Abstract
This study analyzes the linguistic landscape (LL) of culinary business signs on Jalan Belibis, Air Tawar Barat, Padang City. The study addresses two main objectives: (1) to identify the patterns of language combination used on culinary business signs, drawing on the theory of Cenoz and Gorter (2006), and (2) to determine the functions of the linguistic landscape embedded in these signs, based on the theoretical framework of Landry and Bourhis (1997). Research data comprised 76 culinary business signs, collected through observation and photographic documentation. The results indicate that language usage patterns on culinary signs on Jalan Belibis were predominantly monolingual, accounting for 58% (44 data points), followed by bilingual patterns at 38% (29 data points), and multilingual patterns at 4% (3 data points). Regarding specific language combinations, the use of Indonesian (BI) alone was the most dominant (53.94%), followed by the Indonesian-English (BI-BIng) combination at 25.00%, and the Indonesian-Minangkabau (BI-BM) combination at 7.89%. An analysis of sign functions reveals that all signs (100%) served informative and economic purposes, primarily to identify commercial spaces and product types. Concurrently, symbolic functions were observed in 42.11% of the data, representing modernity and the prestige associated with foreign languages (particularly English). Cultural functions were evident in 34.21% of the data, signifying the preservation of Minangkabau ethnic identity as a marker of local cuisine authenticity. The linguistic landscape in this area thus reflects the sociolinguistic dynamics of an urban region where globalization (English), national policy (Indonesian), and local loyalty (Minangkabau) converge.
References
Artawa, K., Mulyanah, A., Atmawati, D., Paramarta, I. M. S., Satyawati, M. S., & Purnawati, K. W. (2023). Language choice and multilingualism on restaurant signs: A linguistic landscape analysis. International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 11(3), 258–271. https://doi.org/10.22034/ijscl.2023.2007382.3106
Ayyub, S., et al. (2024). The linguistic landscape of Kotabaru Malang Train Station. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 11(1), 2389633. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2024.2389633
Backhaus, P. (2006). Multilingualism in Tokyo: A look into the linguistic landscape. International Journal of Multilingualism, 3(1), 52–66.
Ben-Rafael, E., Shohamy, E., Amara, M. H., & Trumper-Hecht, N. (2006). Linguistic landscape as symbolic construction of the public space: The case of Israel. International Journal of Multilingualism, 3(1), 7–30.
Benu, N. N., Sudarmanto, B. A., Wahyuni, T., Susilastri, D., Rosita, E., Mahmud, A., & Yono, S. (2025). The culinary linguistic landscape of Kupang City, Indonesia: Unraveling identity through sign boards. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 12(1), 2449735. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2449735
Blackwood, R. (2017). Introduction: Methodology in linguistic landscape research. Linguistic Landscape, 3(3), 221–225.
Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2006). Linguistic Landscape and Minority Languages. International Journal of Multilingualism, 3(1), 67-80.
Landry, R., & Bourhis, R. Y. (1997). Linguistic landscape and ethnolinguistic vitality: An empirical study. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 16(1), 23–49.
Leimgruber, J. R. E., et al. (2021). Language attitudes and identity building in the linguistic landscape. Open Linguistics, 7(1), 406–422.
Li, W. (2026). A study on the linguistic landscape of international public communities. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 13, Article 6986. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-06986-7
Piller, I. (2003). Advertising as a site of language contact. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 23, 170–183.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Sarah Junyanti Vefa, Agustina Agustina, Muhammad Adek (Author)