Bilingual Signs
Bilingual signs (or, by extension multilingual) is the representation on the same panel of signaling enrollment in two or more languages. Its use is statutorily restricted to local situations where effective bilingual administrative (bilingual or border ) or where there is an important tourist and commercial traffic ( airports , railway stations , ports , border points, city tours, international routes, Seats international authorities) and can be found occasionally in the neighborhoods where the proportion of immigrants originating from the same linguistic area is high. In a more extensive, it includes, in regions with a combination of languages transcribed into non-Latin alphabets, transliteration of names and any translation of the complementary texts. The general trend is rather to replace the information should be provided in several languages by symbols and pictograms internationally standardized and representative of content information. The use of bilingual signs is probably the most symbolic instrument of perception and reality of the institutionalization of a bilingual territory.
Evolution
The use of bilingual signs has increased considerably in recent years, particularly in the democratic Western world and, given the significant migration, as well as through increasing the rights of ethnic and linguistic minorities and Also thanks to the mismatch between the administrative boundaries of states and ethno-linguistic divisions. The first cases of bilingual signage applied to situations like that of Brussels in Belgium , where the early twentieth century using the model of the previous century (assuming a state consisting of a culturally homogeneous nation) has led to Claims of significant linguistic protections for language Dutch (which holds the majority in the country, despite the greater prestige of the French ) which triggered a long process of official recognition of the use of both languages. A second example is that of South Tyrol (now called Alto Adige ) speaking German , but annexed to Italy after the First World War and was later the target of assimilation policies (as Italianization of the names ). To respect international treaties, they proceeded to the implementation of protective measures and official recognition of both languages. Both cases, however, concern strategic territories where people speak a language known and full official in neighboring countries. The only alternatives to formal protection would thus more or less forced annexation to another state (as the German invasion of the regions Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia , or multiple attempts to revive the Alsace ) and then access to independence (as in the case of Ireland ), or assimilation more or less forced to the national culture (as in the case of the French language of the Alsace in France ). The first example of a claim language "regional" dates back to the experience of language revitalization Catalan in Spain , before the time Franco , and skillfully resumed at the end of the latter, then become a model for protecting linguistic be imitated in most autonomous regions of Europe and serve as a starting point for the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (Council of Europe).
The use of bilingual signage is often representative of the level of protection and the actual level of multilingualism in a given territory, or at least the phase of development claims of protection:
- The most basic form of protection is the use of simple instructions Geographical Names in the signs (usually for the names of cities and roads, or indications of tourist and cultural), sometimes without any official supervision and using a lettering more smaller than the "official" version. In these cases, the indications are never transcribed in official documents, and the national language retains a higher visibility and greater prestige in relation to the local language, which is relegated to dialect. Found in this category, for example, communities Frisian of Germany.
- A more advanced form of protection involves the widespread use of bilingual signs showing the national language in the local language first and second, both the signs of places on the boards of directors. Normally used characters of the same size but fonts different. Additional instruction is usually included in the national language only, in order not to burden the text displayed on the panels. This is a compromise between the desirability of raising the profile similar to the two languages and the desire to maintain the prevalence of the official national language. This form corresponds to the case of Corsica , for example.
- The third form of protection is the natural evolution of the second. It is the application of full bilingualism signage, which displays both languages equally, including information on all types of panels, according to a priority usually based on the prevalence linguist people for a region given. In this case, the languages have the same actual size, or there was a slight dominance of the local language. This category represents the effective application of bilingual signage. This form corresponds to the case of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano , for example.
- The most extreme form of protection is manifested by the shift to the display monolingual using the local language as the sole vehicle for transmitting information, relegating to second national language (at least in terms of visibility). This form corresponds to the case of Catalonia in Spain.
- The majority of other cases is possible hybrid situations, inserted among the categories described above.
There are also cases where it is noted that the various authorities responsible for roads apply different standards. Usually these local networks and urban display a more advanced form of bilingualism (but often if not always result in a lack of uniformity and standardization, the limits of regulatory compliance), while the national road network reveals major difficulties of applying the same level of bilingualism (although it is more consistent and more standardized, when present).
Issues related to its implementation
The introduction of bilingual signs (or multilingual ) in a territory thus requires a major organizational effort and coordination by local authorities and has many advantages than disadvantages. Among the benefits usually noticed are:
- The increasing usefulness of this bilingual signs in the border areas to establish continuity of intercommunication with neighboring countries, in view of the integration of different communities.
- Strengthening the perception of identity and specificity of a place, linking it to the language that became one of its most representative features. The signal becomes the main vehicle that officially established the visual effect of a unifying regional or minority language.
- The constraint of maximum use of pictograms easy to understand, and the obligation to carefully design the presentation of panels, in order to display, within a reasonable space, all information to be transmitted more than one language and to ensure immediate comprehension.
- The incentive to standardize the spelling of place names and various local variants.
Among the disadvantages of bilingual signs are:
- The duplication of texts which can cause safety problems when the information is confusing or poorly presented on the panel.
