Linguistic Landscape of 18th Ave
The linguistic landscape of 18th Avenue, between Ocean Parkway and McDonald Avenue Brooklyn, showcases a rich mix of languages and scripts on signs, billboards, and storefronts. Growing up in 18th Ave I witnessed so much cultural integration. When I first arrived at 18th Ave I expected to see less of my Tajik culture and more of the classic American culture I saw in the movies. However, I was surprised to see some of my culture integrated there. Ranging from restaurant names to people I saw very familiar aspects of Tajikistan. 18th Ave contains from English to Russian, Hebrew, Tajik, Uzbek, and Chinese reflecting the diverse community living here. This paper aims to uncover the social, cultural, and economic dynamics behind this language use. By analyzing signage and branding, it can reveal migration patterns, cultural integration, and identity formation. Businesses on 18th Avenue use language and symbols strategically to attract customers from various backgrounds. They employ different font sizes to highlight key messages and create a sense of inclusivity. This study will document this linguistic diversity and explore how language intersects with ethnicity, migration, and urban development.
Location
The linguistic landscape of 18th Avenue, between Ocean Parkway and McDonald Avenue, features languages such as Russian, English, Hebrew, Tajik, Uzbek and Chinese on signs and storefronts. The photos that will be shown in this paper depict phrases, letters, and styles consisting of those cultures throughout the landscape. Previous studies have shown how language shapes social interactions, economic activities, and cultural identities in urban areas, illustrating the significance of linguistic diversity as a reflection of multiculturalism. Based on “Mobility and Language in Place: A Linguistic Landscape of Language Commodification” by Christa Burdick, the relationship between landscape and language should be seen as a dynamic process rather than a static object of study. Similar to human interactions, it requires historical and contextual analysis. This illustrates the significance of the relationship between language and landscape, it can have historical and contextual importance. This is crucial because through understanding this we can dive deeper into the linguistic landscape of New York by analyzing its historical, economic and social importance. The data being analyzed consists of 10 signs that are split into two categories.
Category #1 (figures 1-5), consists of signs that reference a country or an area in their name, typically utilized to attract individuals who are familiar with or want to be familiar with the cultures of that specific landscape. Also utilized to represent and add or create a reputation for that specific country or area.
Tandir Express in figure 1, is the name of this restaurant’s sign and its logo. It also includes phone numbers and various types of foods that are served in the restaurant. On the top of the name, it says Urgut. Urgut is an area in Uzbekistan that holds its reputation regarding food and goods. Tandir is a Uzbek word that means clay ovens, the names of which vary from country to country and are made in the centuries-old traditional way. The foods listed are Plov and Samsa which are very popular Uzbek dishes. Additionally, on the same row in English, it states Authentic Uzbek food and in Russian it states “Узбекская Кухня” which translates to Uzbek Kitchen. Understanding the sign fully we can dive into its effects in the landscape. It welcomes all individuals, the name of the Restaurant welcomes natives of the culture and country, and the English and Russian below it welcomes English speakers and Russian speakers which addresses almost everyone. Using Urgut as a part of its name creates a representation of the area. In a manner that its piece of Urgut is located on 18th Avenue, where people can go to try food from Urgut.
Tashkent Supermarket figure 2, is another example of a reference to an area in Uzbekistan. Tashkent is a popular city in Uzbekistan. The purpose of adding the sign to the name is to utilize Tashkent as an attractive factor. Meaning that due to the name people will be more likely to take interest in entering the supermarket. Since there are an excessive amount of individuals deriving from Central Asia living around 18th Ave, it provides familiarity to those people.
Ankara in figure 3, is a Turkish restaurant. Ankara the name derives from the capital of Turkey. Ankara is also a famous city that holds a great reputation. Under the name is stated “Turkish Restaurant”, turkey also holds a great reputation for their food. This results in attracting all types of individuals. Using Ankara as the name is utilized to attract individuals who are familiar with or want to be familiar with Ankara through this place.
