Keelemaastik Tallinna vanalinnas aastatel 2013–2017
The Linguistic Landscape of Tallinn Old Town 2013–2017

Summary/Abstract: The linguistic landscape of Estonia has to date only received some minor attention; this paper is, therefore, a well-needed contribution to the relevant literature, for which the present author collected valuable empirical language materials of the public signage of Tallinn Old Town so that Estonia would not be excluded from international discussions about linguistic landscapes. The study had three hypotheses: 1) that during the Christmas season the usage of Russian-language signage in Tallinn Old Town is greater than at other periods of the year; 2) that the increasing tensions between Russia and the European Union, and consequent fall in the number of tourists from Russia, led to a decrease in Russian language signage during the period; and 3) Chinese and Japanese language signage grew during the period due to the steadily increasing tourism from Asia. The study utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative aspect provides a numeric overview of the result of the ethnographic field work, while the qualitative aspect analyses the different languages used on the signs. The field work occurred over nine occasions in nine streets of Tallinn Old Town.

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