- The repetition in the complementary texts, in the case of regional languages, of information already present in the national version and already understood by users.
- Various problems concerning the adaptation of national standards to the bilingual situation, coordination of formalizing Names minority and language standardization.
- Increased expenses associated with the largest dimension of bilingual signs.
- A predictable opposition "politics" from central government (especially in undemocratic countries and / or centralizing) and from nationalist groups.
A study was conducted in 2000 by the Transportation Research Institute, the University of Leeds , at the request of the Assembly of Wales , to determine if the bilingual signs would create road safety problems for drivers (Due to the increase in the amount of text). The conclusion shows that the presence of a display designed properly, there is no difference in response time for drivers to enter the information on a bilingual sign Road signs bilingual in French speaking countries The Algeria , the Morocco and Tunisia were part of the second French colonial space. Although the official language is the Arabic , the use of French , and bilingualism are indeed widespread and tolerated. Signaling information and locations on main roads and in tourist areas and urban adopt the European model and displays the dual form in Arabic and French. The miners names typically use an Anglicized transcript. Street names are also bilingual. International symbols are usually displayed with Latin characters (such as " STOP "or" P ") are accompanied by the Arabic version ( / STOP). The information is displayed instead exclusively in Arabic (), particularly in inland areas. In these countries (particularly Algeria and Morocco), language Berber is also widespread, and its speakers have long been trying to obtain official recognition. Among the various claims is that of a trilingual signs include Berber, but until now, national authorities were opposed to this request. Only in Kabylie , a region where the claimant from Algeria Berbers defended themselves with great force, several municipalities have taken the initiative to use a trilingual signage including Berber (written in alphabet Tifinagh ), which gives this language without official recognition visibility of fact. The situation in Morocco is different. In early 2003 , the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture decided to formally adopt the alphabet Tifinagh to teach Berber in schools. The Municipality of Nador (in the Rif Berber majority), then decided on 29 April 2003 , to introduce a local indication written in Berber Rif (also with the alphabet Tifinagh). This policy shall remain in force only for a few hours, after which the Interior Minister Mostafa Sahel quashed the decision of the council and ordered to remove all signs visible in the Berber city. In Belgium , the Brussels region is bilingual French- Dutch. All signage is displayed in the local dual language form using the same lettering. Conversely, most regions Flemish and Walloon language respectively Dutch and French , and signaling is therefore unilingual. This situation makes it difficult for the signaling directions of the cities that have different names in both languages, as Rijsel / Lille Bergen / Mons. In these regions, only the common facilities have bilingual signs. This is particularly the case of municipalities in the speaking Community of Belgium on the border of Germany , where the official language is the German and where there are "facilities" for French. Signage is bilingual German-French. In municipalities with facilities of Flanders, the signs are bilingual Dutch-French. However, the Flemish government decided in 2006 to remove any official status to the French translation of the names of Flemish towns, which has the effect of reducing the number of bilingual signs. (A sign located in a town with facilities such as indicating the direction to Antwerp should not be translated; Antwerpen only be indicated.) In Canada , the bilingual signs in French and English is the norm across New Brunswick and in some localities in Ontario and Manitoba , as well as near the transition zones between language majority and on highways across the nation except in Quebec where everything is only in French. Only exception in Quebec: the part of the Bonaventure Expressway , which is owned by the Company of Jacques Cartier and Champlain and the latter two bridges and their approaches, have bilingual signs. The Capital Region Ottawa is symbolically bilingual since 2002 , both services as street signs (street name and a few road signs) although English is dominant within the population (which has about 32% French) and even if it is a region historically speaking. For cons, the province of Quebec is officially French place names and use only French, even for additional information. Here, the stop signs become stop signs, because the use of STOP in French, which dates from 1927 , is seen as a anglicism . In the territory of Nunavut in northern Canada, the street signs in the capital Iqaluit is displayed language Inuktitut French and English. In the Native American community Huron-Wendat , located near the city of Quebec , the bilingual road signs are posted in French and Wendat language , including the STOP sign , which indicates OFF / SETENA. In the Native American community cry of Mistissini , road signs are displayed in Cree , English and French. Along the James Bay in Northern Quebec , the road signs are bilingual French / Inuit. Bilingual signage is used in some regions. It merely indications toponymic location and direction, and excludes additional texts that are rigorously posted in French only. The text of the second language is usually written with the same size lettering and typography, but in italics to emphasize the difference between the two languages and make signs more legible. In Alsace , where part of the population speaks Alsatian , the names of small towns are usually of German origin (with some modifications Frenchified spelling). However, French is the only official language, used for all road signs. In the historical center of Strasbourg , every street name is shown in the double form French / German or dialect. However, only French is officially recognized. Across the region, many towns and villages have also adopted this label including