Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T13:30:17.892Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mapping the linguistic landscapes of the Marshall Islands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2018

Isabelle Buchstaller  and
Seraphim Alvanides
Isabelle Buchstaller*
Affiliation:
Department of Anglophone Studies, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Seraphim Alvanides
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering & Environment, Northumbria University at Newcastle, United Kingdom
*
*Address for correspondence: Universitätsstr. 12, 45141 Essen, Germany, [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper examines code choices in the written linguistic landscape of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). Due to a history of language imposition, the Marshall Islanders have long been denied the opportunity to express their linguistic identity in the public domain. A recently proposed bilingual language policy, which requires all public signs to be Marshallese-English bilingual, aims to change this status quo. We map language choices in the linguistic landscape of the RMI at the cusp of this policy with an eye on the stakeholders, production processes, and audiences involved in the creation and reception of the linguistic landscape. State-of-the-art geographical and regression analyses model the factors that govern code choices in the linguistic landscape of the RMI. Our findings allow us to pinpoint niches—both geographical as well as social—where the Marshallese assert their linguistic identity in the public realm.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Linguistic Geography , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , October 2017 , pp. 67 - 85
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The author affiliations have been updated, see 10.1017/jlg.2018.5

References

Alexander, Neville. 2006. Socio-political factors in the evolution of language policy in post-Apartheid South Africa. In Martin Pütz, Joshua A. Fishman & JoAnne Neff-van Aertselar (eds.), ‘Along the routes to power.’ Explorations of empowerment through language. 241-260. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Amos, H. Will & Soukup, Barbara. 2016. Towards a canon of variables in quantitative LL research. Paper presented at the 37th International LAUD Symposium, Landau.Google Scholar
Angermeyer, Philipp. 2016. A frame of punitive multilingualism: Indexing deviance in the linguistic landscape. Paper presented at the 37th LAUD Symposium, Landau.Google Scholar
Backhaus, Peter. 2006. Multilingualism in Tokyo: A look into the linguistic landscape. International Journal of Multilingualism, 3. 52-66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Backhaus, Peter. 2007. Linguistic landscapes: a comparative study of urban multilingualism in Tokyo. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Banda, Felix & Jimaima, Hambaba. 2015. The semiotic ecology of linguistic landscapes in rural Zambia. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 19. 643-670.Google Scholar
Barker, Holly. 2013. Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining control in a post-nuclear, post-colonial world. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.Google Scholar
Bates, Douglas, Maechler, Martin, Bolker, Ben, Walker, Steve, Christensen, Rune, Singmann, Henrik, Dai, Bin, Grothendiek, Gabor & Geen, Peter. 2016. Package ‘lme4’. http://lme4.r-forge.r-project.org/.Google Scholar
Bauldauf, Richard & Nguyen, Thi Mai Hoa. 2012. Language policy in Asia and the Pacific. In Bernard Spolsky (ed), The Cambridge handbook of language policy. 617-638. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ben-Rafael, Eliezer, Shohamy, Elana, Amara, Muhammad Hasan & Trumper-Hecht, Nira. 2006. Linguistic landscape as symbolic construction of the public space: The case of Israel. International Journal of Multilingualism, 3. 7-30.Google Scholar
Blackwood, Robert. 2015. LL explorations and methodological challenges. Linguistic Landscape, 1. 38-53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blake, Renée. 1997. Defining the envelope of linguistic variation: The case of ‘don’t count’ forms in the copula analysis of African American Vernacular English. Language Variation and Change, 9. 57-71.Google Scholar
Bodenhamer, David, Corrigan, John & Harris, Trevor. (eds) 2010. The spatial humanities: GIS and the future of humanities scholarship. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Buchstaller, Isabelle & Alvanides, Seraphim. 2016. The ideology of language choice: Exploring the linguistic landscapes of the Marshall Islands. Paper presented at the 37th international LAUD Symposium, Landau.Google Scholar
Buchstaller, Isabelle & Alvanides, Seraphim. forthcoming. The ideology of language choice : Investigating the bilingual landscape of the Marshall Islands. In Martin Pütz & Neele Mundt (eds.) Linguistic landscapes and superdiversity in the city. Proceedings of the 37th LAUD Symposium. Lang.Google Scholar
Buchstaller, Isabelle & Willson, Nicholas Dane. forthcoming. Marshallese English: A first sketch. Journal of World Englishes.Google Scholar
Capelle, Alfred. 2015. Yes we can! The Marshall Islands Journal, 14 August. 13/12.Google Scholar
Cenoz, Jasone & Gorter, Durk. 2006. Linguistic landscape and minority languages. International Journal of Multilingualism, 3(1). 67-80.Google Scholar
