Linguistic landscape study of commercial intra-city vehicle inscriptions in an African city

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Universally, an understanding of the Linguistic Landscape (LL) of a group of people is crucial to understanding their language behavioural traits. The study was purposed on exploring the LL of commercial intra-city vehicles in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis of Ghana. This single case study with embedded units utilised the multi-stage sampling technique, and the sources of data were: 1) responses from in-depth interviews from some of the commercial intra-city vehicle drivers and 2) the respective inscriptions. An interview guide and an iPhone 12 mobile phone (for pictures) were used to elicit the data. The in-depth interview data were analysed using Creswell and Poth’s (2018) Analysis Spiral Plan, whereas the signages were analysed using content analysis. The findings projected a situation where no attention was paid to the indigenous Ahanta language but rather major preference given to the Mfantse and the English languages. Easy readability and comprehension of the messages were cited by the commercial intra-city vehicle drivers as their reasons for preferring the English language. The implication of the study is that the Ahanta language, the indigenous language in Sekondi- Takoradi is endangered. Resultantly, the authorities of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly should work closely with the Ministry of Local Government to heighten individuals’ use of the Ahanta language to save it from death. Also, this calls into sharp attention the need for stakeholders in other jurisdictions to work to improve the use of endangered languages to protect them from extinction.

