Ergonyms in the linguistic landscape of Belfast

Abstract

The development of international cooperation and the expansion of the spheres of functioning of some languages have become possible due to economic, social, political and cultural changes. The most important elements of urban space reflecting these social processes and changes are ergonyms. The names of organizations are a motley canvas that demonstrate the linguistic diversity of the territory. The linguistic landscape is a marker that reflects the social processes and results of the language policy of the region. Northern Ireland is a territory of diverse linguistic and cultural contacts. In Belfast, most of the population is Irish, but for a long time the Irish language did not have the status of an official language of the region and belonged to the minority languages. In this case, the language policy acts as a mechanism capable to influence the degree of representation of the Irish language in the public space. The linguistic landscape is also influenced by social processes such as globalization and westernization. The names of urban objects not only show the preferred languages of the nomination, but can also reflect the status of languages and the degree of their functioning. The article offers a study of the linguistic landscape of Belfast, shaped by the influence of the language policy of Northern Ireland and social processes. The methods of component analysis, comparative and descriptive analyses reflect the main ways of word formation, semantic groups and dominant languages of the Belfast linguistic landscape.