Mapping the linguistic landscape from a multi-factor perspective: the case of a multi-ethnolinguistic city in China

This paper explores the linguistic landscape (LL) of a multi-ethnolinguistic city in China, namely Shangri-La City, where Tibetan, Han (Mandarin Chinese), English and several other minority languages are used. As one of the most well-known Chinese tourist cities by Western travellers, a city with rapid socioeconomic development, and a city that issued a signage policy recently, the LL of Shangri-La is affected by multiple factors (e.g. tourism, globalisation, language policy). In light of this, the study purposefully examines the LL of four different functional areas of the city, including a local community, a central administrative street, a tourist spot and a commercial street, to demonstrate different factors and their degree of influence on local LL. Data includes 1,064 signage photos and 53 interviews with government officials and sign-owners. The findings indicate that although the recent signage policy has increased the presence of Tibetan, it has also re-consolidated the existing linguistic hierarchy and further marginalised other minority languages in the region. The findings also reveal the negative views of local residents on the abuse of Tibetan in tourist domains. As such, a critical lens on the commodification of minority languages in tourism is proposed in the study.