Mulhouse where more than 106 streets are bilingual . On the other hand, some municipalities as Marlenheim adopted at the entrance of the village road signs bilingual. In the department of Pyrenees-Atlantiques (the region Aquitaine ), it is possible to find signs French / Basque on local roads (county and municipal), as well as dual signs indicating the boundaries of localities (eg Ascain / Azkaine). The Gascon is spoken in the city Bayonne - Anglet - Biarritz (in which Basque is still much more present). Road signs in Bayonne is trilingual ( French , Basque , Gascon ). In Britain , the signal location and direction is often with the use of bilingual French and Breton both. It began in the mid- 1980 and believes steadily since. It is particularly dense in the departments of western Brittany ( Finistre , Morbihan and west of Ctes-d'Armor ) . At the entrance of hundreds of towns and cities, towns signs indicate the name of the town in two forms (eg Rennes / or Roazhon Gwened / Valves) . Localization, there are also bilingual signs, as the limit of departm ents, for rivers, passes, etc.. Besides the departments, municipalities are increasingly likely to install themselves bilingual directional signage or on street signs. For example: Lorient , Brest , Carhaix-Plouguer , Pluguffan , Quimper , Pontivy , Vannes ... or recently Redon , . The Britons where they are yet to be overwhelmingly in favor: 3 out of 4 respondents in a survey published in 2009 . Moreover, one can see signs monolingual tagged or hidden on certain routes that reflect the demand for a segment of the population for more bilingual and similarly multilingual signs may be locked in a sign of opposition to bilingualism in the measurement where it induces the creation of names that were never used by the population. The language of Brittany - the Gallo , a dialect of French language field (not Celtic) - is virtually nonexistent in the field of signage, except for a dozen panels of common input , as Loudac / or Loudia Parc / Parczae. The Ofis ar Brezhoneg - Office of the Breton language acts as a consultant for bilingual signs in Brittany. In Corsica , if only for France , signaling the location and direction over the entire territory is fully bilingual French / Corsican (almost all the official names in French is actually Italian, Porto-Vecchio, Corsica Vechju Porti- is translated as "Old Port" whereas Ile Rousse is the French translation of his name Corsican Isula of Rusa "), including national highways (which are administered by the Territorial Community of Corsica ) and county roads (managed by the General Council of the two departments), with a remarkable level of consistency: Ajaccio / Aiacciu, Corte / Corti, Porto-Vecchio/Porti-Vechju, Sartene / SART, Bonifacio / Bunifaziu. Visually, some communities, especially in inland areas of the island, using only directional signs in Corsican language , while the former displaying signs that the French were "corrected" by graffiti. Street names and signs are cons services exclusively in French. In the department of Pyrenees-Orientales , in the region Languedoc-Roussillon , and under the leadership of the General Council, a majority of municipalities have already opted to enroll their names in the original Catalan , French or in translation of other side of the road, with signs of official types ( Baillestavy / Vallestvia ). At Perpignan ( Perpignan ), street names are duplicated language. In most common name is only in French but in a number of them are bilingual and in a number of other, only in Catalan. Recently, it is also possible to find some early signs French / Catalan informative (geographical locations, historical, tourism). In some municipalities in the Occitan , there is a display bilingual in French and in the local variant of the language Occitan. These signs are present in the historic centers of cities to indicate street names. Sometimes too, they refer to the old name of the street. The main town where there are Occitan bilingual signs in downtown are Toulouse , Aix-en-Provence , Nice and Villefranche de Rouergue Road signs in Occitan is almost entirely in French. More and more common Occitan opt for bilingual signs at the entrances / exits of Commons, as is already widespread in northern Catalonia and Britain, for example. But that is not systematized as in some other regions and bilingual signage Occitan takes many forms, which blurs somewhat the approach to the general public. Associations, including the Institut d'Etudes Occitan , work daily with local officials to generalize and homogenize the bilingual signage for each of the municipalities concerned. The goal is to remind that the French language is not original in these regions. The story is often quickly forgotten. The signs are in French and Creole locally. The Swiss is officially four languages ( German , French , Italian and Romansch ) and some parts of transitions are bilingual (French / German). Road signs are normally displayed in the majority language of the local community, but is becoming bilingual where the minority language is at least 30% of the population. In the area Romansch the Canton of Grisons , the road signs are usually displayed complementary in German (except for speed limit signs, which also have the text Romansh General limit) although the indications are often micro-toponymy in Romansh or Italian (and names of major cities are in German). The only reference to signage and bilingual place names contained in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe of 5 November 1992 is found in Article 10 (Administrative authorities and public services), paragraph 2 g) which provides that "administrative authorities of the State in which the number of speakers of regional or minority languages (...) The Parties undertake to allow and / or encourage (...) the use or adoption where necessary in conjunction with the name in (the) language (s) official (s), traditional and correct forms of place-names in regional or minority languages " . In Albania , there are road signs bilingual ( Albanian / Greek ) in the region of Gjirokaster where this is a Greek minority community. In Germany , bilingual signage is used in some regions where regional languages. In areas of language Sorbian (around Cottbus , near the border with Poland ), this signal is limited to locating signs and street names, with the use of lettering the same for