A REVIEW OF TOURISTS’ READERSHIP IN THE LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE
Main Article Content
Abstract
This article reviews the literature of Linguistic Landscape studies in tourism discourse to examine how the tourists read and experience the Linguistic Landscape. 19 peer-reviewed journal articles were examined and included in the literature. The selection criteria consist of topic relevance and the content focus. The research procedures involve searching and screening databases to gather relevant data before synthesizing the retrieved information. The findings indicate that the readership of tourists: (1) can be conceptualized from psychological, sociological, spatial, and ideological dimensions; (2) can be investigated primarily through the implementation of structured questionnaires, physiological experiments, interviews and participant observation; (3) is fundamentally characterized through the symbolic consumption of local scripts, the active co-construction of space through subjective experiences, and the multimodal, holistic engagement with non-textual semiotic resources. This review highlights the optimization of the Linguistic Landscape to enhance the tourist experience and underpin tourism management practices.
Keywords
Linguistic Landscape, semiotic landscape, signage, tourist
Article Details
References
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Burdin, R. S. (2021). Hebrew, Yiddish and the creation of contesting Jewish places in Kazimierz. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 25(1), 81–102. https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12451
Chang, J., Li, J., & Cheng, S. (2025). Tourists’ visual attention toward linguistic landscape: An eye-tracking experimental study. Current Issues in Tourism, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2025.2531571
Chang, J., Li, J., & Lu, L. (2022). Localization or globalization? A psychophysiological approach to understanding tourists’ emotional experiences toward symbolic linguistic landscape. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 27(6), 618–636. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2022.2105159
Cui, T., Bai, L., & Gu, X. (2025). Policy negotiation, identity construction, and market adaptation: A multidimensional analysis of the linguistic landscape in Lhasa. International Journal of Multilingualism, 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2025.2587819
Dai, J., Chen, H., & Zhang, Z. (2024). How does a historical linguistic landscape influence tourists’ behavioral intention? A mixed-method study. Tourism Management Perspectives, 53, Article 101294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2024.101294
Garvin, R. T. (2010). Responses to the linguistic landscape in Memphis, Tennessee: An urban space in transition. In E. Shohamy, E. Ben-Rafael, & M. Barni (Eds.), Linguistic landscape in the city (pp. 252–271). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847692993-016
Hasni, N. A., Shak, M. S. Y., Malik, N. A., & Anuarudin, A. A. S. (2022). Linguistic landscape of tourist spaces from 2014 to 2022: A review. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(10), 1622–1635. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i10/14996
He, M., & Chen, S. (2024). Unveiling dynamics of language visibility and vitality in café menus near Labrang Monastery. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1423672. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1423672
Heller, M., Pujolar, J., & Duchêne, A. (2014). Linguistic commodification in tourism. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 18(4), 539–566. https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12082
Hult, F. M. (2008). Language ecology and linguistic landscape analysis. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 88–104). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Ivkovic, D., & Lotherington, H. (2009). Multilingualism in cyberspace: Conceptualising the virtual linguistic landscape. International Journal of Multilingualism, 6(1), 17–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790710802582436
Jaworski, A., & Yeung, S. (2010). Life in the garden of Eden: The naming and imagery of residential Hong Kong. In E. Shohamy, E. Ben-Rafael, & M. Barni (Eds.), Linguistic landscape in the city (pp. 153–181). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847692993-011
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Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2020). Reading images: The grammar of visual design (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003099857
Landry, R., & Bourhis, R. Y. (1997). Linguistic landscape and ethnolinguistic vitality: An empirical study. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 16(1), 23–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X970161002
Lang, B., & Numtong, K. (2025). Nostalgic regimes of cultural heritage: Semiotic artifacts and linguistic landscapes of Teochew Huashang at Lhong1919, Bangkok. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 23(2–3), 152–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2025.2489931
Leeman, J., & Modan, G. (2009). Commodified language in Chinatown: A contextualized approach to linguistic landscape. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 13(3), 332–362. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9841.2009.00409.x
Li, C., Lu, S., Long, C., & Zhu, J. (2024). Linguistic landscape and its impacts on place-making in mountain destination: A case of Mogan Mountain Town of Huzhou City, China. Journal of Mountain Science, 21(5), 1613–1629. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-022-7762-2
Li, Y., Mai, Z., & Lau, C. (2023). Linguistic landscape and place-making on a resort island in China. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 21(5), 605–622. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2023.2207551
Lu, S., Li, G., & Xu, M. (2020). The linguistic landscape in rural destinations: A case study of Hongcun Village in China. Tourism Management, 77, Article 104005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.104005
Malinowski, D. (2008). Authorship in the linguistic landscape: A multimodal-performative view. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 107–126). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Nenotek, S. A., Paramarta, I. M. S., Sjioen, A. E., Beeh, N., Cornelis, A. R., & Benu, N. N. (2025). The linguistic landscape for sustainable and inclusive tourism: Insight from Timor Tengah Selatan, Indonesia. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 12(1), Article 2441579. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2024.2441579
Pan, Z. (2025). Semiotic landscapes in Bangkok’s Chinatown as a tourist destination. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 12(1), Article 2446073. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2024.2446073
Pennycook, A. (2008). Linguistic landscapes and the transgressive semiotics of graffiti. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 302–312). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Pennycook, A., & Otsuji, E. (2015). Metrolingualism: Language in the city. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315724225
Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. W. (2003). Discourses in place: Language in the material world. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203422724
Shohamy, E., & Gorter, D. (Eds.). (2008). Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Shohamy, E., & Waksman, S. (2008). Linguistic landscape as an ecological arena: Modalities, meanings, negotiations, education. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 313–331). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Smith, V. L. (1989). Introduction. In V. L. Smith (Ed.), Hosts and guests: The anthropology of tourism (2nd ed., pp. 1–17). University of Pennsylvania Press.
