Language used in shop signs in Kamal, Madura: Virtual landscape linguistics using google street view

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the languages used in shop signs in Kamal, Madura using an internet application namely Google Street View. Within the framework of the linguistic landscape approach, it has to do with the existence, distribution, and factors influencing the existence of languages. This analysis used descriptive-qualitative methods. The data was pictures of shop signs in that area which was chosen by several criteria. The signs that we chose was sign in Kamal main road, it was only business signs, and we only analysed the name of the business signs. By using that criteria, we found 277 signs for our data. The data was analysed quantitatively to know the distribution and factors influencing the existence of languages in the signs. The findings revealed that the shop owners still used languages other than the Madurese language in their shop signs, such as English, Korean, Mandarin, and Arabic, with Indonesian being the most dominant language. It implies that as one of the gates of Madura, there is modernization and diversity demonstrated by the use of foreign languages in the area. It also supports the idea that the people in Kamal Madura are heterogenous. Moreover, using the Indonesian language in that area implies loyalty to the central Government’s language policy.

Keywords

• linguistic diversity
• madura
• multilingualism
• shop sign
• virtual landscape linguistics