Linguistic Landscapes of Gentrified Localities: A Case Study of China

Abstract

China is experiencing a rapid development in all aspects of its social life, and gentrification is one of the consequences of its global integration. The paper reveals how linguistic landscapes change under the influence of gentrification and aims to prove that localities are being scaled up in both global and second-tier cities. The authors examine commercial signs, advertisements and referential signs of gentrified localities in Beijing, Shenyang and Harbin and present them in a comparative analysis, which exposes a different nature of the alteration process. One of the major common tendencies revealed is the omnipresent usage of English as a distinction-making tool. Of particular interest are positive and negative consequences of the changing context.