Changing tastes on the linguistic landscape of Asmara, Eritrea

Authors

  • Tedros H. Weldemichael University of the Western Cape Author
  • Amiena Peck University of the Western Cape Author
  • Quentin Williams University of the Western Cape Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.37044

Keywords:

Asmara (Eritrea), Arabic, foodscape, linguistic landscape, taste, Halaal

Abstract

Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea, has for the longest time had a clear demarcation between Christian and Muslim eateries, with Arabic as the differentiating marker between the two. With the in?ux of Sudanese Muslim tourists, however, a number of Christian eateries in downtown Asmara have begun including Arabic on their signage. We approach the changes to the LL in two ways: (i) through a geosemiotic analysis of selected mixed signs on and around Asmara’s busy downtown Harnet Avenue, and (ii) through a discourse analysis of interviews with Christian establishment owners/managers. We contend that by viewing the versatility of Arabic as an ‘adaptable artefact’ (cf. Pennycook, 2017) in Asmara, we can moreover discuss the LL as semiotic assemblages of ‘halaalness’ which caters to the visceral needs for comfort at the eateries under study. Here we follow Pennycook (2017) and Bennet (2010) who contend that language and, similarly, linguistic repertoires should not be con?ned to individuals per se as space and practices can also be said to express themselves multilingually through artifact, bodies and semiotics.

Author Biographies

  • Tedros H. Weldemichael, University of the Western Cape

    Tedros H. Weldemichael is a lecturer in the Linguistics Department at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. He has previously worked as a lecturer in the Department of Eritrean Languages and Literature, College of Arts and Social Sciences. He is interested in looking into the linguistic landscape from the perspective of social (in)justice.

  • Amiena Peck, University of the Western Cape

    Amiena Peck is a Lecturer in the Linguistics Department at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Her research interests include transnational cultural flows, space and culture and gender and identity. She is interested in extending the linguistic landscape through engagement with the body, senses and virtual space.

  • Quentin Williams, University of the Western Cape

    Quentin Williams is a senior lecturer in the Linguistics Department at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. His research interests include Hip Hop marginality and multilingual citizenship and performance. He is interested in extending linguistic landscape studies to include raciolinguistic landscapes.

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Published

2019-07-17

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2019): Special Issue: Visceral landscapes

Section

Articles

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© Equinox Publishing Ltd.

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How to Cite

Weldemichael, T., Peck, A., & Williams, Q. (2019). Changing tastes on the linguistic landscape of Asmara, Eritrea. Sociolinguistic Studies, 13(1), 107-126. https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.37044

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