International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research (IJELLR)

EA Journals

Road Signs as Linguistic Landscape in Nigeria: A Semiotic Communication

Abstract

The term ‘sign’ as used in this work, in relation to road architecture, refers to the nonlinguistic symbols used as linguistic landscape to communicate intended information in form of instructions, warnings, directions, etc. to road users. The study of signs in semiotics is all encompassing, involving the inference of meaning from signs and symbols using interpersonal, cultural, contextual and personal experience. Semiotics’ preoccupation is the study of all that can be taken as sign. It is noted that in spite of the use of the road signs in the Nigerian cities and suburbs, many road mishap are still being recorded. This study, guided by semiotics principles, and using gestalt theory of visual perception, examines the communicative effectiveness of road signs in Nigeria, using Akure metropolis as case study.  Thus, the paper examines the effectiveness of road signs as linguistic landscape (information agent) for road users in Nigeria using the Akure metropolis in Ondo State as the case study. Through a survey research method, the study, interviewed 260 respondents who were mainly made up of: commercial drivers, private drivers and pedestrians in order to obtain their opinions, attitudes, feelings and dispositions towards road signs as linguistic landscape. The study reveals that most road accidents were due to the flagrant disobedience of the road and traffic signs by the motorists and pedestrians. The incessant road mishap calls for serious questions on the effectiveness of the road signs as a vehicle of information dissemination to road users.

Keywords: Highway Code, Linguistic Landscape, Road Architecture, Road Signs, Signs., communication

cc logo

This work by European American Journals is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Unported License

 

Recent Publications

Email ID: editor.ijellr@ea-journals.org
Impact Factor: 7.79
Print ISSN: 2053-6305
Online ISSN: 2053-6313
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37745/ijellr.13

Author Guidelines
Submit Papers
Review Status

 

Scroll to Top

Don't miss any Call For Paper update from EA Journals

Fill up the form below and get notified everytime we call for new submissions for our journals.