Chambers, Jack & Trudgill, Peter. 1980. Dialectology, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Chambers, John & Hastie, Trevor. 1992. Statistical models. in S. Pacific Grove California: Wadsworth & Brooks/Cole Advanced Books and Software.Google Scholar
Coulmas, Florian. 1992. Language and economy. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Dear, Michael. 2015. Practicing geohumanities. GeoHumanities, 1. 20-35.Google Scholar
De Swaan, Abram. 1998. A political sociology of the world language system: The dynamics of language spread. Language Problems & Language Planning, 22(1). 63-75.Google Scholar
De Swaan, Abram. 2001. English in the social sciences. In Ulrich Ammon (ed.), The dominance of English as a language of science: Effects on the non-English languages and language communities. 71-83. Berlin/ New York: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Dunlevy, Deirdre. 2012. Linguistic policy and linguistic choice: a study of the Galician linguistic landscape. In Christine Hélot, Monica Barni, Rudi Janssens & Carla Bagna (eds.), Linguistic landscapes, multilingualism and social change. 53-68. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Eck, John, Chainey, Spencer, Seraphim, James & Wilson, Ronald. 2005. Mapping Crime: Understanding Hotspots. Washington DC.: National Institute of Justice. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/11291/.Google Scholar
EPPSO (Economic Policy, Planning and Statistics Office, Republic of the Marshall Islands). 2012. Republic of the Marshall Islands 2011 census report. http://www.spc.int/prism/ images/census_reports/Marshall_Islands_Census_2011-Full.pdf (20 June 2015).Google Scholar
Ferguson, Gibson. 2012. English in language policy and management. In Bernard Spolsky (ed.), The Cambridge handbook of language policy. 478-498. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gans, Chaim. 2003. The limits of nationalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García, Ofelia. 2012. Ethnic identity and language policy. In Bernard Spolsky (ed.), The Cambridge handbook of language policy. 79-99. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Goffman, Erving. 1963. Behavior in public places. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Goffman, Erving. 1981. Forms of talk. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Gorter, Durk. 2012. Foreword: Signposts in the linguistic landscape. In Christine Hélot, Monica Barni, Rudi Janssens & Carla Bagna (eds.), Linguistic landscapes, multilingualism and social change. 9-12. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Heller, Monica. 1987. The role of language in the development of ethnic identity. In J. Phinney & M. Rotheram (eds.), Children’s ethnic socialization: Identity, attitudes and interactions. 180-200. Newbury Park: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Heller, Monica. 2009. Colonialism and re-imaging minority language management. Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 4. 103-106.Google Scholar
Hélot, Christine, Barni, Monica, Janssens, Rudi & Bagna, Carla. 2012. Introduction. In Christine Hélot Monica Barni, Rudi Janssens & Carla Bagna (eds.), Linguistic landscapes, multilingualism and social change. 17-24. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Husband, Charles, Alam, Yunis, Hütterman, Jörg & Formina, Joanna. 2016. Lived diversities: Space, place and identities in the multi-ethnic city. Bristol: Policy Press.Google Scholar
Jaworski, Adam & Crispin Thurlow (eds). 2010. Semiotic Landscapes: Language, Image, Space. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
Jetnil-Kijiner, Kathy. 2014. IEP Jaltok: A history of Marshallese literature. Honolulu: University of Hawaii MA Thesis.Google Scholar
Joash, Bernice, Kowata, Kinuko & Stone, Donna. 2000. Jabōnkōnnaan in M̧ajeļ: Wisdom from the past: A collection of Marshallese proverbs, wise sayings & beliefs. Alele Museum: Library & National Archives.Google Scholar
Johnson, Giff. 2015. Idyllic no more: Pacific island climate, corruption and development dilemmas. Majuro: Marshall Islands.Google Scholar
Kallen, Jeffrey L. 2010 Changing landscapes: Language, space and policy in the Dublin linguistic landscape. In Adam Jaworski & Crispin Thurlow (eds.), Semiotic landscapes: Language, image, space. 41-58. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
Labov, William. 1972. Language in the inner city: Studies in the Black English vernacular. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Landry, Rodrigue & Bourhis, Richard Y.. 1997. Linguistic landscape and ethnolinguistic vitality: An empirical study. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 16(1). 23-49.Google Scholar
Lefebvre, Henri. 1968. Le droit à la ville. Anthopos Paris.Google Scholar
Low, Marilyn, Penland, Destin & Heine, Hilda. 2005. The language question in Pacific education: The case of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Research Brief, Honolulu: Pacific Resources for Education and Learning.Google Scholar
Marshall Islands Journal (MIJ). 2015a. Educator adamant Marshallese language in schools is vital. 7 August.Google Scholar
Marshall Islands Journal (MIJ). 2015b. Language bill. 28 August.Google Scholar
Marshall Islands Journal (MIJ). 2015c. Bill #85 introduced. 28 August.Google Scholar
Marshall Islands Journal (MIJ). 2015d. Bill 85 goes against freedom of expression. 25 September.Google Scholar