both languages. In municipalities Frisian (from Sater , East Frisian islands and regions on the border with Denmark ) this signal is limited to signs of localization and demarcation of boundaries of population centers. Here, the official German version is larger than the Frisian version. In Austria , the Law on Protection of Minorities provides bilingual signs in localities where a language community represents 10% of the population. This is the case near Klagenfurt ( Carinthia ), descendants of Slovenian , particularly in rural areas, where the German and Slovenian names have the same legal status, but where bilingual signage is limited to panel location (borders municipalities and geographical names). The existence of these panels has caused several conflicts between local authorities and Slovenian political movements xenophobic (as the regional government of Carinthia, led by Joerg Haider , who opposed the measures of protection of minorities). The courts will decide finally by declaring mandatory bilingualism Slovenian signaling. In 2006 , in some localities of Carinthia (eg Schwabegg / vabek), following a government initiative symbolic Haider - inspired by a court decision dating back to 2001 (which states the legality of using a complementary panel as alternative to the use of a single panel fully bilingual), we sent away the bilingual signs already installed (which both versions were the same size) and replace them with a big sign monolingual German, placed above a more small panel that displays the text in Slovenian (with smaller lettering). A bilingual road signs is present in the region of Burgenland , near Eisenstadt , on the border of Hungary. Some municipalities (such as Spitzzicken / Hrvatski Cikljin) will use the German and Croatian , while others (like Oberwart / Felsr) will use German and Hungarian. Contrary to Carinthia, the local government does not xenophobic policy on display. In countries with Slavic -alphabet Cyrillic , the signs on main roads are usually transliterated into Latin characters. Some signs like " STOP "are displayed instead only version Cyrillic" CTO. In Kosovo Standards Standards for Kosovo of 2004 establishes that the name of institutions and names on road signs must be posted in the double form Albanian and Serbian , transcribed into Latin characters (she was in Serbian and Albanian in the Administration Yugoslav ), with the addition (trilingual) the name of the locality in Turkish or Bosnian (if necessary) in the few areas with a significant presence in each of these respective populations. In many municipalities, however, we notice a tendency to display either the Albanian version only (eg in the case of Rahovec / Rahovec that displays the Albanian version omitting double that of Orahovac in Serbian), or is the Serbian version (eg in predominantly Serb areas, some bilingual signs have been replaced by versions written in Serbian Cyrillic only). In Montenegro , in populated areas near the Albanian border, there are unofficial signs indicating street names in Serbian (with the Latin alphabet) and Albanian (example: ulica Majka Tereza / Rruga Nene Tereza). In Cyprus (as in Greece ), signs posted on road signs used in dual transcription Greek and Latin alphabet. In municipalities where there is a significant Turkish minority, the display includes trilingual version in Turkish language is used when the Turkish name is different from the Latin transcription (eg / Pyla / Pile). In the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , road signs are usually displayed only in Turkish. In Croatia , several municipalities in the region of Istria are officially bilingual, especially in coastal areas and hinterland close (including Pula , Porec , Rovinj and Umag ). Signage location, direction and street name is normally displayed in two forms Croatian and Italian. Responsibility or not to adopt bilingual signage is up to each municipality. This lack of standardization at the national level creates large variations in the display from one place to another, sometimes within the same county, with results that are not always satisfactory, both aesthetically and practically. As in the case of Slovenia , the signs in Italian in bilingual municipalities in the rest of Croatian Istria is often darker, and sometimes incomplete. Among others, the display direction is only in Croatian (without exception), even where one goes to a city with an Italian name. Outside of bilingual municipalities, the display is only in Croatian, even for directional signs to bilingual communes (eg "Rovinj," rather than "Rovinj / Rovigno). Most micro-names and additional information are posted in Croatia, especially in the hinterland. At Rijeka and Dalmatia , signage is only in Croatian, despite the presence of Italian-speaking minority. In Spain , the regions are those officially bilingual language Catalan ( Catalonia , Valencia and Balearic Islands ), those of language Basque ( Basque Autonomous Community and part of the Foral Community of Navarre ) and the language of Galicia ( Galicia ). According to Article 2.3.5 of the standard 8.1-IC on the Road Signs (Instruccin Carreteras) from the Spanish Ministry of Transport (Ministerio de Fomento) with the order n.1798 of 28 December 1999 : In the Autonomous Communities have a language other than Castilian , proper names of populated places, provinces and geographical locations should always be written in the official form of the name (in the local language or in bilingual form). Where there is no official form of the name in local language or local official that the shape differs greatly from that listed on the official map of roads (Mapa Oficial de Carreteras), it will display the place name in the regional language, followed by a slash "/" and of the name in Castilian. In the case of a text on two lines, the local version will be posted at the top and the Castilian version below, separated by a horizontal line. There is no typographical distinction between the two languages. The use of names in a foreign language is permitted. The names of neighboring countries are only written in Castilian Spanish, except in cases of bilateral agreement. Common names follow the same rules as proper names, but when possible, they should be replaced by pictograms. Under Article 128 of the General Rules of the movement , approved by Royal Decree n. 1428 of 21 November 2003 , the texts