Scaling silence
Discursive distancing in the linguistic landscape of London Chinatown during Covid-19
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19219151 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jackie Jia Lou (0000-0002-6931-3756), Zhu Hua (0000-0003-1500-3047) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 108 |
| Pages | 53-64 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-24 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Language & Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0271-5309 • E-ISSN: 1873-3395 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.langcom.2026.02.003 |
| OpenAlex | W7140158731 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 16 |
This article employs a multi-scalar approach to examine silences in the linguistic landscape of London Chinatown during Covid-19. Defining silence paradigmatically, it explores the relative absence of pandemic signage, in contrast to their proliferation in other urban spaces. A total of 462 pandemic signs were photographed during four field trips to Chinatown, complemented with observations of its online linguistic landscape as represented in social media channels. The data were then analysed for their ideational, interpersonal, and textual meanings. Contextualising the findings on multiple timescales, from epidemic histories in Chinatowns to more recent history of Chinatown’s commercial redevelopment, we suggest that the silences observed in the study can be read as a discursive move to distance the place from historical discourses of racism and exclusion triggered by the virus on the longue durée (historical time) as well as a corporate strategy to de-ethnicize Chinatown the intermediate timescale. By tuning into the messages hidden behind the silences, this paper demonstrates how the linguistic landscape of Covid-19 was shaped not only by a single unprecedented event but a lamination of historical processes, thus contributing to a more nuanced understanding of silence and its inherent ambiguity and fluidity
China · Chinatown · Discourse analysis · Distancing · Linguistic landscape · Social distance · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Multilingual Education and Policy · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism
Racism and discrimination in Covid-19 responses
The WHO estimates of excess mortality associated with the Covid-19 pandemic
From Silence to Silencing? Contradictions and Tensions in Language Revitalization
The experience of hate incidents across racial and ethnic groups during the Covid-19 pandemic
Did Covid-19 Lead to an Increase in Hate Crimes Toward Chinese People in London
Visual silence and non-normative sexualities
The ordinary semiotic landscape of an unordinary place
Following you
Silence, Silencing, and (In)Visibility
Sars and New York's Chinatown
Sewers and scapegoats
Silence as a cultural sign
Shouting absences
Theorizing modernity conspiratorially
Poetics and Performances as Critical Perspectives on Language and Social Life
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |