The purpose of this article is to investigate several key sociolinguistic aspects of texts that have been translated from Greek into English in public spaces in the Kastra neighbourhood of Thessaloniki. It approaches these translations through a sociolinguistic lens, drawing from the ethnographic methodology used in studies of linguistic landscapes, whilst also taking into account the need to combine approaches from the sociological turn in Translation Studies, which have largely adopted Bourdieu’s concept of habitus in an attempt to place the translator at the centre of related academic enquiry. The qualitative findings derive from public texts that can be grouped into the following categories: Official signs and notifications, ad hoc signs and notices, and translated texts for businesses offering services. The analysis of the texts focuses on issues concerning superdiversity, social background, identity, and translation practices.
Androutsopoulos, Jannis. 2014. “Computer-Mediated Communication and Linguistic Landscapes.” In Research Methods in Sociolinguistics: A Practical Guide, edited by Janet Holmes and Kirk Hazen, 74–90. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Angelelli, Claudia V.2014. “Introduction: The Sociological Turn in Translation and Interpreting Studies.” In The Sociological Turn in Translation and Interpreting Studies, edited by Claudia V. Angelelli, 1–5. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Angelelli, Claudia V.2020a. “Language Mediation and Patient-Centered Communication.” In Interpreting in a Changing World: New Scenarios, Technologies, Training Challenges and Vulnerable Groups, edited by Encarnación Postigo Piñazo, 13–36. Berlin: Peter Lang.
Angelelli, Claudia V.2020b. “Who is Talking Now? Role Expectations and Role Materializations in Interpreter-Mediated Healthcare Encounters.” Communication and Medicine 15 (2): 123–134.
Bachmann-Medick, Doris. 2006. “Meanings in Cultural Anthropology.” In Translating Others, edited by Theo Hermans, vol. 11, 33–42. Manchester: St. Jerome.
Baranova, Vlada, and Kapitolina Fedorova. 2019. “‘Invisible Minorities’ and ‘Hidden Diversity’ in Saint-Petersburg’s Linguistic Landscape.” In Language, Mobility and Belonging, edited by Kinga Kozminska, Leonie Schulte, Nancy Hawker, and Rosemary Hall, special issue of Language & Communication 681: 17–27.
Barni, Monica, and Carla Bagna. 2008. “A Mapping Technique and the Linguistic Landscape.” In Linguistic Landscape: Expanding the Scenery, edited by Elana Shohamy and Durk Gorter, 126–140. Abingdon: Routledge.
Bilá, Magdaléna, and Ingrida Vaňková. 2019. Tourist Notices in the Spotlight of Linguistic Landscape and Translation Studies. Russian Journal of Linguistics 23 (3): 681–697.
Blommaert, Jan. 2005. “Bourdieu the Ethnographer: The Ethnographic Grounding of Habitus and Voice.” The Translator 11 (2): 219–236.
Blommaert, Jan. 2013. Ethnography, Superdiversity and Linguistic Landscapes: Chronicles of Complexity. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Blommaert, Jan, and Ico Maly. 2014. “Ethnographic Linguistic Landscape Analysis and Social Change: A Case Study (Tilburg Papers in Culture Studies 100).” Accessed 15 April 2020. [URL]
Boklund-Lagopoulou, Karin. 2003. “Teaching English in Greece: An update.” In New Englishes, edited by Vasilia Bolla-Mavrides, 11–24. Thessaloniki: Ziti Publications.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1977. Outline of a Theory of Practice [orig. Esquisse d’une théorie de la pratique]. Translated by Richard Nice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1989. “Social Space and Symbolic Power.” Sociological Theory 7 (1): 14–25.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1990. The Logic of Practice [orig. Le sens pratique]. Translated by Richard Nice. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Bucholtz, Mary. 1999. “‘Why Be Normal?’: Language and Identity Practices in a Community of Nerd Girls.” Language in Society 28 (2): 203–223.
Bucholtz, Μary, and Κira Hall. 2005. “Identity and Interaction: A Sociocultural Linguistic Approach.” Discourse Studies 7 (4–5): 585–614.
Cambridge English Dictionary. “Possession.” Accessed 16 November 2020. [URL]
Canakis, Costas. 2017. “The Linguistic Landscape of Stadiou Street in Athens: An Ethnographic Approach to the Linguistic Appropriation of Contested Space.” Μελέτες για την ελληνική γλώσσα [Studies in Greek Linguistics] 371: 165–180.
Canakis, Costas. 2018. “Contesting Identity in the Linguistic Landscape of Belgrade: An Ethnographic Approach.” Belgrade BELLS 10 (11): 229–258.