additional signs must be posted in Castilian Spanish and then in the local language, although often other narratives (slo bus Desvo provisional, rea de servicios) appear that Castilian. In Catalonia , toponymy has been fully converted into Catalan with some exceptions in major cities where since 1992 only the names officially prevails Catalan (Girona, Lleida, etc..). So the signal location and direction is not really bilingual, but rather is displayed only in Catalan. In the Valencian Community , toponymy bilingual Spanish / Catalan was officially introduced, but the directional signs displayed mostly text and Spanish names. In the case of bilingual signs, both versions use the same lettering, with the top Spanish and Catalan below. Within the Comarca of Val d'Aran (Occitan) the names were displayed in Occitan. In the Basque Autonomous Community , the signs are mixed with old monolingual Spanish directional signs (and more rarely in Spanish / Basque), as well as new signs bilingual Basque / Spanish, and where those installed by local authorities use Graphics are very different. Small municipalities have meanwhile converted their names in Basque (as was also the provinces of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa). The main city, for its part - taking into account the problems of readability of the Basque toponymy - keep the bilingualism (in the single form, that apply to Vitoria-Gasteiz and Donostia-San Sebastin or with the dual designation in both official languages). Despite this, additional texts are often shown only in Spanish. In recent years, the Basque regional government has launched an initiative to ensure greater consistency in the visual and textual bilingual signage, both road and tourism. The standard provides: the use of capital letters for proper names of regions, districts and communes, the use of lowercase letters for common names and services; generalization of bilingual texts Basque (top) and Spanish ( below) with the same visual appearance for both languages, the use of symbols and icons easy to understand in cases where an indication is transcribed only in Basque. Since 1998 in Galicia , the official place names has been converted entirely into Galician (A Corua, Ourense, etc..). Indications of direction are not bilingual but monolingual. In Finland , about 6% of the population speaks Swedish. This country has one of Europe's most advanced laws on language. The cities of Finland can be formally speaking Finnish , Swedish or bilingual. The categories are established as follows: In cities classified as bilingual, primarily in the region of Ostrobothnia and along the southwest coast of the country (including Helsinki (Helsingfors) ), the official place names is usually displayed in two forms Finnish / Swedish and all signage is Bilingual (including motorways). The majority of the common language is listed above, the minority language at the bottom of the panel. In the archipelago of islands in the land and municipal continental Korsns , Larsmo and Nrpes , Swedish is the sole official language. It is the only displayed in signage. North of the nation, in Lapland , the location information is displayed either in Finnish or in one or other of the Sami languages spoken in the region. In Britain , bilingual signage is used in Wales and the north-west of Scotland. In addition, the City of Dover uses a signaling bilingual English / French and a display km / miles along the main routes leading to the Channel Tunnel. Britain still uses the measurement system in Anglo-Saxon road signs, although the metric system is now official. In Scotland , since 1997 , a Scottish Names Act allows local governments of the Hebrides and Highlands to use both languages in signage. The information is displayed in two forms bilingual Gaelic top (green) and English at the bottom (black) with lettering of equal size. In Wales , bilingual signs English / Welsh is used throughout, both for the designation of sites for information and direction in the horizontal road signs (example: SLOW / ARAF). The display usually uses the same typeface for both versions, regardless of size or color. Various local information (street names, etc..) Shall not be displayed in English. Road network, priority given to either of these languages depends on the choice made by the body that owns the road. Usually in the southern region, the indications are displayed in order English / Welsh, while north about Welsh and English is preferred. In various municipalities in the north, the official place names and street names are in Welsh only. In Jersey as in Guernsey , there are bilingual signs in English and French. The old language of the funds Norman has not disappeared despite the dominance of English. Jersey and Guernsey regularly host the festival Rouaisouns. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a major British English colonization has made English the language most spoken Islands, Jersey relegating the status of minority languages. The English language is now official, the French language is official for certain ceremonies and legal documentation (see French of Jersey ), but the language commonly used by a minority of the population is a Norman dialect: the Jersey. States of Jersey have relaunched their learning at school. In Guernsey , the Guernsey , Guernsey Norman language is still spoken by a minority of the population. Multilingual signage, usually in English and French, sometimes also includes a version in Guernsey. BBC radio broadcasts occasionally broadcasts in Guernsey, as in the "feast of the mayor" (literally "Day of the Sea"). The Greek does not have an officially bilingual area such as language but Greek uses its own alphabet , the panels usually include a transcription in Latin characters or in English (on the same panel as the Greek text, and then on a second panel). To accentuate the difference between the two versions, the Greek texts are usually in yellow, and the others are white. In the case of panels on a white background, all text is black. The information is not transcribed in Latin script. Signage in rural areas usually display only the Greek version. In Ireland , the bilingual Irish / English is official throughout the national territory, even if the local language is spoken only in a limited area to the west coast of the island (officially named the Gaeltacht ). The signs are bilingual signs in