Language and economy: linguistic landcape of enterprises in bilingual settlements of Transcarpathia

Abstract

Introduction. The linguistic landscape is often included in the analysis of economic processes, investigating the frequency of the appearance of signs and inscriptions, and the semiotic study of signs and advertisements is associated with the success of enterprises. There is a growing body of research on the relationship between economics and language use.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the inscriptions in the languages of the minorities of commercial establishments in the settlements of Transcarpathia, where the Hungarian and Romanian national minorities live. In the paper, we focused on solving the following tasks:

• whether multilingualism is manifested in the economic sphere;
• whether there are national or regional trade networks that adapt to the language of the local population;
• whether there are different patterns and established traditions in the posting of inscriptions in minority languages.

Result. The desire for monolingualism in the economic sphere can lead to a closed market system, as a result of which not only a narrowed layer of consumers can be formed, but also the entrepreneurs themselves risk losing opportunities for international exchange of experience. There is a need for a new, innovative strategy, which would be based on a supranational system - in order to turn a closed system into an open one with the help of multilingualism, market self-regulation and the admission of external inspirations would be enough.

Originality. The analysis of the experience of the linguistic diversity of other multiethnic regions allows us to draw two important conclusions for the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine as well. First, "the professional management, use and marketing of multiethnicity and multilingualism can contribute to the improvement of the welfare of the whole society", and second, "the collective experience of minority life can be turned into economic advantages". The minorities of Transcarpathia and their language use should not be viewed as a burden to social processes, but as such cultural force that can be turned into economic profit, in indirect or even direct ways.

Conclusion. The purpose of our research, which revolves around the "language-economy- society" axis, is to present the monolingualism or multilingualism of different establishments located in the settlements of Transcarpathia, where Hungarians and Romanians live.