Abstract
While research in the field of language and the law has studied the institutional management of multilingualism within legal and administrative contexts, the deployment of various languages within the spaces of judicial institutions remains under-examined. The study takes a translinguistic orientation to the linguistic landscapes of selected regional courts in the Northern Philippines. Using data from a wider study of public signs in the Northern Philippines, the study argues that adopting a translanguaging perspective on the linguistic and semiotic resources used in court signs complements the utility of multilingualism in the access, interpretation, and implementation of laws in the community. In particular, the use of different languages and semiotic resources can help the judiciary’s efforts to communicate with the people at the grassroots level using Filipino, Ilocano, and Pangasinense signs. However, the dominance of English within such a privileged institution presents challenges and opportunities for negotiation. Given that the Philippines is coming to grips with complex problems in education and development, this paper outlines the potential uses of translanguaging in scholarship and proactive projects in the country.
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Esteron, J.J., Go, C., Valdez, P.N. (2023). Translanguaging in Linguistic Landscapes of Philippine Regional Trial Courts: A Qualitative Inquiry. In: Canilao, M.L.E.N., De Los Reyes, R.A. (eds) Translanguaging for Empowerment and Equity. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8589-0_8
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