Russian in Artistic and Regulatory Discourses? The Appearance and Thematic Composition of Multilingual Signs in Linguistic Landscape of the Czech Town of Karlovy Vary

This paper investigates the linguistic landscape (LL) of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic, specifically addressing the under-explored artistic and regulatory discourses in the city. In the context of current geopolitical changes, the study critically examines the presence, constellation, and thematic functions of languages in urban signage, with special attention to the shifting perception and visibility of Russian as a language which was perceived as problematic before the COVID-19 pandemic by local residents and politicians. The aim is to fill a research gap concerning LL studies in the Czech context and to explore functional multilingualism in a Central European urban environment. The analysis uses a sub-corpus systematically collected from a central city street in Karlovy Vary. Methodologically, the study combines qualitative categorization based on theoretical frameworks proposed by Opiłowski and Makowska (2023) and Scollon and Scollon (2003), with a quantitative frequency analysis inspired by Gorter (2018). The findings reveal a predominance of Czech, frequently combined with English in multilingual signs within both researched discourses. Russian emerges marginally and only within regulatory discourse linked to spa regulations, signifying its limited symbolic role. Thematically, artistic signs primarily advertise cultural events (concerts, shows, films), while regulatory signs cover topics such as spa rules, waste management, and parking. These insights highlight local practices of multilingual communication and the retreat of Russian from the city after the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, offering implications for future research in sociolinguistic studies of language visibility.