Unpacking the Asturian-Spanish linguistic landscape: language policy, identity formation, and social transformation
Over the past few decades, linguistic landscape (LL) studies have emerged as a dynamic and rapidly expanding field. Initially grounded in Landry and Bourhis’ (1997) seminal work on public language displays, the field has since evolved, highlighting the intersection of language, power, and social change. Recent LL research has examined multilingualism and minority languages (Gorter, 2006; Sobocinska, 2019), language policy (Shohamy, 2015), and globalization's impact on urban centers (Ben-Rafael & Ben-Rafael, 2019). Emerging themes such as gentrification (Trinch & Snajdr, 2020) and graffiti (Peck & Stroud, 2015) continue to broaden the scope of LL studies.
This presentation explores the Asturian-Spanish LL across diverse contexts. Asturian, a minoritized language primarily spoken in the Principality of Asturias (Spain), lacks official status and is mainly used in informal settings, such as between families and friends in rural areas, while Spanish dominates in administrative contexts (Andrés Díaz, 1987).
The presentation draws on four studies: Study 1 (Arias Alvarez & Bernardo-Hinesley, 2023) examines language policy and language contact by analyzing the presence of Asturian in the LL of a town where Asturian has been actively promoted. This study demonstrates the importance of language protection policies for revitalizing minoritized languages and fostering positive attitudes toward Asturian. Study 2 (Arias Alvarez & Bernardo-Hinesley, 2024) explores how the visual display of Asturian and Spanish in the public sphere influences perceptions of language prestige and affects linguistic practices in the same town as in Study 1. Data was collected through a survey distributed among residents. Study 3 (Arias Álvarez, 2024) investigates the Asturian diaspora in Madrid, analyzing how migrant communities recreate spaces from their homeland through language and semiotic resources in the LL of Asturian restaurants. This study draws on the concepts of deterritorialization and reterritorialization (Gubitosi & De Oliveira, 2020; Rosa, 2015) to examine how Asturian identity is maintained in the diaspora. Study 4 (Arias Álvarez, under review) focuses on transgressive LL by examining graffiti in four towns in the Asturian Mining Valley, a region undergoing urban revitalization after the decline of the mining industry. Through qualitative content analysis, this study explores how graffiti symbols, discourse, and spatial arrangements reflect identities, ideologies, and power relations in the context of urban transformation. The presentation concludes with applications of these findings to teaching, offering insights into how linguistic landscapes can be used as a pedagogical tool to explore language, identity, and social dynamics.