English in the linguistic landscape of the Palace Museum: a field-based sociolinguistic approach

Abstract

Adopting a sociolinguistic approach to linguistic landscape study, this article is based on fieldwork conducted in the Palace Museum in Beijing, China, with special attention paid to the local perception and the dynamic feature of English semiotic resources onsite. Research data were derived from a variety of sources including digital photographs of displayed texts, questionnaire survey and interviews with tourists and service workers. Results show that despite Chinese dominance, there was a significant amount of English in the Palace Museum, offering public services and basic touristic introductory information to international tourists. This approach to data analysis which combines qualitative interviews and quantitative statistical analysis provides a means to understand English language display as dynamic social practices from both temporal and spatial perspectives. Based on the findings, it is proposed that the prevalence and distribution of English language in the Palace Museum is a result of joint action between multiple forces, among which the market factors, the original linguascape, government policies, and natural environments are the major ones.