Mapping visual language: Exploring the linguistic landscape of a university in Oman

Abstract

Linguistic landscapes within universities reflect the dynamic interplay of institutional language policies, everyday usage and the diversity of a community. This paper reports on a study that explores the linguistic landscape of a public university in the Sultanate of Oman, Sultan Qaboos University. Focusing on the distribution, functions, attributes and objectives of signage in public spaces of the campus, the study aims to examine the interplay between Arabic and English in this landscape and identify the extent to which it reflects the language policy of the country, and the way that these policies are adapted by stakeholders. The study integrates Gorter (2013a, 2013b) quantitative-distributive approach to analyze 341 official and commercial display signs, along with a semi-structured interview with 4 selected stakeholders. The findings show that Oman's official language policy is implemented within the physical spaces of the university camps in ways that reflect the aspiration of the university to be a global educational entity, but one that is simultaneously rooted to its heritage and culture, as represented through language. The interplay between Arabic and English is seen as reflective of the language ideology of the country. A top-down and bottom-up approach towards language use suggests a dynamic literal panorama but one that involves inclusions and exclusions of stakeholders who engage with this lexical space.

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