Canakis, Costas, and Roswitha Kersten-Pejanić. 2016. “Spray-Canned Discourses: Reimagining Gender, Sexuality and Citizenship through Linguistic Landscapes in the Balkans.” In Minorities under Attack: Othering and Right-Wing Extremism in South Eastern European Societies, edited by Martin Mlinarić, Sebastian Goll, and Johannes Gold, 129–159. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
Cenoz, Jasone, and Durk Gorter. 2006. “Linguistic Landscape and Minority Languages.” International Journal of Multilingualism 3 (1): 67–80.
Chesterman, Andrew. 2006. “Questions in the Sociology of Translation.” In Translation Studies at the Interface of Disciplines, edited by João F. Duarte, Alexandra A. Rosa, and Teresa Seruya, 9–28. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
De Fina, Anna. 2019. “The Ethnographic Interview.” In The Routledge Handbook of Linguistic Ethnography, edited by Karin Tusting, 154–167. Abingdon: Routledge.
Eckert, Penelope, and Sally McConnell-Ginet. 1992. “Think Practically and Look Locally: Language and Gender as Community-Based Practice.” Annual Review of Anthropology (211): 461–490.
Giannakopoulou, Vasso. 2012. “Πρώτες σκέψεις για μια κοινωνιολογία της μετάφρασης ςτην Ελλάδα [Preliminary Thoughts on a Sociology of Translation in Greece].” Syn-Thèses 51, edited by Titika Dimitroulia: 15–27.
Gogonas, Nikos, and Christina Maligkoudi. 2019. “Translanguaging Instances in the Greek Linguistic Landscape in Times of Crisis.” Journal of Applied Linguistics 321: 66–82.
Gouanvic, Jean-Marc. 2005. “A Bourdieusian Theory of Translation, or the Coincidence of Practical Instances: Field, ‘Habitus’, Capital and ‘Illusio’.” The Translator 11 (2): 147–166.
Gouanvic, Jean-Marc. 2010. “Outline of a Sociology of Translation Informed by the Ideas of Pierre Bourdieu.” MonTI 21: 119–129.
Gorter, Durk. 2006. “Introduction: The Study of the Linguistic Landscape as a New Approach to Multilingualism.” In Linguistic Landscape: A New Approach to Multilingualism, edited by Durk Gorter, 1–6. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Grammenidis, Simos P.2009. Μεταφράζοντας τον κόσμο του άλλου: Θεωρητικοί προβληματισμοί και λειτουργικές προσεγγίσεις [Translating the World of the Other: Theoretical Concerns and Functional Approaches]. Athens: Diavlos.
Grammenidis, Simos, Titika Dimitroulia, Evaggelos Kourdis, Elpida Loupaki, and Georgios Floros. 2015. Διεπιστημονικές προσεγγίσεις της μετάφρασης [Inter-disciplinary Approaches to Translation]. Athens: Kallipos.
Guo, Minghe. 2012. “Analysis on the English-Translation Errors of Public Signs.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies 2 (6): 1214–1219.
Han, Luyao. 2018. “Analysis of ‘Chinglish’ Phenomenon in the Translation of Chinese Public Signs.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies 8 (3): 360–364.
Hanna, Sameh. 2005. “Othello in Egypt: Translation and the (Un)Making of National Identity.” In Translation and the Construction of Identity, edited by Juliane House, Martin Ruano, M. Rosario, and Nicole Baumgarten, 109–128. Seoul: IATIS.
Hanna, Sameh. 2016. Bourdieu in Translation Studies: The Socio-Cultural Dynamics of Shakespeare Translation in Egypt. New York: Routledge.
Inghilleri, Moira. 2005. “The Sociology of Bourdieu and the Construction of the ‘Object’ In Translation and Interpreting Studies.” The Translator 11 (2): 125–146.
Jaworski, Adam. 2010. “Linguistic Landscapes on Postcards: Tourist Mediation and the Sociolinguistic Communities of Contact.” Sociolinguistic Studies 4 (3): 469–594.
Jørgensen, Jens Normann. 2008. “Polylingual Languaging Around and Among Children and Adolescents.” International Journal of Multilingualism 5 (3): 161–176.
Karyolaimou, Marilena. 1999. “Η ευρωπαϊκή γλωσσική πολιτική, η γαλλοφωνία και το μέλλον της ελληνικής γλώσσας I [European Language Policy, French-Speaking Countries and the Future of the Greek Language].” In Ισχυρές και ασθενείς γλώσσες στην Ευρωπαική Ένωση: Όψεις του γλωσσικού ηγεμονισμού. Πρακτικά διεθνούς συνεδρίου. Θεσσαλονίκη 26–28 Μαρτίου 1997 [Strong and Weak Languages in the European Union: Aspects of Linguistic Hegemony. Proceedings of an International Conference. Thessaloniki 26–28 March 1997], vol. 11, edited by Anastasios F. Christidis, 329–334. Thessaloniki: Centre for the Greek Language.
Labov, William. 1972. Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania.