all cases using the same format as those of Great Britain. The warning signs are American-style yellow parallelogram. To better distinguish the two versions, the Irish are still indications listed in italic lowercase lettering at the top of the panel, and the signs are in English below, in uppercase lettering. On older boards, the order is the same but the Irish version is in uppercase characters Celtic. In the area Gaeltacht , since 2005 the process of converting the signal is going to keep only the Irish text. In Northern Ireland is not official bilingualism. Two languages are recognized as regional languages: Irish and Scots. You can find bilingual signage or trilingual in the circumstances and the willingness of the authorities. In Italy , Article 125 of the Regulations implementing the rules of the road ( 16 December 1992 ) provides the ability to use signage in more than one language in areas officially bilingual, but to ensure readability, it is stated that "no sign shall contain text in more than two languages." In the vertical road traffic signs should be used with specially designed panels display multiple lines. Law No. 214 of 1August 2003 incorporates the highway code article 37 point 2-bis, which gives local agencies the authority to use "panels geographical location at the borders of municipalities using the regional language, and more those displaying the name in Italian. " Law No. 482 of 15 December 1999 (Standards for protection of historical linguistic minorities) includes measures of protection and exploitation of 'culture populations Albanian , Catalan , German , Greek , Slovenian and Croatian , and those speaking the French , Franco-Provencal , Friulian , Ladin , Occitan and Sardinian. " It also provides in article 10 that "... in addition to the official names, local councils can adopt names conform to local traditions and customs." The regulations pertaining (DPR n.345 of 2 May 2001 (Regulations to the Act of 15 December 1999 , n. 482) provides that within the boundaries of historical linguistic minorities, it is possible use of bilingual signs on the official signs and traffic signals, where the texts of both versions should be the same size. In Valle d'Aosta , which is effective bilingual Italian / French, the names of populated places are written on signs and destination location in the French official form. Italian translations of place names used during the Fascist period were abolished after World War II with the exception of the city of Aosta , which is the only one to retain the name bilingual (Italian Aosta). Some place names in natural places are also bilingual (such as summits, tunnels, mountain passes) like Mont-Blanc/Monte Bianco Tunnel Grand-Saint-Bernard/Traforo del Gran San Bernardo, or Col du Petit Saint- -Bernard/Colle del Piccolo San Bernardo. In municipalities Walser in the upper valley of the Lys, the situation is more complex. A -La-Trinit Gressoney and Gressoney-Saint-Jean , place names (names of villages, streams, as well as the streets of towns) have recently been updated and posted only Titsch, patois-speaking locally, thus replacing the old names in German. But the names Gressoney-Saint-Jean and Gressoney-La-Trinit present the French version only. Additional panels are trilingual, and present alternatives Italian, French and German, for example Municipio / Town Hall / Gemeindehaus, or Consiglio comunale / City Council / Gemeinderat. A Issime , the third joint Walser Aosta, people always spoke French patois alongside the original speaking, unlike the two Gressoney, or language reference was rather German. That is why the names are all shown in the double variant French / titschu (as Riccourt / Rickurt) issimois patois, but the alternative official outside the municipal area is only in French. In the valleys Occitan of Piedmont , protected by Italian law (Law 482/1999), several municipalities have erected signs in Italian and Occitan Provencal (example: Roccaforte Mondovi / Rucafuart, Caraglio / Caralh (pronounced Caraj) and Valdieri / Vaudier), although there are still discussions on the normalization of local versions of spelling and transcription Occitan Italianised local pronunciations. The territory, there are occasional bilingual directional signs. In Lombardy , Veneto ) and in the communes pimonataises administered by the Northern League , the particulars of the Highway Code have been interpreted in their broadest sense, and therefore the signs of localization include place names in local language, background brown (as for information on type of tourist standard in Article 39 of the Code). Various examples are shown in Novara (Nuara) in Busto Arsizio (Bust Grandi) at Cambiago (Cambiaghi) Biassono (Biasone) and Barlassina (Barlasna), Bergamo (Berghem) Capriate San Gervasio (Cavriat San Gervas) Seriate ( seriat), Albano Sant'Alessandro (ALBA), Trescore Balneario (Trescr) Volpino Costa (Costa ULPI) Nembro (Nember) and Albino (Albi), with results that vary widely in terms of consistency graph and spelling. Section 131 of the Code prohibits "to add the name of the locality other entries or to add a sub panel displays additional". This rule is routinely ignored, not only for local names but also for other information. In the town of Livigno , free zone at the border of Switzerland , the road signs are entirely in Italian, but the street name plates are officially and exclusively written in local dialect (a form of Lombard strongly tinged Romansch ): Piazza dal Comun, Via dala Gesa, Via Sarocha. A similar policy is in force in Venice. The naming of names of streets and squares are displayed in Venice. In the autonomous province of Bolzano , the signs are fully bilingual Italian / German. The constitutional status of the region provides in Article 11 point 2, "the obligation of bilingualism on the territory of the province and there is no significant difference between the two versions (use the same type of characters and the same size). The display includes two versions of place names on all official signs of direction and location as all other supplements to the road signs. The Italian text, followed by German, is the order used on highways and in the city of Bolzano (mostly Italian). On the rest of the (mostly German), the reverse order (German / Italian) is normally used, even on state highways, they are now administered by provincial authorities (the order was previously