The article presents a study of commercial names as part of the linguistic landscape in Akureyri, Iceland. We investigated languages used for commercial naming and in the linguistic landscape in general and compared these in a shopping center and the city center and discussed how they contribute to the sense of place in the two places. Our study shows that Icelandic is the dominating language both in commercial naming and in the linguistic landscape in general. Among other languages, English has a special position. There are certain features in the naming and linguistic landscape in general that distinguish the two places from each other; the shopping center is a place directed towards locals with a great share of names in Icelandic and just a few in English and even fewer in other languages, while the city center is directed both towards locals and tourists with a greater share of names in English and also other languages, which create a more international atmosphere.

This paper discusses proper names observed in the linguistic landscapes of Swedish national parks. A short summary of some relevant insights from previous research into common interests of LL studies and onomastics is given as background. Then, the types of names appearing in the national parks are discussed, before a case study with examples of name use on signs is presented.

Names are not only numerous on signs in these linguistic landscapes; I argue that they also can have multiple discursive functions. More specifically, in the context of the national parks, names can have relevance beyond labelling localities as part of an infrastructural discourse. They can, for example, be utilised to guide visitors in a certain way through natural landscapes, as part of a more regulatory discourse. Thus, the use of names also ties to reflections about e.g. sustainability.

In this chapter, I will discuss some examples of key issues with names and naming connected to multilingualism in the linguistic landscape, thus examining the intersection of LLS and (socio-)onomastics. After a short general overview of the shared interests of these two fields of research in the following section, the main part of this chapter is organized around two broad categories of names: place names and commercial names, respectively. The chapter then closes with a reflection on possible directions for future studies dealing with names and multilingualism in the linguistic landscape, with an overall aim to highlight some key concepts to be considered within both fields.

This article discusses proper names as part of the linguistic landscape of the Stockholm archipelago. With focus on examples from two islands, Nämdö and Svartsö, the aim is firstly to analyse what kind of names can be found in these linguistic landscapes, and secondly, to discuss if the place that the names on signs reflect relates more to a lived space (or “authentic” archipelago) or to a conceived space (for visitors). Thus, the study draws theoretically from the concept of a sense of place as well as Lefebvre’s dimensions of social spaces. The results show that different kinds of place names and commercial names, but also personal names as well as names of cows can be seen in the archipelago’s linguistic landscape. Use of more familiar forms of names or local variations of place names reflect the islands more as lived spaces, whereas commodified use of the islands name by businesses highlights the more conceived, and potentially contested dimension of these places.

Språkliga landskap är ett fenomen som intresserar en allt större skara forskare i olika vetenskapsgrenar, inte minst språkvetare, och under de senaste åren har ett aktivt spår handlat om hur språkliga landskap kan användas som en resurs för språkinlärning.

I denna artikel är vårt syfte att diskutera flerspråkiga praktiker för kommunikation om risk under Covid19-pandemin genom exempel hämtade från de språkliga landskapen i Helsingfors och Stockholm. Vi är intresserade av hur officiell myndighetsinformation av juridisk karaktär överförs (översätts) till skyltar i det offentliga rummet av både officiella och inofficiella aktörer.

This book is about how urban linguistic landscapes reflect and create sociolinguistic, societal and urban dynamics, and how these relations can be scientifically explored. Focusing on the linguistic landscapes of selected cities in northern and southern Europe, it sheds light on how urban areas with diverse profiles differ, and how the linguistic landscapes change through tourism and migration, or in times of crisis. The chapters put forward sophisticated and novel ways of approaching urban sociolinguistics and they enhance understanding of the challenges and opportunities included in the study of sociolinguistic variation in these linguistic landscapes.

How the critical stages of the pandemic were reflected in urban LLs is also in focus in the eighth chapter, which presents a study of crisis communication through unofficial signs in Helsinki and Stockholm. The discussion is about how different rules and recommendations were communicated and legitimised on unofficial signs in the signscapes of both Finland and Sweden. Based on a combination of sociosemiotics, discourse analysis and translation studies, the study gives insights into the role of unofficial signage in the dissemination of crisis communication, and how moral evaluation, rationalisation and authorisation are used as legitimation strategies in transmitting official COVID-19 regulations among the unofficial layers of urban LLs.

This book is about how urban linguistic landscapes reflect and create sociolinguistic, societal and urban dynamics, and how these relations can be scientifically explored. Focusing on the linguistic landscapes of selected cities in northern and southern Europe, it sheds light on how urban areas with diverse profiles differ, and how the linguistic landscapes change through tourism and migration, or in times of crisis. The chapters put forward sophisticated and novel ways of approaching urban sociolinguistics and they enhance understanding of the challenges and opportunities included in the study of sociolinguistic variation in these linguistic landscapes.

The book is targeted at scholars in the field of urban sociolinguistics and those wishing to approach the subject through the lens of linguistic landscapes. It also gives interesting suggestions to people involved in language planning and policy reflection, as well as those engaged in urban redevelopment planning. Last but not least, it offers theoretical and methodological guidance to students and researchers in a variety of disciplines.