Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

Analysis of the Linguistic Landscape of Shops in the Historic Center of Macau Based on Geographical Semiotics

Yawen SunMacau University of Science and Technology*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

Macau is a city located in the southeastern part of China. It has a colonial history under Portuguese governance for about 450 years. This has made great contributions to Macau for forming a linguistic landscape with three literatures and four languages, which is different from Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland. Existing studies have drawn some conclusions and clarified the situation in this field, but most of the relevant literature focuses on the overall landscape of Macao’s linguistic landscape, with no specialized research targeting specific regions or industries. This study, based on the theoretical framework of geographical semiotics, explores the commercial linguistic landscape in the historic center of Macau, which is situated on Macau Peninsula. The collected data indicate that the cultural and national identity are the factors with the most contribution to the linguistic landscape while the industry pillars, the important group of customers and the official linguistic policy are also aspects that have brought impact to it. This study contributes to filling the academic gap of the research on the linguistic landscape research in the historic center and provide some reference to the lawmakers for introducing proper linguistic policy.

Keywords: Macau Historic Center; shops and restaurants; linguistic landscape; geographic semiotics; cultural and national identity
Published: October 14, 2025
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2025.HT28412
Volume: CHR Vol.88
pp. 19-26
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