14th Linguistic Landscape Workshop

The 14th Linguistic Landscape Workshop, celebrated in Madrid from 6th to 8th September 2023, was dedicated to the topic of Utopia and Dystopia. During the conference, Marta Rodríguez García presented our joint paper entitled "The Linguistic Landscape of Basel: between the global and the local".

In the presentation, we explore the high presence of the official language (Standard German) and English, the global language par excellence, in Basel’s Linguistic Landscape. As well, we show the considerable presence of the local, predominantly oral, dialect: Swiss German. In contrast, the expected presence of other languages, such as French or the languages of the diverse and numerous immigrant groups, proves to be rather utopian. Thus, the population of Basel is clearly more multicultural and plurilingual than the city’s Linguistic Landscape.

It was great to be part of the 14th Linguistic Landscape Workshop and to learn about current trends and results in research about the Linguistic Landscape all over the world!