1. Linguistic Landscape:
Chinatown, DC & Rockville
Ping-Hsuan Wang
M.A. in Language and Communication
pw433@goergetown.edu

2. What’s Linguistics Landscape (LL)
 “The language of public road signs, advertising
billboards, street names, place names, commercial
shop signs, and public signs on government buildings
combines to form the linguistic landscape of a
given territory, region, or urban agglomeration.”
(Landry and Bourhis 1997: 25)
 The project started out by replicating Jackie Lou’s
study in Chinatown, DC, from the approach of LL
 Questions: Is Rockville more ‘authentic’ than
Chinatown, DC? If so, how is it reflected in LL?
 Methods: participant observation, interviews,
activity space, and survey

3. Activity space of Liu Bobo in Chinatown, DC
Lou, Jackie (2012) Chinatown in Washington, DC:
The bilingual landscape, World Englishes

4. ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen (Chinatown, DC)
東南亞食坊
dongnanya shifang,
‘Southeast Asia Diner’

5. Fusion Supper Club (Rockville)
海融會館
Hai-ron huiguan,
‘ocean fusion club’

6. PNC Bank (Chinatown, DC)
Poster on the door; notice of
date closed
Cathay Bank (Rockville)
Poster on the door; notice of
company consolidation
攜手發展
Xishou fazhan
‘join hand develop’
繁榮與共
Fanron yugong
‘prosper together’

7. Fuddruckers (Chinatown, DC
新鮮的麵包
Xin1xian1 de mian4bao1
Fresh bread
新鮮牛肉
Xin1xian1 niu2rou4
fresh beef
Great Wall
Supermarket (Rockville)
Checkout counter

8. Kung Fu Tea 功夫茶 (Rockville)
menu in the shop

9. Findings
• Exterior vs. Interior:
Chinese writing can be found on the exterior in Chinatown, DC, but
both outside & inside in Rockville
• Types of Businesses:
Chinese writing appears in various types of businesses with no
significant distinction
• Translation:
There seems to be more ChineseEnglish in Rockville, and more
EnglishChinese translation in Chinatown, DC
• Traditional vs. Simplified:
Both traditional and simplified characters can be seen in both
Rockville & Chinatown, DC
• What’s next? More interviews with the shop owners &
customers