Leavitt, John. 2014. “Words and Worlds: Ethnography and Theories of Translation.” HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 4 (2): 193–220.
Malinowski, David. 2019. “Learning to Translate the Linguistic Landscape.” In Expanding the Linguistic Landscape: Language Policy and the Use of Space as a Semiotic Resource, edited by Martin Pütz and Neele Mundt, 58–74. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Nelson, Cecil L., Zoya G. Proshina, and Daniel R. Davis, eds. 2020. The Handbook of World Englishes. 2nd edition. Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell.
Newmark, Peter. 1981. Approaches to Translation. Oxford, NY: Pergamon Press.
Newmark, Peter. 1988. A Textbook of Translation. New York: Prentice Hall.
Osman, Ghada. 2014. “‘The Sheikh of the Translators’: The Translation Methodology of Hunyan Ibn Ishaq.” In The Sociological Turn in Translation and Interpreting Studies, edited by Claudia V. Angelelli, 41–55. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Reiss, Katharina, and Hans J. Vermeer. 1984. Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie [Foundation of a General Theory of Translational Action]. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
Rowland, Luke. 2013. “The Pedagogical Benefits of a Linguistic Landscape Project in Japan.” International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 16 (4): 494–505.
Sapiridou, Andromachi. 1999. “Ο γλωσσικός ηγεμονισμός στη διαπολιτισμική προσέγγιση της διδασκαλίας ξένων γλωσσών και οι προεκτάσεις του [Linguistic Hegemony in the Cross-Cultural Approach to Foreign Language Teaching and its Implications].” In Ισχυρές και ασθενείς γλώσσες στην Ευρωπαική Ένωση: Όψεις του γλωσσικού ηγεμονισμού. Πρακτικά διεθνούς συνεδρίου. Θεσσαλονίκη 26–28 Μαρτίου 1997 [Strong and Weak Languages in the European Union: Aspects of Linguistic Hegemony. Proceedings of an International Conference. Thessaloniki 26–28 March 1997], vol. 21, edited by Anastasios F. Christidis, 757–765. Thessaloniki: Centre for the Greek Language.
Sela-Sheffy, Rakefet. 2014. “Translators’ Identity Work: Introducing Micro-Sociological Theory of Identity to the Discussion of Translators’ Habitus.” In Remapping Habitus in Translation Studies, edited by Gisella M. Vorderobermeier, 43–55. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
Sifianou, Maria. 2010. “The Announcements in the Athens Metro Stations: An Example of Glocalization?”Intercultural Pragmatics 7 (1): 25–46.
Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove. 1999. “Γλωσσική φθορά, γλωσσικός θάνατος, γλωσσική δολοφονία: Διαφορετικά γεγονότα ή διαφορετικές ιδεολογίες [Language Decay, Language Death, Language Murder: Different Events or Different Ideologies?].” In Ισχυρές και ασθενείς γλώσσες στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση: Όψεις του γλωσσικού ηγεμονισμού: Πρακτικά διεθνούς συνεδρίου. Θεσσαλονίκη 26–28 Μαρτίου 1997 [Strong and Weak Languages in the European Union: Aspects of Linguistic Hegemony. Proceedings of an International Conference. Thessaloniki 26–28 March 1997]. Vol. 11, edited by Anastasios F. Christidis, 74–90. Thessaloniki: Centre for the Greek Language.
Xu, Mingwu, and Chuanmao Tian. 2019. “‘Open Water Room’ = ‘Hot Water Room’?: Language Reality and Normativity with Respect to the Use of English in China’s Public Service Areas.” English Today 35 (1): 42–47.
Yu, Yayan. 2019. “Study on the Translation of Public Signs from the Perspective of Ecological Translation.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies 9 (3): 332–340.
Yuan, Mingming. 2019. “Submission and Resistance in the English Linguistic Landscape of Chaoshan: Identity Negotiation Through English Translation in Two Chinese Cities.” English Today 35 (2): 20–28.
Zouka, Varvara. 2012. Πινακίδες για πεζούς στη Θεσσαλονίκη [Signs for Pedestrians in Thessaloniki]. Makedonia 12 June 2012. Accessed 21 April 2020 [URL]
Cited by (6)
Cited by six other publications
Gu, Chonglong & Ali Almanna
2023. Transl[iter]ating Dubai’s linguistic landscape: a bilingual translation perspective between English and Arabic against a backdrop of globalisation. Applied Linguistics Review 0:0
Lees, Christopher
2022. ‘Please wear mask!’ Covid-19 in the translation landscape of Thessaloniki: a cross-disciplinary approach to the English translations of Greek public notices. The Translator 28:3 ► pp. 344 ff.
2022. Translation of signs and the formation of a transnational space: a multimodal study of street signs in the African inhabited areas of Guangzhou. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development► pp. 1 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.