An analysis of linguistic landscape of selected towns in Oromia

An ethnolinguistic vitality study

Bibliographic Data

ID19559222
AuthorsFekede Alemayehu (Jimma University), Gemechu Takele (Jimma University)
Year2016
Volume7
Issue1
Pages1-9
Publication date2016-01-31
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Languages and Culture (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2141-6540 • E-ISSN: 2141-6540
PublisherAcademic Journals (PUBLISHER • NG)
DOI10.5897/jlc2016.0329
OpenAlexW2339045677
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited7

This study investigates the strength of the ethnolinguistic vitality of different languages in Adama, Jimma and Sabata towns, mainly based on the objective of ethnolinguistic vitality score. A corpus of 900 signs were collected from the three towns, 300 signs each. The informational contents of the languages on signs were observed. Data were also collected using in depth interview with five linguistic landscape actors living in each town. Then the signs were given a value based on the presence and amount of information, and analyzed quantitatively. Ethnolinguistic vitality score system was used as analytical frame. Moreover, the collected signs were also analyzed qualitatively from the power and ideology perspective. The study reveals that Amharic scores the highest etnolinguistic vitality score in the three of Oromia towns, followed by English. Afan Oromo’s (Oromo Language) etnolinguistic score is the least, despite the fact that it is the regional government’s official working language. Key words: Linguistic landscape, etnolinguistic vitality, critical discourse analysis, language shift, sign, Oromia

Amharic · Geography · Ideology · Linguistic landscape · Linguistics · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Vitality · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Law · Multilingual Education and Policy · Second Language Learning and Teaching

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access