Linguistic Diversity and Ideology in the Linguistic Landscape of the Coffee Capital of the Philippines

Abstract

This paper aims to show the extent of linguistic diversity and ideology in the multilingual advertisements or the linguistic landscape (LL) of Amadeo, a segregated town in the Southern Tagalog, Province of Cavite, Philippines. The LL, considered the country's coffee center, will be explored, considering the town's diverse language status, as well as its current economic challenges. The research will focus on 14 barangays that have been molded by 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' forces in the context of the complicated link between the languages utilized and their depiction in the chosen coffee-related LL for which Amadeo is well known. Because English is the most used foreign language in town, particularly in product advertisements, the researcher goes on to define the level of English language visibility, diversity, ideology, and position in the labeling of store signs, coffee products, and emblematic structures in Amadeo's LL. The study is investigated utilizing Sebba's framework on the unit of analysis, which covers (a) language-spatial linkages, (b) language-content relationships, and (c) language mixing as reflected in signages. Extensive documentation of LL items will be gathered and determined only based on frequency count. The frequency count results for each unit will be represented in the coding chart. The study will determine whether there is a high level of English visibility in the LL across 14 barangays in Amadeo, because the proponent believes that the English language's informative and symbolic functions in the LL serve to communicate the coffee products' essential features and details that entice educated local and foreign tourists, while also exuding modernity, sophistication, and globalness. It is also claimed that the town's business and tourism, rather than the preservation of its indigenous culture, are the primary driving forces determining Amadeo's spatial practice, symbolic construction, and language ideology as the coffee capital of the Philippines.