Developing methods for the study of linguistic landscapes in sparsely populated areas

This article focuses on the methodology developed in a mixed-method study situated in sparsely populated areas in Sweden within a project that aims at investigating the role of language in place-making and in relation to various groups. These areas have a rich history of multilingualism as well as a more recent influx of multilingualism - the former usually in the form of Indigenous Sámi language and national minority languages; the latter being for example tourism from many parts of the world or refugees. The article discusses a mixed-methods approach that includes textual and numerical data, as well as qualitative and quantitative analysis. Register data is both used to select sites for investigation and for the interpretation of the data. The article further focuses on coding and categorizing signs for linguistic code, status, space and function as well as some on methodological issues and challenges that have occurred along the process.
The language of place-making. A mixed-method analysis of linguistic landscapes