Urban Skywalk as a Communication Space for Promoting Mental Health: A Linguistic Landscape Analysis
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Visual linguistic public space as one multimodal platform has been extensively popularized to proliferate grassroot movements. And although, community markings are ubiquitously situated in the Philippines, scientific studies with lens on their contents and relevance are still inadequate in number. An urban skywalk in Cebu City, Philippines, characterized with unique linguistic marks was used as the subject material in this study. The said public infrastructure encompasses linguistic features conveying mental health, one of the most discreet and yet disquieting societal concerns in these latter days. The study is anchored on the frameworks of Systemic Functional Linguistic Model, Social Semiotics, and Multimodality. The data are described and presented based on Discourse Analysis Method and Qualitative- descriptive Approach. Findings do not only reveal the intention and quality of the meaning-making processes behind the linguistic markings in the subject public space. The textual, interpersonal, and ideational functions also unveil the identities and socio-cultural attitudes of its producers and recipients.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright
Connexion: Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences has an exclusive right to publish the accepted articles in any form. However, the author retains the following rights:
1. The right to the ownership of the article;
2. The right to use all or part of the article in his/her other works;
3. The right to re-produce the article for personal use or for use in the author’s organisation, in which case the author must obtain permission from Connexion: Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences;
4. The right to make copies of all or part of the work for educational use or for the author’s use in classroom teaching; and
5. The right to include the work (both the preprinted and printed versions) in an institutional repository.
References
Beautrais, A. (2009) Removing bridge barriers stimulates suicides: An unfortunate natural experiment, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 43, pp. 495-497. doi: 10.1080/00048670902873714
Bell, A. (1997) ‘Language style as audience design’, in N. Coupland & A. Jaworski (Eds.), Sociolinguistics: A reader and coursebook (pp. 240-249), Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Brody, J. (2017, March 27) A positive outlook may be good for your health, Available: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/well/live/positive-thinking-may-improve-health-and-extend-life.html [25 January 2022]
Casarella, J. (2021, April 21) Types of mental illness, Available: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-types-illness [19 December 2021]
Dattani, S., Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2018, April) Mental health, Available: https://ourworldindata.org/mental-health [20 January 2022]
Ferreira, N. (2019, May) Color psychology: How color meaning affect your brand, Available: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/color-psychology-color-meanings [11 December 2021]
Friedman, E. (2008, July 2) Inside the mind of a suicide jumper, Available: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=5294404&page=1 [5 December 2021]
Halliday, M. A. K. (1978) Language as social semiotic: The social interpretation of language and meaning, London: Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1985) Introduction to functional grammar, London: E. Arnold.
Hodge, R., & Kress, G. (1988) Social semiotics, Cambridge: Polity Press in association with Basil Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Holly, C. (2014) Scholarly inquiry and the DNP capstone, New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Jaworski, A., & Thurlow, C. (editors). (2010) Semiotic landscapes: Language, image, space, London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Kelly, D. (2019, February 8) The psychology of color — Yellow David Kelly David Kelly Feb 8, 2019·3 min read, Available: https://medium.com/@davidkellyuph/the-psychology-of-color-yellow-fc9420cf2ff7 [19 December 2021]
Klein, A. (2020, July 2) Loneliness and depression: What’s the connection?, Available: https://www.healthline.com/health/loneliness-and-depression [5 December 2021]
Kooy, M., & Hulshof, H. (2010) ‘Teacher preparation in mother tongue education’, in P. Peterson, E. Baker & B. McGaw (Eds.), International encyclopedia of education, 3rd edition, pp. 738-743, Cambridge, MA: Elsevier Academic Press.
Kress, G. (2009) ‘Where meaning is the issue’, in Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to contemporary communication, London: Routledge.
Lally, J., Samaniego, R. M., & Tully, J. (2019) Mental health legislation in the Philippines: Philippine Mental Health Act, BJPsych International, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 65-67. doi: 10.1192/bji.2018.33
Landry, R., & Bourhis, Y. (1997) Linguistic landscape and ethnolinguistic vitality: An empirical study,
Journal of Language and Social Psychology, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 23-49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X970161002
Lawson, B. (2001) The language of space, Oxford: Architectural Press.
Long, J. (2019) ‘Semiotic study of English text’, in Z. P. Ma & Q. Kang (Eds.), Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on Innovation and Education, Law and Social Sciences (IELSS 2019), Netherlands: Atlantis Press.
