‘Es ven espanyol’ a Grècia

Mercantilització lingüística en el paisatge semiòtic d’Atenes i Drama

Abstract

SPANISH FOR SALE IN GREECE: LINGUISTIC COMMODIFICATION IN THE SEMIOTIC LANDSCAPE OF ATHENS AND DRAMA

In the current political-economic context of neoliberalism, languages are often used as marketable commodities, a commodification closely tied to the processes of tourism and gentrification of spaces. It is precisely the construction of meaning through the use and placement of signs in public spaces that explains why studies of linguistic and semiotic landscapes (LL) have become essential for observing global social dynamics, as they serve as reliable indicators of social change processes and the dynamic, fluid nature of contemporary societies in globalization. In this paper, our objective is to analyze how and with what effects ’Spanish’ is commodified and instrumentalised in commercial establishments (business names) in the cities of Athens and Drama, using Spanish signs collected during the summers of 2023 and 2024. Thus, from a semiotic and ethnographic approach, we explore the ideological values mobilized by the use of the Spanish language and culture in these contexts, so that they become objects of marketing, distribution, and consumption in the Greek economy. The analysis of Spanish commercial signs and messages in Greece has shown that these have been carefully crafted and produced with the aim of attracting above all an upper-class Greek audience, as a result of the actions of various local and international agents who associate Spanish with cosmopolitanism and authenticity.