The Impact of the Pandemic on the Linguistic Landscape of France. A Case Study of Paris

https://doi.org/10.26907/2658-3321.2023.6.2.187-197

Abstract

The article examines the role of lockdown periods in changing the linguistic landscape of France, especially in the field of outdoor advertising. The subject of the analysis is the influence of extralinguistic factors on the ergonyms of Paris. The authors came to the conclusion that the unique situation during the pandemic made it possible to look at the processes of formation of the linguistic landscape from a different angle due to the change and rearrangement of priorities, due to the need to meet security requirements, as well as the interests of economic policy. The authors draw attention to the combination of extralinguistic and linguistic factors, to the inevitability of global changes in the ergonomics of cities due to the need to take into account some factors previously ignored, and, probably, to the identified opportunity not only to analyze, but also to predict the stages of development of the linguistic landscape under the influence of cataclysms and force majeure circumstances. The material provided by the authors may be of a particular interest for those learning the English language as well as to a wide range of researchers of the linguistic landscape worldwide.