The Uses and Representations of Local Languages in Tourist Destinations: A View from British TV Holiday Programmes

Language awareness and language learning

“…It may be controversial to put the Jaworski et al (2003) study of travel programmes on British TV down as an example of encounters of dominant with marginalized cultures. Nevertheless, it could be argued that the non-English cultures and languages in the programme are being marginalized.…”

Researching Media, Multilingualism, and Education

“…Through a quantitative analysis, she finds out that systematically, the characters with the most positive evaluations are also those using the more mainstream US accents, while other 'accented' varieties of English are kept for less likeable characters. In films (Bleichenbacher, 2008), advertising (Cheshire and Moser, 1994), radio shows (Coupland, 2001) or TV broadcasts (Jaworski et al, 2003;Piller, 2001) many studies will subsequently corroborate that when other languages or other varieties of one language are used in the media, it is often for 'stylizing' an exotic other for a majority audience (Androutsopoulos, 2007, p. 213). That is, when a language is used in the media that is different from the dominant language in the community, it is used for entertainment purposes, to index the specific identity of a national 'other' but usually not to make deep, profound points.…”

5. Linguistic fetish: The sociolinguistics of visual multilingualism

“…However, the usage is generally fetishized (Kelly-Holmes 2005), or functions as a type of linguascaping (Jaworski et al 2003), since the use of Irish on the front page is limited to a number of tokens, with the main or serious business taking place in English, thus reinforcing the linguistic status quo: the use of Irish here makes sense in relation to the norm, the blank page, which is English, and from which it departs (cf. Bourdieu 1991, Bakhtin 1981.…”

“…Jaworski et al (2003) have analysed the importance of "linguascaping", which involves designing "the sounds and visual representations of special or unique language codes and varieties (accents, dialects) often used for symbolic purposes" (Jaworski 2003 et al: 3), of tourist destinations to enhance the tourist experience and ultimately add value to it. Thus, language too can form part of the tourist gaze (Urry 2002).…”