The Linguistic Landscape of Brunei Darussalam: Minority Languages and the Threshold of Literacy

This article looks at the role and meaning of street signs in Brunei Darussalam, a Southeast Asian country, with a focus on minority languages. The linguistic landscape of one of the main streets in the capital of Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, has been analyzed. What is immediately noticeable is a high level of diversity, with three languages in common use (Malay, English and, to a lesser extent, Chinese), written in three different scripts (Roman, Arabic and Chinese characters). Minority languages other than Chinese, on the other hand, are absent from the linguistic landscape. This is due to various factors, including the low status of the languages, the absence of literary traditions and the lack of literacy of their speakers. The presence of Chinese, conversely, can be attributed to factors such as the high prestige of the language, its literary tradition, its usefulness and its being used in its many varieties by millions of people in the world, both in countries where it is the official language and in countries where it is not. English, on the other hand, plays a very interesting role as a language super partes, accepted and fostered by both the people and the government.