Full Description
This book opens readers' eyes to something they see all the time but take for granted: street signs. It is a portrait of the signs on modern English streets: what they look like, who and what they are for, how they link to English history and how they form part of life in multilingual England today. It describes how their shapes, materials, letters, vocabulary, and grammar differ from other forms of written English, using a framework based on linguistics, typography and writing systems research. It provides readable and entertaining insights into an important use of written English, illustrated with over 400 examples of street signs. The book represents a starting point for the study of street signs as an academic area in its own right.
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1. Describing Street Signs
Chapter 2. The Writing System of the Street
Chapter 3. The Language System of the Street
Chapter 4. The Material of the Street Sign
Chapter 5. Naming the Street
Chapter 6. Controlling Signs
Chapter 7. Connotations of Letter Forms in Street Signs
Chapter 8. Street Signs in Other Languages
Chapter 9. The Nature of Street Signs
References
Index
