A comparative study of the linguistic landscape of Valencia and Castellon

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate a comparative research of the linguistic landscapes of the cities of Valencia and Castellon, in order to determine which are the most used languages and what may be the reason for this choice. In order to conduct the study, 50 pictures from each city are taken and analysed, and in this way, we determine which are the most used foreign languages and if there is any preference in the relation Spanish-Valencian. The study departs from the hypothesis that Valencia makes more use of the Spanish language, as well as a high use of foreign languages, since it is a bigger and more touristic city, while in Castellon there is a predominance of Valencian since it is a smaller and more conservative city. Hopefully this study provides us with a clear perspective of the sociolinguistic situation of the previously stated cities and whether it is expected to change towards a more varied or a more simple linguistic landscape.