Multilingual Signs in a Multicultural and Economic Space, Kim Yong Market, Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province
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Abstract
Background and Objectives: Kim Yong Market, located in Hat Yai, Songkhla, is a major economic hub in southern Thailand and is well known to both Thai and Malaysian visitors. The traditional community in the Kim Yong Market area continues to coexist with commercial urban development, transforming this economic space into a linguistically complex, multilingual community. This research aims to analyze multilingual signs in the economic space of Kim Yong Market and its cultural diversity in order to reveal the relationship between multilingual signs and the economic spatial context as well as cultural diversity.
Methods: This research employs a qualitative linguistic landscape research approach. The data consist of multilingual signs found in the market area, and collected through non-participant observation. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 key informants who work as traders or service providers in the market, selected through purposive sampling.
Results: The results show that multilingual signs can be categorized into four types: bilingual, trilingual, quadrilingual, and pentalingual signs. A total of nine languages appear on the signs: Thai, English, Chinese, Malay, Arabic, Iban, French, Japanese, and Hindi. These findings highlight Kim Yong Market as a multilingual community within the context of a large economic area engaged in international trade. The multilingual signs are found across all types of businesses and corresponds to the diverse linguistic backgrounds of people in the market area, particularly Malaysians, Chinese, and Indians. This reflects a strong relationship between the economic space and multilingualism, multiculturalism, and tourism as expressed through multilingual signs.
Application of this study: The findings demonstrate how the multilingual signs in Kim Yong Market reflect its multilingual community and provide a basis for extending research on multilingual signs to other multilingual communities associated with urban economic spaces. This contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between language, society, and the economy. Moreover, the results can help tourism policy development for international economic tourism cities, especially those connected to neighboring countries, by promoting awareness of multilingualism among visitors to Hat Yai.
Conclusions: Kim Yong Market is a multilingual space, as evidenced by the presence of the multilingual signs. The languages displayed on the signs reflect the people who trade, travel, and reside in and around the market area. As a result, Kim Yong Market stands out as a nationally important economic area characterized by rich linguistic diversity, clearly reflecting the economic, social, and cultural features of the Kim Yong market area.
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