A PAISAGEM LINGUÍSTICA E A MULTIMODALIDADE EM FACHADAS DE CASAS DE FESTAS INFANTIS: UM DIÁLOGO POSSÍVEL

Abstract

The Language Policy, according to Shohamy (2006), is the main mechanism for organizing, managing and manipulating language behaviors because it consists of decisions made about languages and their uses in society. For the author, there are mechanisms diluted in rules and regulations, language educational policy, language tests and in the public space that function as tools to turn ideologies into language practices. In this panorama, the essence of this article is in the context of the public space, specifically, facades of children's party houses in João Pessoa-PB, considered as linguistic landscapes. The work presents an analysis of these facades, aiming to discuss how they represent mechanisms of Language Policy, signaling a diversity of languages and communicative repertoires through multimodal resources, promoting an interface between Language Policy and Multimodality. The research questions are: Which languages are disposed in the facades of children's party houses in João Pessoa? Which meanings can be inferred from the visual disposition of the semiotic elements in these establishments? The discussion is based on the concepts of language policy (SPOLSKY, 2009; SHOHAMY, 2006), linguistic landscape (SHOHAMY, 2006), multimodality (KRESS and VAN LEEUWEN, 2006; NASCIMENTO, BEZERRA E HEBERLE, 2011; SILVA E ALMEIDA, 2018) and the Grammar of Visual Design (KRESS and VAN LEEUWEN, 2006) as analytical tools. This is a descriptive qualitative study since it describes, analyzes and interprets the data conceived in real interaction situation. The corpus consists of three photographs of the facades of children's party houses in the state capital. The results indicate a small part, among many others, of the linguistic diversity of a plurilingual and multicultural city that is not only restricted to English as a hegemonic language, but also indicates occurrences of French and of a new lexicon elaborated in favor of the child universe. KEYWORDS: Linguistic landscape. Multimodality. Facades