The local political economy of languages in a Sami tourism destination: Authenticity and mobility in the labelling of souvenirs: Authenticity and mobility in the labelling of souvenirs

Helen Kelly Holmes, Sari Pietikäinen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In this article we use ethnographic and discourse analytic approaches to examine how the labelling of tourist souvenirs affects, and is in turn affected by, the local political economy of language of a tourist destination, which is also a minority language space. We begin by arguing for the importance of our particular focus of study, souvenir labels, in the process of global and local tourism, and consequently as evidence of the interplay of languages, politics and economics. We then consider the distinctive features of the local political economy of language in our particular case study, the multilingual Sámi village of Inari in Northern Finland. In a related discussion, we describe how Inari functions as a site of experiential cultural tourism, and how the purchase of souvenirs is part of the tourist experience. We then go on to describe a number of practices that we have observed in the choice and use of linguistic and visual resources for the labelling of souvenirs in Inari, the delicate balancing act that takes place in these practices between authenticity and mobility, and how this reflects and is reflected in the local political economy of language.

Original languageEnglish (Ireland)
Pages (from-to)323-346
Number of pages24
JournalJournal of Sociolinguistics
Volume15
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2011

Keywords

  • Authenticity
  • Local political economy of language
  • Mobility
  • Multimodal discourse
  • Sámi
  • Souvenirs
  • Tourism

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