A semiotic portrait of a big Chinese city

IF 1.5 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS Russian Journal of Linguistics Pub Date : 2022-09-30 DOI:10.22363/2687-0088-31228
O. Leontovich, N. Kotelnikova
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Abstract

Urban communication studies is a growing field of research aiming to reveal the regularities of human interaction in an urban context. The goal of the present study is to examine the semiotics of a big Chinese city as a complex communicative system and its effect on the social development of urban community. The material includes over 700 units (toponyms, street signs, advertisements, memorials, local foods and souvenirs, mass media, etc.) mostly collected in Tianjin, China’s fourth biggest city with a population of almost 14 million people. The research methodology is based on critical discourse analysis, ethnographic and semiotic methods, and narrative analysis. The study reveals the structure of communication in a big Chinese city and the integration of language into the city landscape. It indicates that urban historical memories are manifested in the form of memorials, symbols, historic and contemporary narratives. The physical context is associated with names of streets and other topological objects. Verbal and visual semiotic signs are used to ensure people’s psychological and physical safety. Social advertising predominantly deals with the propaganda of Chinese governmental policy, traditional values and ‘civilized behaviour’. Chinese urban subcultures, such as ‘ant tribe, ‘pendulums’, ‘shamate’, etc., reflect new social realities. Food and foodways are defined by cultural values and different aspects of social identity. The image of a big Chinese city is also affected by globalization tendencies and the COVID-19 pandemic. The research framework presented in the study provides an opportunity to show a wide panorama of modern urban life. It can be extrapolated to the investigation of other big cities and their linguistic landscapes.
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一个中国大城市的象征性肖像
城市传播学是一个新兴的研究领域,旨在揭示城市环境中人类互动的规律。本研究旨在探讨中国大城市作为一个复杂的交际系统的符号学及其对城市社区社会发展的影响。这些材料包括700多个单元(地名、街道标志、广告、纪念碑、当地食品和纪念品、大众媒体等),大部分收集于天津,中国第四大城市,拥有近1400万人口。研究方法以批判性话语分析、民族志和符号学方法以及叙事分析为基础。该研究揭示了中国大城市的沟通结构以及语言与城市景观的融合。它表明城市历史记忆以纪念物、符号、历史和当代叙事的形式表现出来。物理上下文与街道和其他拓扑对象的名称相关联。使用语言和视觉符号来确保人们的心理和身体安全。社会广告主要涉及中国政府政策、传统价值观和“文明行为”的宣传。中国城市亚文化,如“蚁族”、“钟摆”、“草莽”等,反映了新的社会现实。食物和饮食方式是由文化价值观和社会认同的不同方面来定义的。中国大城市的形象也受到全球化趋势和新冠肺炎疫情的影响。研究中提出的研究框架提供了一个展示现代城市生活全景的机会。它可以外推到对其他大城市及其语言景观的调查中。
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来源期刊
Russian Journal of Linguistics
Russian Journal of Linguistics Arts and Humanities-Language and Linguistics
CiteScore
3.00
自引率
33.30%
发文量
43
审稿时长
14 weeks
期刊最新文献
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