Streetwise English and French advertising in multilingual DR Congo: symbolism, modernity, and cosmopolitan identity

• Autores: Luanga A. Kasanga
• Localización: International journal of the sociology of language, ISSN 0165-2516, Nº. 206, 2010, págs. 181-206
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The omnipresence in public display and the concomitant use of English in transglossic communication in the Expanding Circle are signs of the phenomenal inroads of English worldwide. A paradoxical situation exists, however, in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the infinitesimal use of English in intra-national transactions contrasts sharply with the visibility of streetwise English in French advertisements. This article seeks to identify the motivations for mixing English in French shop names, signs, billboards, and advertisements for a largely non English-knowing audience. Four main categories of functions of English were isolated in the analysis of a representative sample of advertisements and non-structured interviews with a small number of advertisers: brand advertisements, hybrid advertisements, clone advertisements, and imitation advertisements. The first two are used by multinationals, eager to maintain their international brand identity, with or without a local flavor. The third type of advertisements is preferred by local business owners who wish to identify their businesses with well-known international brands. The last is the preserve of local shop owners who wish to portray themselves as sophisticated, modern world travelers. In brief, the mixing of English in French advertisements can be summarized by three concepts: symbolism, imagined identity, and modernity