[The presence of German in the Linguistic Landscape of a city in the interior of SP: discussion, application and pedagogical possibilities]

Abstract:

The Linguistic Landscape, a relatively recent area of research, deals with the visible written form of languages in public space. The methodology of data collection involves photographing and documenting the distinct types of support, languages and their functions in urban space. Linguistic Landscape research usually considers the simultaneous presence of several languages or varieties and their relation to each other. However, within the so-called Spot German approach, not necessarily used for academic purposes, data collection can be carried out for a specific purpose, without documenting all visible signs. In this article, I discuss the characteristics, definitions, and differences between the approaches and briefly present the possible sources of data collection based on research conducted in different countries. In addition, I present as an example of application the case of the German language in its relation to the space near a German school and its influence on the linguistic landscape of the city in which it is located. Finally, I present pedagogical possibilities for exploring the linguistic landscape in language teaching, as it offers the opportunity to investigate the relationship of the city and people with the languages in their surroundings, as well as presenting numerous entries for didactic exploration.

Keywords:
Linguistic Landscape; Spot German; German language teaching