From my experience of reflecting on the pictures of written language I have taken in Kyle, I have realized that there are no signs that do not have English written on them. This does not mean that no one here speaks a different language, because according to the statistics I had found, there are a portion of people here who speak more than just English. With everyone having a knowledge of English it makes sense that this is written language is presented to the public. Before going through the town and focusing on the signs I had just assumed that they were all only written in English, so I was a bit surprised when I saw one with the writing also in French and another with Chinese. These images make it clear that English is the primary language of Kyle and businesses have made that their targeted language with their signs.
From my own experiences of living in Kyle, I have heard English and Chinese being spoken here. Recently a family from China had moved here to run the Chinese restaurant; there have been times when I have gone there to eat and heard them talking in primary language. I was unable to get pictures because they are currently closed to eat-ins, but I know that they have incorporated the Chinese written language into their business and have their menu items listed in both English and Chinese. I have also heard Chinese from the family who own the gas station and convenient store in town here. They spoken it amongst each other when I have been in the store, we had started talking a bit and they told me that even though they have been in Canada for over 5 years, they almost always talk to each other in Chinese. They believe it to be a great way to stay connected with their culture and keep up with the language while they are living in Canada. There is so much to be learned about language and different cultures from speaking with people of different cultures.
The languages presented in the photos do represent my linguistic identity it most ways. Growing up, English and French have been the only language I have had some knowledge of. In My home we only speak and write in English, and my knowledge of French is very limited, but I am able to recognize words from reading them regularly. With my Norwegian and Dutch heritage, I am now able to understand some words of these languages. Another language I have gained knowledge in is Cree. I have taken an online Cree language class in the fall semester, so I have some knowledge, but I would not say that that knowledge is extensive. It was an introductory, elementary language class that allowed me to write, speak, read, and hear the Cree language. It is evident that that the English language presented in the signs around me reinforce my linguistic identity because it is the language I have spoken and written in my whole life. I do not consider myself to be fluent in other languages I have knowledge in, so this is a direct representation of my linguistic identity that I relate to the most.
I find it interested that throughout the town, there was no indication of Indigenous language and, from my experience, I am unaware of anyone who does fluently speak a language of Indigenous Peoples. It seems as though I am the closest person in the community with an understanding of an Indigenous language. According to the statistics I found from the census done in 2011, the languages known in Kyle, Saskatchewan are colonial languages consisting of English, French, German, and Norwegian. These would have been knowledges of languages brought over when people moved to Canada from Europe countries. Chinese is a language represented that has been brought here through immigration.
I believe that anyone has the power to determine the language that appears in signs. Everyone has a right to their language and the ability to make it known. I do think that the main reason for the signs being English, no matter of one’s linguistic landscape, is that they want the sign to be readable for the public. The demographics play a major role when determining the language on signs, posters, and businesses, because if the public are not able to read it, how will they know what it is trying to tell them. I believe that the best way to present uncommon languages to a certain area is to have the sign written in both their language and the common language of the area. By doing this, they are all the public to read the sign and share their own linguistic identity.
In conclusion, to answer the big question for this analysis, what meanings can you attribute to the linguistic landscape, and I have to say that right now I have not done a lot to attribute to my linguistic landscape. As a future elementary teacher, I plan to make this change. Through the learning of this assignment and readings from the course, I have a better understanding of the importance of having a diverse linguistic identity and the importance of incorporating the languages of the students into the classroom. My classroom will have a primary language of English but have the languages of the students represented in the classroom through posters, their own work, readings, and many more ways. From this assignment, I am able to see how important it can be to one’s identity to have their language shown in their societal environments.