas: a comparative study of African and Korean neighbourhoods in Guangzhou

Cited by 4 publications

References 45 publications

A Panorama of Linguistic Landscape Studies

A Panorama of Linguistic Landscape Studies

The (un)making and (re)making of Guangzhou’s ‘Little Africa’: Xiaobei’s linguistic and semiotic landscape explored

Linguistic landscape as a way to construct multiple identities in the context of globalization: the case of an ancient town in China

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