IDENTITY IN THE NAME: A SEMIOTIC PERSPECTIVE
IDENTITY IN THE NAME: A SEMIOTIC PERSPECTIVE

Summary/Abstract: In this paper I discuss some designations to be found in road signs, business signs, restaurant signs and any other similar signs, which are used to signal location. Falling into the larger category of sign systems, they are highly visual and engage the public sphere and as such have a great potential for communicating cultural identity. I will draw on the semiotics of sign systems in order to identify the codes that govern these designations and also argue that they represent a new reality—cultural, mental, semantic, linguistic—largely affected by globalization. For the purposes of this analysis I will focus on the linguistic content of these signs and conduct some ethnographic research (interviews and observations) to see how favouring certain linguistic choices reflects the present-day tendency to negotiate identity in a cultural context marked by internationalism and globalization.

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