Multilingualism and the Mobility of Languages on Signs at the Railways in the Western Cape

The main aim of this paper was to explore the languages used for messages displayed on signs at the
public railways in the Western Cape, South Africa for their functional and symbolic value. A further
aim was to explore the mobility of languages on these signs across official and non-official spaces in
the public domain. This type of investigation entailed consideration of signs displayed at railway
stations, in passenger trains and on other railway infrastructure. An ethnographic approach was used
for the collection of data. Data were analysed using mixed-methods comprising descriptive statistics,
supplemented with a multimodal analysis of signs. The key findings reveal the extent to which
multilingualism and multiculturalism are reflected in the languages used on signs at the railways.
Furthermore, the findings reveal the interplay between power relations, symbolic value, identity and
vitality of languages on signs results in a somewhat limited display of multilingualism. Consequently,
the linguistic reality at the railways does not accurately reflect the aims of the language policies of the
Western Cape nor that of South Africa, in terms of promoting multilingualism in all spheres of life. As
anticipated, the findings confirm that English is the preferred language of wider communication and is
the dominant language on both official and non-official signs at the railways. The paper identifies
practical policy implications and offers suggestions which may contribute towards improving the
mobility of linguistic resources on signs at the railways in the Western Cape.