Lundberg, A. (2020) Color meanings and the art of using color symbolism, Available: https://99designs.com/blog/tips/color-meanings/ [19 December 2021]
Maravilla, N. M. A. T., & Tan, M. J. T. (2021) Philippine mental health act: Just an act? a call to look into the bi-directionality of mental health and economy, Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 12. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.706483
Mclntosh, J. (2016, June 6) Anxiety disorders 'most common among women and young adults', Available: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/310736 [20 January 2022]
Merez, A., & Eugenio, A. (2021, March 17) Suicides in Philippines climb to record high in Covid year 2020, Available: https://www.reportr.world/news/suicides-increased-by-over-25-percent-in-covid-year-2020-a4736-20210317 [29 January 2022]
Multimodality (Kress). (2022) Available: https://learning-theories.com/multimodality-kress.html [12 January 2022]
Protas, A. (1997) Dictionary of symbolism, Available: http://websites.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/index.html [9 December 2021]
Press Trust of India. (2022, January 26) Unable to get phone for online studies, Maharashtra girl dies by suicide: Report, Available: https://www.ndtv.com/cities/unable-to-get-phone-for-online-studies-maharashtra-girl-dies-by-suicide-report-2729403 [29 January 2022]
Psychology of the pink colour (2021). (2021, April 21) Available: https://thecolor.blog/psychology-of-the-pink-colour/ [11 December 2021]
Raypole, C. (2020, June 24) How to craft and use affirmations for anxiety, Available: https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/affirmations-for-anxiety [22 January 2022]
Rockwell, D. (2018, March) The hidden ways stairs shape your life, Available: https://www.ted.com/talks/david_rockwell_the_hidden_ways_stairs_shape_your_life/transcript [9 January 2022]
Santos, J., Sabino, A., Duane, C., Mallari, J. K. C., Eusebio, M. & Gonzales, P. (2019, January 21) The effects of color coded words on memory retention, Available: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3438889 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3438889 [11 December 2021]
Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. W. (2003) Discourse in place: Language in the material world, London: Routledge.
Scott, E. (2020, September 30) How positive thinking impacts your stress level, Available: https://www.verywellmind.com/how-does-positive-thinking-impact-your-stress-level-3144711 [22 January 2022]
Smith, K. (2019) Color symbolism and meaning of color, Available: https://www.sensationalcolor.com/meaning-of-yellow/ [11 December 2021]
Stairway to Accessibility: the History and Symbolism of Stairs. (2019, October 5) Available: https://medium.com/@theindustrialhistorian/stairway-to-accessibility-the-history-and-symbolism-of-stairs-cc446ceea5c1 [9 January 2022]
Stannah. (2019, February 15) The history of stairs: From fascinating architecture to access barriers, Available: https://blog.stannah.ie/society/history-of-stairs/#:~:text= Symbolically% 2C%20staircases%20can%20suggest%20a,negative%2C%20confusing %2C% 20or%20depressing [9 January 2022]
Starr, M. (2013, June 25) 'Bridge of Life' projects messages to prevent suicides, Available: https://www.cnet.com/news/bridge-of-life-projects-messages-to-prevent-suicides/ [26 January 2022]
Stress: 10 Ways to Ease Stress. (2022) Available: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/ 8133-stress-10-ways-to-ease-stress#:~:text=Taking%20the%20time%20to%20relax,muscle%20relaxation%2C%20and %20mindfulness%20meditation [22 January 2022]
Tawag Paglaum - Centro Bisaya. (n.d.) Available: https://www.therapyroute.com/therapist/tawag-paglaumcentro-bisaya-philippines-ph [9 December 2021]
The Importance of a Positive Mental Attitude. (2019) Available: https://www.purerecoveryca.com/ the-importance-of-a-positive-mental-attitude/ [22 January 2022]
Theories, L. (2020). Multimodality (Kress) Available: https://www.learning-theories.com/ multimodality-kress.html#:~:text=Models%20%E2%80%A2%200-,Summary%3A%20Multimodality%20is%20a%20theory%20which%20looks%20at%20how%20people,(which%20are%20many%20modes) [19 December 2021]
Un, J. (2022, January 27) The significance of the linguistic markings on Cebu City Skywalk (J. Aharul, Interviewer)
Van Dijk, T. A. (2001) 'Critical discourse analysis', in D. Tannen, D. Schiffrin, & H. Hamilton (Eds.), Handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 352-371), Oxford: Blackwell.
Van Leeuwen, T. (2005) Introducing social semiotics, London: Routledge.
Wales, K. (2001) A dictionary of stylistics, Harlow: Longman.
Wiginton, K. (2020, January 21) What is Alogia (poverty of speech)?, Available: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-alogia [22 January 2022]
World Health Organization (WHO). (2002) World report on violence and health: Summary, Geneva: World Health Organization.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2007) WHO-aims report on mental health systems in the Philippines, Available: https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/philippines_who_aims_report.pdf [20 January 2022]
World Health Organization (WHO). (2019, November 28) Mental disorders, Available: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders [20 January 2022]
World Health Organization (WHO). (2020, August 27) World mental health day: An opportunity to kick-start a massive scale-up in investment in mental health, Available: https://www.who.int/news/item/27-08-2020-world-mental-health-day-an-opportunity-to-kick-start-a-massive-scale-up-in-investment-in-mental-health [5 December 2021]