Linguistic Landscape Ideas

I have lived in the Hudson Valley for around ten years of my life. While I’ve lived in the same place for that entire period, I find that I spend a lot of time in towns that are not my own, specifically Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. Whether it’s because of work (as my first job was off Main Street and my mom has worked there since we moved here from Wisconsin), or because of the restaurants, or simply because of the people we’ve came to know over the years, the area has become a second home in some ways. The reason I am choosing this as my linguistic landscape is because the area has done a lot of marketing with the names it gives its streets, parks and stores. Sleepy Hollows proves to be a tourist attraction every Halloween, and in turn, the town has grown to thrive off the swell of people who come to escape from the city, looking for the perfect quiet, kitschy suburb. The names are almost comical in some parts due to the way they pander to their market, while in others, the signage proves to be an indicator of “status”.

For instance, a very affluent homeowner’s association called Greystone on the Hudson (map pictured below) opened up several years back, creating a private neighborhood of mansions, some extremely old. The street names for it are ridiculous in that they are nothing like the normal street names of the towns surrounding, but instead try to give off a “Rockefeller” vibe (who, may I have, hold a large amount of property in this area as well).