ETHNICDIVERSITY IN URBAN SPACE - LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE IN NÉPSZÍNHÁZ STREET, BUDAPEST

Abstract

Budapest does not have such sizeable ethnically diverse neighbourhoods as many western
European cities- which owned colonies previously - do. Still, Budapest has been welcoming
recurring waves of ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse population, thus we can
curious whether there are any multiethnic areas in Budapest? Is there any part of the
Hungarian capital where one can find a higher concentration of visual signs of ethnicities
and languages?Whatsort of visualsigns can we identify and how these modify/blend in the
urban landscape? What does it suggest about the accommodation of non-Hungarian
speakers in Budapest? By analysing the linguistic landscape of one streetin the most diverse
8th district of Budapest, called Józsefváros, this research aims to answer above questions.
The article is experiential, as - owing to the lack of availability ofstatistical data about the
ethnicity of inhabitants in such low territorial level- we use the analysis of linguistic
landscape to gain information about the multiethnic character of a neighbourhood. It is
found that however the dominantlanguage is Hungarian, the name of the shops and some
information are displayed in other languages as well and/or the name and/or the profile
ofshops display a clear reference to diverse cultures and languages.