Title: The Use of English in the Algerian Business Sphere: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of some Names of Algerian Brands and Companies
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Date
2018-06
Authors
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Publisher
Mouloud Mammeri University of Tizi-Ouzou
Abstract
This dissertation is intended to investigate the use of English in the Algerian Linguistic
Landscape, focusing on the use of English for the labeling of Algerian brands and companies. Its
objective is threefold. It aims first to identify the reasons behind the new linguistic practice consisting
in the labeling of companies and products in English. Second, it investigates the features shared by the
language of the corpus and the classified advertising register. Third it intends to uncover the indirect
messages the English labels of companies and brands convey. For this reason a total number of 1855
names of Algerian brands and companies were collected to serve as a corpus for this study. Moreover,
questionnaires were administered to 50 Algerian businessmen. Relying on previous works in the field
of Linguistic Landscape, Bruthiaux’s Classified Advertising Register (CAR) model, in addition to the
Triadic Semiotic Theory of Charles Sanders Peirce, the corpus was classified according to their
lexicogenic processes, the location and sectors of activity of the company they represent and the type
of the products they stand for. The research is both qualitative and quantitative; the results are
interpreted through Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) as an attempt to understand the motives
leading Algerian business owners to choose English among other more dominant languages existing
in Algeria, namely: Arabic, French and Tamazight. The results reached in this research reveal that
Algerian businessmen make use of English mainly in order to give a modern and international image
of the quality of their services and products, to satisfy their ambitions of integrating the international
market or for mere linguistic preferences. Furthermore, the linguistic analysis shows that the corpus
of this research shares a number of features with the Classified Advertising Register. Besides, the
semiotic analysis indicates that the signs besides carrying the mission of representing products and
companies are intended to convey an array of messages relating to the high quality of the services and
the products they stand for. Finally, recommendations for further LL research are provided.
Description
85p.:ill;30cm.(+cd)
Keywords
Business, Names of brands, Names of companies, English, Linguistic Landscape, Algeria
Citation
Language and Communication