Stroud, C., & Mpendukana, S. (2009). Towards a material ethnography of linguistic landscape: Multilingualism, mobility and space in a South African township. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 13(3), 363–386. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9841.2009.00410.x
Thurlow, C., & Jaworski, A. (2011). Tourism discourse: Languages and banal globalization. Applied Linguistics Review, 2, 285–312. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110239331.285
Trumper-Hecht, N. (2008). Constructing national identity in mixed cities in Israel: Arabic on signs in the public space of Upper Nazareth. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 238–252). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Trumper-Hecht, N. (2010). Linguistic landscape in mixed cities in Israel from the perspective of 'walkers': The case of Arabic. In E. Shohamy, E. Ben-Rafael, & M. Barni (Eds.), Linguistic landscape in the city (pp. 235–251). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847692993-015
Urry, J. (2002). The tourist gaze (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
Wang, X., & Gao, Y. (2025). The role of English in the linguistic landscape of Luang Prabang. English Today, 41(2), 85–95. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266078424000476
Wang, Y., Chen, H., & Li, N. (2024). A study on the relationship between the cultural atmosphere of scenic spot name and tourist behavior intention in cultural tourism cities. Current Psychology, 43(24), 20997–21008. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05941-6
Xiao, R., & Lee, C. (2022). English in the linguistic landscape of the Palace Museum: A field-based sociolinguistic approach. Social Semiotics, 32(1), 95–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2019.1697542
Xiao, R., Pang, C. W., & Bai, W. (2025). The commodification of Chinese culture in the English linguistic landscape of the Forbidden City: A field-based case study. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2025.2462195
Yan, L., & Lee, M. Y. (2014). Tourist perceptions of the multi-linguistic landscape in Macau. Journal of China Tourism Research, 10(4), 432–447. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388160.2014.953658
Zhang, A., & Xie, J. (2025). Creation of a pseudo-language as spectacle: A critical study on the linguistic landscape of heritage tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 115, Article 104019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2025.104019
Ben-Rafael, E. (2008). A sociological approach to the study of linguistic landscapes. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 40–54). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Blommaert, J. (2010). The sociolinguistics of globalization. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511845307
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Bruyèl-Olmedo, A., & Juan-Garau, M. (2009). English as a lingua franca in the linguistic landscape of the multilingual resort of S'Arenal in Mallorca. International Journal of Multilingualism, 6(4), 386–411. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790710903125010
Burdin, R. S. (2021). Hebrew, Yiddish and the creation of contesting Jewish places in Kazimierz. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 25(1), 81–102. https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12451
Chang, J., Li, J., & Cheng, S. (2025). Tourists’ visual attention toward linguistic landscape: An eye-tracking experimental study. Current Issues in Tourism, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2025.2531571
Chang, J., Li, J., & Lu, L. (2022). Localization or globalization? A psychophysiological approach to understanding tourists’ emotional experiences toward symbolic linguistic landscape. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 27(6), 618–636. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2022.2105159
Cui, T., Bai, L., & Gu, X. (2025). Policy negotiation, identity construction, and market adaptation: A multidimensional analysis of the linguistic landscape in Lhasa. International Journal of Multilingualism, 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2025.2587819
Dai, J., Chen, H., & Zhang, Z. (2024). How does a historical linguistic landscape influence tourists’ behavioral intention? A mixed-method study. Tourism Management Perspectives, 53, Article 101294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2024.101294
Garvin, R. T. (2010). Responses to the linguistic landscape in Memphis, Tennessee: An urban space in transition. In E. Shohamy, E. Ben-Rafael, & M. Barni (Eds.), Linguistic landscape in the city (pp. 252–271). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847692993-016
Hasni, N. A., Shak, M. S. Y., Malik, N. A., & Anuarudin, A. A. S. (2022). Linguistic landscape of tourist spaces from 2014 to 2022: A review. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(10), 1622–1635. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i10/14996
He, M., & Chen, S. (2024). Unveiling dynamics of language visibility and vitality in café menus near Labrang Monastery. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1423672. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1423672
Heller, M., Pujolar, J., & Duchêne, A. (2014). Linguistic commodification in tourism. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 18(4), 539–566. https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12082
Hult, F. M. (2008). Language ecology and linguistic landscape analysis. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 88–104). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Ivkovic, D., & Lotherington, H. (2009). Multilingualism in cyberspace: Conceptualising the virtual linguistic landscape. International Journal of Multilingualism, 6(1), 17–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790710802582436
Jaworski, A., & Yeung, S. (2010). Life in the garden of Eden: The naming and imagery of residential Hong Kong. In E. Shohamy, E. Ben-Rafael, & M. Barni (Eds.), Linguistic landscape in the city (pp. 153–181). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847692993-011
