One country, many languages

Abstract In multilingual countries like Singapore, shop signage serves as a prominent site for observing how language is used to communicate cultural, social, and political messages. Building on the original linguistic landscape conceptualization of Landry and Bourhis (1997) , this study examines the linguistic environment in Singapore’s Chinatown. It adopts a mixed-method approach, combining photographic documentation of 292 shop signage and interviews from 25 shop owners. The aim is to identify dominant languages used on shop signage, analyzing their distribution patterns and investigating factors that influence shop owners’ language choices. The findings demonstrate that English and Chinese are the predominant languages on shop signage. The study manifests that bilingual English-Chinese signage is the most prevalent, balancing functional communication and cultural symbolism. Additionally, the study illuminates the factors that influence shop owners’ language choices on shop signage. The study further presents how commercial interests, cultural identities, and globalization influence the linguistic landscape in a multilingual setting.