Marshall Islands Journal (MIJ). 2016. Marshallese students struggle with literacy. 5 August.Google Scholar
Marshall Islands Public School System (MIPS). 2015. Language education policy. Majuro: Ministry of Education.Google Scholar
Marten, Heiko, Van Mensel, Luk & Gorter, Durk. 2012. Studying minority languages in the linguistic landscape. In Durk Gorter, Heike Marten & Luk Van Mensel (eds.), Minority languages in the linguistic landscape. 1-18. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Meyerhoff, Miriam & Niedzielski, Nancy. 2003. The globalization of vernacular variation. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 7. 534-555.Google Scholar
Micronesian Land Grant. 2014. Training on urban vegetable gardening methods: News from the LandGrants, 23 September. http://www.micronesialandgrant.org/training-on-urban-vegetable-gardening-methods/ (18 August 2016).Google Scholar
Miller, Rachel Leah. 2011. Wa Kuk Wa Jimor: Marshallese canoes today. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/21731 (18 August 2016).Google Scholar
Ministry of Education. 2015. Marshall Islands public school language education policy. Republic of the Marshall Islands.Google Scholar
Pacific Parts Association. 2012. Marshall Islands mat weaving revived and revitalized. http://www.pacificarts.org/node/946. (15 August 2016).Google Scholar
Papen, Uta. 2012. Commercial discourses, gentrification, and citizens’ protest: the linguistic landscape of Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 16(1). 56-80.Google Scholar
Pavlenko, Aneta. 2010. Linguistic landscape of Kyiv, Ukraine: A diachronic study. In Elana Shohamy, Eliezer Ben-Rafael and Monica Barni (eds.), Linguistic landscape in the city. 133-150. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Pavlenko, Aneta & Blackledge, Adrian. 2004. Introduction: New theoretical approaches to the study of negotiation of identities in multilingual contexts. In Aneta Pavlenko & Adrian Blackledge (eds.), Negotiation of identities in multilingual contexts. 1-34. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Pennycook, Alastair. 2009. Linguistic landscape and the transgressive semiotics of graffiti. In Elana Shohamy & Durk Gorter (eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery. 302-312. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Pine, Pamela & Savage, William. 1989. Marshallese and English: Evidence for an immersion model of education in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. World Englishes, 8. 83-94.Google Scholar
Robichaud, David & Schutter, Helder De. 2012. Language is just a tool! On the instrumentalist approach to language. In Bernard Spolsky (ed), The Cambridge handbook of language policy. 124-146. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Roeder, Rebecca & Walden, Bryan C.. 2016. The changing face of dixie: Spanish in the linguistic landscape of an emergent immigrant community in the New South. Ampersand, 3. 126-136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roussanoglou, Nikos. 2015. Marshall Islands Ship Registry on track to become second largest, first among Hellenic ship owners. Hellenic Shipping News Worldwidehttp://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/marshall-islands-ship-registry-on-track-to-become-second-largest-first-among-hellenic-ship-owners/ (17 October 2016).Google Scholar
Rubdy, Rany. 2015. Conflict and exclusion: The linguistic landscape as an arena of contestation. In Rani Rubdy and Selim Ben Said (eds), Conflict, exclusion and dissent in the linguistic landscape. 1-26. London: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Scollon, Ron & Scollon, Suzie Wong. 2003. Discourses in place: Language in the material world. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Soukup, Barbara. 2016. English in the linguistic landscape of Vienna, Austria (ELLViA): Outline, rationale, and methodology of a large-scale empirical project on language choice on public signs from the perspective of sign-readers. Vienna English Working Papers, https://anglistik.univie.ac.at/research/views/current-issues/ Google Scholar
Spector, Robert. 2005. Category killers: The retail revolution and its impact on consumer culture. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press Google Scholar
Spolski, Bernard. 2009. Language management. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tannen, Deborah & Wallat, Cynthia. 1986. Medical professionals and parents: A linguistic analysis of communication across contexts. Language in Society, 15(3). 295-311.Google Scholar
Thistlethwaite, Jo & Sebba, Mark. 2015. The passive exclusion of Irish in the linguistic landscape: a nexus analysis. In Rani Rubdy & Selim Ben Said (eds.), Conflict, exclusion and dissent in the linguistic landscape. 26-52. London: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Tobin, Jack A. 2002. Stories from the Marshall Islands. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.Google Scholar
Trumper-Hecht, Nira. 2010. Linguistic landscape in mixed cities in Israel from the perspective of ‘walkers’: The case of Arabic. In Elana Shohamy, Eliezer Ben-Rafael & MonicaBarni (eds.), Linguistic landscape in the city, 235–251. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Walsh, Julie. 2012. Etto nan raan kein: A Marshall Islands history. Honolulu: Bess Press.Google Scholar