Lamppost networks *:Stickers as a genre in urban semiotic landscapes

This paper examines the pragmatics of stickers as a genre prominent in communication in urban public space. Although normally small in size, stickers may quantitatively dominate signage in certain areas of cities. Stickers are examined here as localized communicative events that mediatize social practices through a range of complex multimodal and linguistic processes, based on data from the Digbeth area in central Birmingham, UK. An analysis of the distribution of stickers, their agency, audience, and the multimodal practices involved in their creation reveals that they bring together transgressive, artistic and commercial discourses and form a specific layer of urban communication, especially in areas of pedestrian transit within a city. A large number of stickers also initiate communications that can potentially be continued onlin

Semiotic Rural Landscapes and the Performance of Community in Villages.:A Case Study from Low German-Speaking Northern Germany

This article analyses the semiotic landscapes of 19 villages in Low German-speaking northern Germany, thus contributing to the growing body of research in the field of semiotic landscapes in rural settings. Drawing from Blokland’s (2017) typology of community, it analyses the semiotic landscapes of the villages as material manifestations of communicative practices and performances which create fluid, flexible configurations of community. The analysis reveals that signage in this particular rural context reflects social processes by which individuals and communities have constructed new images of themselves by using elements of local tradition, culture, language, and history. In doing so, they have also carved out a specific approach to tourism for themselves, which is opposed to mass and package tourism

Plaedoyer fuer die Entwicklung einer integrativen Didaktik im Bereich der German Studies

Theme of the following polemic is the absence of a didactic-methodological approach in the UK higher education Germanistik, goes beyond the field of language teaching. The resulting problems are to be exemplary unfolded. Following an alternative is presented. Thema der folgenden Polemik ist das Fehlen eines didaktisch-methodischen Ansatzes in der britischen Hochschulgermanistik, der über den Bereich der Sprachvermittlung hinausgeht. Die daraus resultierenden Probleme sollen exemplarisch entfaltet werden. Im Anschluss wird eine Alternative vorgestellt

Autochthonous heritage languages and social media:writing and bilingual practices in Low German on Facebook

This article analyses how speakers of an autochthonous heritage language (AHL) make use of digital media, through the example of Low German, a regional language used by a decreasing number of speakers mainly in northern Germany. The focus of the analysis is on Web 2.0 and its interactive potential for individual speakers. The study therefore examines linguistic practices on the social network site Facebook, with special emphasis on language choice, bilingual practices and writing in the autochthonous heritage language. The findings suggest that social network sites such as Facebook have the potential to provide new mediatized spaces for speakers of an AHL that can instigate sociolinguistic change

Leaving one’s mark: Self-authorized commemorative practices in a rural semiotic landscape

This study introduces the concept of “self-authorized commemorative practices” to the analysis of semiotic landscapes. It aims to draw attention to commemorative practices by which individuals assert their presence within the semiotic landscape, beyond the influence of powerful authorities that typically determine the visible commemorative aspects of public space. The multimodal practices employed include the use of language, images and artefacts, and their emplacement in the semiotic landscapes. The study is based on two complete photographic inventories of all signage in public space in a rural community in northwest Germany, taken over a ten-year period, in addition to more than twenty years of participant observation. The findings reveal layers of self-authorized commemorative practices, often concealed in plain sight but discernible to the trained eye, interwoven with the local narratives associated with the semiotic landscape. Individuals, through their own means, leave lasting marks that commemorate their existence, achievements, deceased loved ones, or social traditions. These self-authorized practices contribute to the rich tapestry of the semiotic landscape, challenging and expanding our understanding of commemoration beyond the influence of traditional authoritie

Digital Writing in Low German: Between Elite and Grassroot Literacies

This article analyses digital writing in Low German, a regional language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and currently undergoing a process of language shift towards German. Since medieval times, a substantial body of Low German literature has been written; however, today, the language serves mainly as a vernacular. The aim of this study is to examine whether digital writing could become a new domain for Low German speakers, thus forming a buffer in the ongoing struggle against language loss. In order to analyse digital writing in Low German, we apply Jan Blommaert’s concept of elite versus grassroot literacies (Blommaert 2008) and examine two communities of practice: Wikipedia authors and experts working for Low German institutions using Low German online, and speakers communicating via Low German on social media. The results show two communities of practice among Low German speakers with distinctive writing practices and values: while elite writers aim to implement a standardised form of spelling, grassroot writers tend to reject prescriptivism and create ways to negotiate communication across variation