Shim, Jae Hyung. 2017. “The Relationship between a Linguistic Landscape and a Floating Population: The Case of the Greater Anyang Region”. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 25(1). 85~117. The purpose of this paper is to look at a relationship between urban planning in Korean cities and linguistic landscapes. The study attempts to see the effect of urban development on the rate of English use in the public sphere, and how different sizes of a floating population affect such differences. In doing so, the Greater Anyang Region, located south of Seoul, was selected as the site for the current study. This area is comprised of three cities (Anyang, Gunpo, Uiwang) with a number of business districts including the old downtown and new centers of each city, creating a clear difference in landscape between each area. The study observed the linguistic landscape around subway stations in this region. By observing the rate of English use on commercial signs in these commercial districts, it was found that there is a parallel line between the size of a floating population and the percentage of English in the public sphere. In addition, different rates of English use in different areas reflect a decline of old downtowns, while showing the higher economic status of newer commercial districts. Such phenomena provide an instance of a close relationship between the use of English and a floating population, since the busier business districts appear to have more use of English.

• 심재형(한국외국어대학교) | Shim, Jae Hyung