Kallen, J. L. (2008). Tourism and representation in the Irish linguistic landscape. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 270–283). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2020). Reading images: The grammar of visual design (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003099857
Landry, R., & Bourhis, R. Y. (1997). Linguistic landscape and ethnolinguistic vitality: An empirical study. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 16(1), 23–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X970161002
Lang, B., & Numtong, K. (2025). Nostalgic regimes of cultural heritage: Semiotic artifacts and linguistic landscapes of Teochew Huashang at Lhong1919, Bangkok. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 23(2–3), 152–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2025.2489931
Leeman, J., & Modan, G. (2009). Commodified language in Chinatown: A contextualized approach to linguistic landscape. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 13(3), 332–362. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9841.2009.00409.x
Li, C., Lu, S., Long, C., & Zhu, J. (2024). Linguistic landscape and its impacts on place-making in mountain destination: A case of Mogan Mountain Town of Huzhou City, China. Journal of Mountain Science, 21(5), 1613–1629. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-022-7762-2
Li, Y., Mai, Z., & Lau, C. (2023). Linguistic landscape and place-making on a resort island in China. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 21(5), 605–622. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2023.2207551
Lu, S., Li, G., & Xu, M. (2020). The linguistic landscape in rural destinations: A case study of Hongcun Village in China. Tourism Management, 77, Article 104005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.104005
Malinowski, D. (2008). Authorship in the linguistic landscape: A multimodal-performative view. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 107–126). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Nenotek, S. A., Paramarta, I. M. S., Sjioen, A. E., Beeh, N., Cornelis, A. R., & Benu, N. N. (2025). The linguistic landscape for sustainable and inclusive tourism: Insight from Timor Tengah Selatan, Indonesia. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 12(1), Article 2441579. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2024.2441579
Pan, Z. (2025). Semiotic landscapes in Bangkok’s Chinatown as a tourist destination. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 12(1), Article 2446073. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2024.2446073
Pennycook, A. (2008). Linguistic landscapes and the transgressive semiotics of graffiti. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 302–312). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Pennycook, A., & Otsuji, E. (2015). Metrolingualism: Language in the city. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315724225
Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. W. (2003). Discourses in place: Language in the material world. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203422724
Shohamy, E., & Gorter, D. (Eds.). (2008). Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Shohamy, E., & Waksman, S. (2008). Linguistic landscape as an ecological arena: Modalities, meanings, negotiations, education. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 313–331). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Smith, V. L. (1989). Introduction. In V. L. Smith (Ed.), Hosts and guests: The anthropology of tourism (2nd ed., pp. 1–17). University of Pennsylvania Press.
Stroud, C., & Mpendukana, S. (2009). Towards a material ethnography of linguistic landscape: Multilingualism, mobility and space in a South African township. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 13(3), 363–386. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9841.2009.00410.x
Thurlow, C., & Jaworski, A. (2011). Tourism discourse: Languages and banal globalization. Applied Linguistics Review, 2, 285–312. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110239331.285
Trumper-Hecht, N. (2008). Constructing national identity in mixed cities in Israel: Arabic on signs in the public space of Upper Nazareth. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery (pp. 238–252). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930960
Trumper-Hecht, N. (2010). Linguistic landscape in mixed cities in Israel from the perspective of 'walkers': The case of Arabic. In E. Shohamy, E. Ben-Rafael, & M. Barni (Eds.), Linguistic landscape in the city (pp. 235–251). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847692993-015
Urry, J. (2002). The tourist gaze (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
Wang, X., & Gao, Y. (2025). The role of English in the linguistic landscape of Luang Prabang. English Today, 41(2), 85–95. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266078424000476
Wang, Y., Chen, H., & Li, N. (2024). A study on the relationship between the cultural atmosphere of scenic spot name and tourist behavior intention in cultural tourism cities. Current Psychology, 43(24), 20997–21008. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05941-6
Xiao, R., & Lee, C. (2022). English in the linguistic landscape of the Palace Museum: A field-based sociolinguistic approach. Social Semiotics, 32(1), 95–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2019.1697542
Xiao, R., Pang, C. W., & Bai, W. (2025). The commodification of Chinese culture in the English linguistic landscape of the Forbidden City: A field-based case study. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2025.2462195
Yan, L., & Lee, M. Y. (2014). Tourist perceptions of the multi-linguistic landscape in Macau. Journal of China Tourism Research, 10(4), 432–447. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388160.2014.953658
Zhang, A., & Xie, J. (2025). Creation of a pseudo-language as spectacle: A critical study on the linguistic landscape of heritage tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 115, Article 104019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2025.104019