In Figure 4, Europa Custom Tailors is a tailoring store. As you can see it utilizes the word Europa in its name which is typically used to say Europe in other parts of the world. Since the area consists of mostly immigrants it is an attraction factor. Custom Tailors is indicating that it is a European tailoring store, using the reputation of Europe to attract individuals.
In Figure 5, the name of the service center is “Agudath Israel of America. The name consists of the words “Agudath” and Isreal, which both refer to an area named Israel. Agudath is derived from Agudat which is in Hebrew that translates to Union of Israel. At the top of its name you can see Hebrew writings, utilized to target jewish individuals. This religious organization in the landscape of 18th Avenue uses the name to represent Israel.
Category #2 (Figures 6-10), consists of signs that exclusively use words, symbols, or letters to appeal to specific cultural or ethnic groups. These signs also aim to represent or attract diverse communities within the area.
In figure 6, Glatt Family Express is a Chinese kosher restaurant. On the right of its name you can see a Chinese word. The word is “Mei” that translates to beautiful. The sign uses that word as a symbol makes it the biggest element to connect itself with a Chinese ethnicity. Since 18th avenue is so diverse utilizing symbols as such requires no understanding of what it means to comprehend what it stands for, meaning anyone who is interested in Chinese meals will be able to give it a try.
In figure 7, the sign is a advertisement for Epoch Times, a newspaper company. You can clearly see that everything is in Chinese except the name below. It is clear that the target audience is strictly Chinese individuals. At the top is states “(one copy per person please cherish it) Free access to special packages” and below it states “Historical changes are happening before your eyes, Epoch Times points the way to the truth”. This indicates that even though 18th avenue is diverse with various ethnic group this sign is aims to attract only a specific group.
In figure 8, Yellow a mobile service store has a big yellow sign. In the sign you can observe that everything is strictly in Russian. The sing lists all types of services that the store has to offer. The sign clearly aims to attract Russian speaking audiences to provide their services. It also illustrates two types of flags which are Uzbekistan and United States flags. showing its origin. This illustrates that it is also representing the ethnic groups of Uzbekistan. However, even though it is in Russian the icons and images help a non Russian speaker understand the services being provided.
In figure 9, Fortuna or Fortune Supermarket sign. As you can see in the biggest fonts the letters aren’t English letters. They are in Russian, “Фартуна” means fortune. The store utilizes these letters in its name to illustrate that it is a representation of a foreign ethnic group. That fact attracts many immigrant living in 18th avenue since they want to buy products they have seen in their countries.
In figure 10, Dastarxan Kafe is a Uzbek restaurant that resembles a conventional Uzbek cafe. The interesting fact about this sign is that it uses English letters for Uzbek words. “Dastarxan” stands for tablecloth, however in Uzbekistan it also stands for a dinner table or a table of food. I also found it interesting how it says “Kafe” instead of “Cafe” when they mean the same exact thing. It is clear that the cafe sign aims to attract a specific ethnic groups that understand Uzbek. However the word Kafe also helps individuals who do not fully understand know that its a cafe.
After analyzing the signs I observed that most were bilingual, this is because the landscape consists of individuals with many different backgrounds who speak many different languages. Through out time as more immigrants moved to 18th avenue it shaped the language of the landscape it made it more bilingual. As shown figures 1-5 illustrated signs that used various country or areas as a part of their names, and 6-10 depicted signs that use words or letters from specific languages to target or represent specific audience. It has also effect the landscapes economic growth, targeting more foreign audience has given a new category of consumers and has also shaped the linguistic landscape of 18th avenue. Stores that offer services have many different language uses in their signs to attract those consumers who haven’t yet learned English or are need of assistance through their native language. The growth of immigration and diverse communities in 18th avenue has slowly molded and shaped its bilingual and multicultural linguistic landscape we witness today,
