The aim of this thesis is to present the importance of the linguistic landscape for the Slovene community in Klagenfurt, and the status of the Slovene language in this area, through an analysis of the presence of Slovene on public signs. The first, theoretical part of the thesis presents the historical context of the Slovenian minority in Austrian Carinthia. This timeline extends from the time of the Habsburg Monarchy through to present-day status of Slovene as an official language, and as used by topographical markings, educational institutions, associations and organisations. The concept of the ‘linguistic landscape’, as one of the more contemporary approaches to the study of bilingual and multilingual environments, is then presented. The benefits of this approach are then discussed, including how analysing the linguistic landscape helps to address language policy issues, especially in the light of minority protection; provides information on the sociolinguistic construction of the settlement area; and acts as an indicator of the ethnolinguistic vitality of a community. The linguistic landscape then constitutes the central research approach adopted in the second, empirical part of the thesis. Through an analysis of 320 photographs of monolingual, bilingual and multilingual public signs featuring Slovene across Klagenfurt, this thesis analyses the presence of the Slovene language in the city, the type of signs, their origin, and their visual appearance. Conclusions are then drawn regarding the status of Slovene and the Slovene community in society, about attitudes towards the Slovene language and the extent to which the use of the language is encouraged, and regarding the contexts in which Slovene is a functional language.
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