Italian / German when under the authority of the State Corporation ANAS, responsible for administering the national highway Italian). The use of pictograms and the presentation clear and consistent to see as much information as possible while minimizing redundancy, and complying with traffic laws and international conventions. In municipalities language Ladin in the province, the signaling is trilingual Ladin / German / Italian (despite indications of traffic) for both indications for those place names that location and direction, while the additional texts are bilingual German / Italian. The display uses the same format as in the rest of the province. On occasion, trilingual display also appears in the complementary texts. Ladin municipalities in the Autonomous Province of Trento , the signs are usually bilingual Italian / Ladin, but only for the names on signs of localization and those of destination (on road authorities). The additional texts are usually monolingual Italian In the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , the use of Friulian is officially recognized by the national Italian (Law 482/1999) and regional (regional law n. 15). This language is used in the instructions for locating 40% of municipalities. Road network of the province of Udine , a project is underway to convert the signs of leadership in bilingual (Italian / Friulian). In the province of Pordenone , along the border with the province of Udine, several municipalities have set up panels of location (start / end populated places) bilingual (eg Poffabro / Pofavri in the town of Frisanco ). The additional texts are however written in Italian only. Also in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in the provinces of Trieste and Gorizia , signage visible in bilingual municipalities Carso / Kras displays the double form Italian / Slovenian , given the presence of a minority protected by international agreements (for Example: Opicina / Opine). Location bilingual signage Italian-Slovenian (sometimes in a local variant) is also visible on the local roads in the province of Udine in the region of valleys Natisone / Nedike sinkhole (also called Veneto Slovenian) in the municipalities around of San Pietro al Natisone. In Sardinia , the use of language Sardinian is officially recognized by Italian law 482/1999, and by the regional law n. 26 of 1997. However, in the absence of standardized names and a spelling unified, no action has been taken either with the ANAS (Italian National Society of road management) or by administering the provincial road network Regional. At the local administrative level, however, many municipalities post signs on their roads location and direction bilingual (Italian / Sardinian), but with very mixed results. Alghero , Catalan in Alghero town of about 42,000 inhabitants, situated in the province of Sassari , acts as a linguistic island: 60% of the population still speaks Catalan old and somewhat Italianate, the algurois. This language is recognized as a minority language, while teaching and facilitating its use in official documents of the city. The names of the historical center of the city is displayed in two forms bilingual (Italian / Catalan). At Tempio Pausania / Tempiu and Luogosanto / Locusantu, signs marking the boundaries of population centers include language version galluraise , smaller than the Italian version. The Province of Nuoro , in contrast, installs panels start and end of populated places with only the Sardinian version of the name (in addition to those already existing in Italian), in thirty municipalities including Siniscola / Thiniscole, Ottana / Otzana, Posada / Pasada and loculi / locule, as prescribed by law regional n.26/97. In Ancona , near the port, the signage is bilingual (Italian / Greek ), given the numerous exchanges with Greece. In Calabria , in the country of Bova Marina, signage is bilingual (Italian / Greek) and some road "Grecanico" (a kind of Greek spoken by the inhabitants of the city). In Sicily , in the province of Palermo , there are signs bilingual (Italian / Albanian ) both inside and around the town as Piana degli Albanesi. The island of Malta is officially bilingual ( English / Maltese ). Road signs are, however, monolingual. She uses the English text, while the names are displayed in the local name Maltese. The Netherlands , in Friesland province , language Frisian enjoys special protection. The official name of the province was changed to Provinsje Frysln in 1997. Several municipalities have also changed their official name to use the place name in local language. The road signs used on roads and highways, however, is displayed only version Dutch , while the signs marking the boundaries of population centers are often double bilingual version. In recent years, there are also signs bilinguels at the entrance of some settlements in the province of Limburg. His dialect, the Limburg , was recognized as a regional language since 1997. At the center of the city of Maastricht , there are street signs bilinguels. In Poland , bilingual signage is used in the area of language Kashubian in Pomerania and Upper Silesia germanophone. It is limited to locating information and applied only in municipalities where the minority group represents at least 20% of the total population. In Upper Silesia, 28 municipalities satisfied this criterion. The Portuguese has two official languages, Portuguese and Mirandese. Mirandese is a language which has 15,000 speakers in Portugal, the District of Bragana. In the Czech Republic in the region of esk Tn , road signs and place names appear in two forms, using the languages Czech and Polish. In Slovenia , the coastal region of Istria is officially bilingual. Almost all signaling the location, direction and street name and the information appears in the dual form ( Slovene / Italian ). Italian texts, however, are often smaller and less visible than those in Slovenian. In addition, panels of directions to cities and countries that appear Slovenian, at least when they are not bilingual municipalities. When away from the coast of Istria, the Slovenian signal becomes exclusively, even in the case of directional signs indicating the common name officially bilingual (eg Koper will be displayed in the Slovenian form only and not the double version Koper / Koper). A bilingual zone Slovenian / Hungarian is present in the district of Lendava / Lendva. the language of Iran is Persian and Arabic alphabet, so Iran is using English for foreign drivers. In major urban areas of Saudi Arabia , the Qatar and UAE , the road network has a modern Western-style signage / European, as the standard British. The official language is the Arabic but the indications are displayed with the transcript in English, using the Latin alphabet. The order of vertical display presents the Arabic text at the top, and English transcript directly below. In the case of horizontal display, note that the order used is English / Arabic (for Arabic reads from right to left). The two versions differ much from each other, using the alphabets clearly different. A very large number of regional languages are spoken in China , but the use of a writing by sinograms , not based on pronunciation, but rather on the meaning, allows the same text to be readable in linguistically diverse contexts, which eliminates the need for bilingual signage. However, with the development of international trade and increasing motorization of the country, including indications of panels transliterated into Latin alphabet are increasingly frequent on main routes of major Chinese cities ( Shanghai , Beijing , ...). The lack of standardization of this second form in signaling, however, creates certain variations in the names of municipalities, the text is fully transcribed in standard phonetic ( pinyin ) or only the place names are transcribed, the other words are translated into English; sometimes the place names are translated into the common designation in English. This situation also occurs in the names of streets of a big city, where you can find several successive changes (eg Qiao / Bridge, Jie / Street, Wangfujing Dajie / Wangfujing Avenue, Xizang Zhonglu / Central Xizang Rd , Xinjiekou Waidajie / Outer Xinjiekou St.). The lack of fluency in spelling in Latin characters adds to the confusion. The development of a formal standard to eliminate this problem is one of the objectives set by the authorities, as part of preparations for the Summer Olympics of 2008 India In India , where 23 languages are recognized, the administrative language is English, and signs are often bilingual, combining the regional language and English. At Pondicherry , French is superimposed on bilingual signs Tamil / English. Some street signs have kept the French name, dating back to the counter of the French East India Company. The Indonesia is a multilingual country, the diglossia is a general situation. Plates of street names in both bilingual and two writing systems (local and Latin) appeared in regions with a tradition of their own writing: Bali ( Balinese alphabet ), Central Java ( Javanese script ), southern Celebes ( Lontar alphabet ). This movement accelerated in the new context of regional autonomy in Indonesia. In Israel , signaling usually displays the information in Hebrew and Arabic and then English. The Japan has very few bilingual regions: Military Base U.S. to Okinawa and the areas of language Ainu. However, since Japan uses a single write to him , the indications are usually transcribed into Latin script (or in English when it comes to texts rather than names). In New Zealand , the official languages are the English and Mori (spoken by only 4% of the population). The various levels of governments and utilities are in the process of developing a bilingual signs and names. However, the side of the road, attempting instead to limit the use of bilingualism, ostensibly to ensure better readability of road signs. Signaling remains monolingual English in most cases. She is bilingual until around the major points of cultural interest. In Russia , as in many other countries not using the Latin alphabet , the signaling information on the main routes and in tourist areas is usually displayed in the double version of the Cyrillic alphabet with romanization. Multilingual signage policy is usually displayed in major transit centers, even within the territories traditionally monolingual. Not standardized, these panels come in many forms: Safety signs should comply with the guidance contained in ISO 7010:2003 . However, the existence of different norms and standards in each country which can not maintain such a high degree of homogeneity in the display. The ISO standard provides for the use of symbols , possibly accompanied by brief texts transcribed in the national language. These texts are sometimes displayed in two forms, including a second version (in English or the language spoken by a minority often present at the scene). For example, in areas American workers in high-density Hispanic , safety signs are normally displayed in English and Spanish (the use of pictograms is not very widespread). Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia
Belgium
Canada
Official languages
Native American Languages
France
Alsace
Aquitaine
Britain
Corsica
Roussillon
Occitan
Overseas Departments
Switzerland
Road signs bilingual elsewhere in Europe
Albania
Germany
Austria
Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro
Cyprus
Croatia
Spain
Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands
Autonomous Community of the Basque Country
Galicia
Finland
Britain
Scotland
Wales
Channel Islands
Jersey
Guernsey
Greece
Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Northern Ireland
Italy
Val d'Aosta
Additional signage at the Val d'Aosta has a peculiarity: it is not harmonized, sometimes there are both Italian and French versions, especially outside the city of Aosta, and sometimes only in Italian or French. The streets aostoises all have a double variant, while in other municipalities we can find an Italian version, or French, often bilingual. The indications and signs on the national and regional roads are almost always in Italian, they rarely are bilingual, while the Val d'Aosta motorway section of the A5 , from Pont-Saint-Martin at Courmayeur , is perfectly bilingual. Piedmont
Veneto and Lombardy
Alto Adige
Trentino
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Sardinia
Other regions
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Czech Republic
Slovenia
Iran
Road signs bilingual elsewhere
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates
China and Taiwan
Indonesia
Israel
Japan
New Zealand
Russia
Signaling multilingual policy and security
Safety Signs
See also
Related articles
External Links
References
Loading ...