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Introduction Linguistic landscape (LL) encompasses the various advertisements, signages and notifications that populate public spaces within towns and cities (Santiso, 2023). It includes the language of public road signs, advertising billboards, street names, place names, commercial shop signs and public signs on governmental buildings (Landry, Bourhis, 1997). Santiso posits that the examination of LL becomes especially fascinating in regions characterised by multilingualism, as signages serve as visual representations of the interplay and relative signifi ce of all languages present. In some countries, language policies exist to regulate the standing of each language within the LL; nevertheless, these rules might be undermined by the populace in order to reflect the linguistic dynamics of the given region (Hult, 2018). Globally, the literature is awash with studies on LL (Alomoush, 2018; Loth, 2016; Lusekelo, Alphonce, 2018; Lee, 2019). Nuria Yáñez-Bouza (Yáñez-Bouza, 2015) examined LL on public signs, advertisements and other visible linguistic features in townships at Galicia and found that the design and typography of LL could influence the legibility and attractiveness of public signs and messages. In addition, Marta Rodriguez-Garcia (Rodriguez-Garcia, 2017) investigated LL’s role of typography for the expression of linguistic diversity in bilingual signs in Madrid and discovered that the choice of typeface conveys a particular cultural or historical identity. Furthermore, Santiso (Santiso, 2023) examined LL of signs in the main shopping street of Ondarroa (both top-down and bottom-up signs) and found that contrary to the situation of Basque in urban areas, Basque is the language with the largest presence in the LL of the streets in Ondarroa. In Ghana, there are studies that have concentrated on the LL of street names, hotel names, inscriptions on vehicles and on canoes (Agbaglo, Afful, 2023; Anane, 2019; Nyame, Tomekyin, 2018; Owusu-Afriyie, 2020), but there is limited research on LL in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. Agbaglo and Afful (Agbaglo, Afful, 2023), for instance, investigated names of hotels in Accra - the capital city of Ghana, with considerable fi cultural and industrial signifi Agbaglo and Afful found that most of the hotels employed English monolingual names, with a few using bilingual names. On their part, Nyame and Tomekyin (Nyame, Tomekyin, 2018) studied the LL of taxis in Ajumako and Winneba and found that the English language and the Mfantse language dominated in both communities. Even though Sekondi-Takoradi is Ghana’s third most populous cosmopolitan city and a commercial, cultural and industrial hub of Ghana’s Western Region, there is virtually no study on the LL of commercial intra-city vehicles in the metropolis. Not having any empirical study on the LL of commercial intra-city vehicles in the metropolis could hide critical information from, especially, language policy makers. The study was, th Metropolis. The following research questions guided the study: 1) What is the dominant language on the inscriptions on the commercial intra-city vehicles in Sekondi-Takoradi? 2) Which factors infl the choice(s) of language(s) for the inscriptions? 3) Which meanings do the drivers/vehicle owners ascribe to the inscriptions used? Three reasons underpin the conduct of this study. First, this study makes a vital contribution by revealing the LL of commercial intra-city vehicle inscriptions in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis. Despite the existence of studies on LL in Ghana, there is a notable absence of recorded empirical research that specifi addresses commercial intra-city vehicles’ LL in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. This study, therefore, contributes signifi to the extant literature by uncovering the LL of commercial intra-city vehicles in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. Second, this study is intended to serve as a foundation for further studies to be conducted into other apposite areas such as the nexus between LL and vehicle typography and the LL of canoe typography in Sekondi-Takoradi. Third, a comprehension of the LL of intra- city commercial vehicles in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis will position stakeholders such as linguists, historians, anthropologists, cultural heritage experts and successive governments to develop and institute strategies to strengthen language use in Ghana. Literature Review LL Studies. Studies on LL around the globe are not in their infancy (Agbaglo, Afful, 2023; Legère, 2022; Lusekelo, Alphonce, 2018; Santiso, 2023), as different aspects of LL have been studied by scholars. Lusekelo and Alphonce (2018) advance that LL serves as an avenue for examining issues of multilingualism. Lusekelo and Alphonce indicate that monolingual and multilingual signages have different discourse purposes and values. Multilingual signages give various degrees of inclusivity, while monolingual signages restrict readership to only one language. Similarly, Karsten Legère (Legère, 2022) posits that LL provides the backdrop to our everyday lives and serves as a treasured language learning resource because signages are everywhere and open for every individual to see freely and that signages also shape how people interact in society. Han and Hu (Han, Hu, 2020) studied language policy, linguistic landscape and residents’ perceptions of language use in Guangzhou, China, and found that there were incessant conflicts and dissents in the city space of Guangzhou, especially in relation to the use of English, Cantonese and traditional Chinese characters. In another study, Momoko Nakamura (Nakamura 2021) examined linguistic landscape of vehicles in Japanese streets, and found that about a half of the scripts on the right side of vehicles are written in the non-normative direction, from right to left. In a related study, Akoli et al. (Akoli, 2022) investigated the glocalisation phenomena of English language expressions found on minivans As regards studies on LL in Ghana, Agbaglo and Afful (Agbaglo, Afful, 2023), Nyame and Tomekyin (Nyame, Tomekyin, 2018), Landry and Bouris’s (Landry, Bouris’s, 1997) and Anane (Anane, 2019) are among the scholars who have conducted investigations. For instance, Nyame and Tomekyin (2018) studied the LL of Ajumako (an indigenous Mfantse-speaking community) and Winneba (a cosmopolitan area with Effutu or Awutu being the home language) to fi out whether the languages found in each actually refl the languages spoken by each community, and to discover which language was most dominant based on their ethnic makeup. Nyame and Tomekyin found that the English language and Mfantse language were very dominant in both communities, and few others appeared infrequently. The expected result, Mfantse language being more frequent in Ajumako and at least a marginal appearance of Effutu in Winneba, was not supported by the fi ngs: the ethnic makeup of Ajumako and Winneba does not seem to be related to the visual language encountered in the linguistic landscape. In another study, Job Anane (Anane, 2019) examined the language used on canoes in Winneba, a Cosmopolitan town in the Central Region of Ghana, and found that Mfantse was the dominant language used, even though Winneba is Effutu-speaking. The reasons found were that people can express and share their experiences through the use of Mfantse language better. Furthermore, Akoto and Afful (Akoto, Afful, 2021) examined church names (ecclesionyms) which constitute part of the religioonomastic landscape of Ghana to discover the various languages embedded in them and found that churches in Ghana generally adopt three global languages (Hebrew, Greek and Latin), a glocal language (English) and three local languages (Akan, Ewe and Ga). In a related study, Agbaglo and Afful (Agbaglo, Afful, 2023), investigated names of hotels in Accra - the capital city of Ghana, with considerable fi cultural and industrial signifi Agbaglo and Afful found that most of the hotels employed English monolingual names, with a few using bilingual names. From the foregoing review, it is evident that language boundaries extend beyond traditional borders and that people make language choices mainly based on ease and the ability of the language to reach the target audience for the right impact. This situation is applicable both in Ghana and outside Ghana. Overview of the General Linguistic Landscape in Ghana. Ghana is characterised by its linguistic diversity, with an estimated 80 indigenous languages documented and visually represented on a linguistic map (Eberhard et al., 2019). The linguistic diversity in Ghana enables a clear differentiation between the geographical distribution of languages classified as "OF" and "IN". The linguistic map of Ghana exhibits a wider scope and greater comprehensiveness
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About the authors

Ramos Asafo-Adjei

Takoradi Technical University

Email: asafoadjeiramos@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8706-3028

holds a PhD in English language (English Language Teaching) from the University of Venda in South Africa and is an Associate Professor at the Communication and Media Studies Section of the Centre for Languages and Liberal Studies

Takoradi, Ghana

Francis Bukari

Takoradi Technical University

Email: francisbukari182@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7932-7812

English and Communication skills lecturer at Centre for Languages and Liberal Studies, Communication and Media Studies Section, Takoradi Technical University. He taught English and Communication skills as a part time lecturer at University for Development Studies and the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. He was also English Language tutor at Bawku Senior High School, Ghana

Takoradi, Ghana

Ernest Klu

University of Venda

Author for correspondence.
Email: Ernest.Klu@univen.ac.za
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9551-7325

associate Professor in the Department of English, Media Studies & Linguistics

Thohoyandou, South Africa

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