Visibility and (re)vitalization

Abstract

Abstract Recent sociolinguistic research has shown the impact of public use of language expressions on people’s attitudes towards their language and how language can be susceptible to its environments. In this regard, the linguistic landscape (henceforth, LL) of a community helps sociolinguists to examine and decipher the power relationships of languages used in any bi/multilingual community. The presence or absence of a language in the public space carries a message that directly and indirectly reveals its centrality versus its marginality in the community. The present study analyzes language (in)visibility in the LL of three major cities (Oviedo/Uviéu, Gijón/Xixón and Avilés) of Asturias, Spain, where Spanish is the majority language and Asturian is the regional language. The empirical data provided in this article are based on an exemplary selection of publicly visible language policies and a survey conducted by the authors on language attitudes. The results of the analysis suggest a mismatch between language policy and language use in the region and a lack of prestige bestowed upon the Asturian language.