To read this content please select one of the options below:

Linguistic landscape of restaurants in a tourist city: do outdoor signs represent menus?

Abduljalil Nasr Hazaea (Department of English Language Skills (PY), Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia)
Abdullah Alfaifi (Department of English Language and Literature, College of Arts and Letters, University of Bisha, Bisha, Saudi Arabia)
Bakr Bagash Mansour Ahmed Al-Sofi (Department of English Language and Literature, College of Arts and Letters, University of Bisha, Bisha, Saudi Arabia)

International Journal of Tourism Cities

ISSN: 2056-5607

Article publication date: 7 June 2024

86

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the language choices of outdoor signs and menus in addition to the functions of outdoor signs in restaurants in a Saudi tourist city, Abha. The primary focus is on identifying the extent to which outdoor signs accurately represent the language choices of restaurant menus.

Design/methodology/approach

The study developed a conceptual framework for the linguistic landscape (LL) of restaurants. It employed a quantitative approach to collect outdoor signs and menus of 75 sampled restaurants in Abha using online photos and a smartphone camera. Then it analyzed the frequency and percentage of language choices on outdoor signs and menus as well as the extent to which language choices of outdoor signs represent menus.

Findings

The findings indicate that more than half (58.66%) of the restaurants employ bilingual signage in both Arabic and English. Other languages like Spanish, French, Chinese and Turkish are sporadically used, with multilingualism observed only in isolated instances. The study also reveals that bi/multilingualism on outdoor signs primarily serves informational purposes, where more than one-third (36%) of the outdoor signs use languages other than Arabic to serve a symbolic function. Regarding menus, Arabic and English dominate, while Turkish appears on one menu. Spanish, French, and Chinese are absent from restaurant menus, indicating linguistic mismatch in terms of language choices.

Originality/value

This study contributes to LL studies of restaurants in tourist cities by showing language choices and functions of outdoor signs and their alignment with menus.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at Najran University for funding this workunder the Growth Funding Program grant code (NU/GP/SEHRC/13/133-1). Furthermore, the authors are thankful to the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at University of Bisha for supporting this work through the Fast-Track Research Support Program.

Citation

Hazaea, A.N., Alfaifi, A. and Al-Sofi, B.B.M.A. (2024), "Linguistic landscape of restaurants in a tourist city: do outdoor signs represent menus?", International Journal of Tourism Cities, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-01-2024-0012

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, International Tourism Studies Association

Related articles