• The Conference
  • Home
  • Programme
  • Venue & directions
  • Organizing Committee
  • Scientific Committee
  • Exhibitors & sponsors
  • Satellite events
  • Conference Party
• Past & future
  • Previous symposia
  • Finland 2014
  • Spain 2016
• About FU Berlin
  • University homepage
  • Humanities at FU

Programme: accepted abstracts

Search for abstracts --- authors title abstract

---

Abstract ID: 770

Part of Session 129: Multilingualism and emotions in urban settings (Other abstracts in this session)

Russian in linguistic landscape of Cyprus: Commodification of affect?

Authors: Eracleous, Natalya (1); Pavlenko, Aneta (2)
Submitted by: Pavlenko, Aneta (Temple University, United States of America)

Research aims.  This paper examines the emergence of Russian as the third most common language of Cyprus and links it to manipulation of affect by the service economy.

 

Theoretical framework. The framework of the study merges three strands of sociolinguistic theory. Heller’s (2011) work illuminates conditions that have commodifying effects on languages in late capitalism, McElhinny (2011) links the new globalized economy to affect, while Pavlenko (2005) shows that multilinguals’ languages differ in perceived emotionality. Bringing these strands together, we examine the commodification of affect or ways in which the tourist industry uses additional languages besides English, not because their speakers do not know English but because the direct appeal provides businesses with a new competitive edge.

Data collection. Our corpus consists of 1,491 digital pictures taken on a single road in Limassol, Cyprus, in August, 2011. Additional information was collected through open-ended interviews with LL actors (shop owners, restaurant managers) and their target audience (passersby, tourists). Conversations were recorded digitally; when not allowed, detailed notes were taken in writing.

Results. Our analysis of language distribution in the signage reveals that the presence of Russian rivals English and extends across all genres of advertising. This phenomenon is undoubtedly linked to the growing Russian presence in Limassol, yet some aspects of the usage lead us to extend our argument beyond demographics.

To begin with, the use of Russian is not limited to Russian-owned businesses catering to Russian tourists.  In many cases, the type and number of errors in Russian signage indicate non-native authorship. Our interviews confirm that L2 users of Russian, from Cypriot Greeks to Bulgarians to Armenians, also use Russian to target Russian-speaking clientele. Secondly, our interviews show that Russian tourists usually have basic knowledge of English and so do Russians living in Cyprus (who also have some knowledge of Cypriot Greek). Why then use Russian and does this strategy extend to other ‘tourist’ languages? 

The demographic data provided by the Cyprus Tourism Office show that Russian tourists are far outnumbered by British tourists and arrive in numbers similar to those of German tourists. German, however, does not enjoy the same presence in linguistic landscape. The preference for Russian is best understood in the context of expenditures – Russians tourists are twice as likely to stay in 5-star hotels as tourists from Germany and the UK and spend consistently more per day than either group, which makes them the preferred demographic for direct targeting. Studies by Puntoni and associates (2009) show that manipulation of affect offers a particularly effective marketing strategy because advertising in consumers’ native languages is perceived as more emotional than advertising in L2, due to differences in perceived language emotionality. This allows us to argue that in Cyprus – as elsewhere – the service economy saturated with English is looking for a new competitive edge, which is found in commodification of affect, or the use of (preferred) consumers’ native languages.