When signs speak: a linguistic landscape of Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, UiTM Shah Alam

This study investigates the linguistic landscape (LL) of Akademi Pengajian Bahasa (APB), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam, focusing on how language use and text composition reflect institutional priorities and inclusivity. APB is a key faculty offering courses in Bahasa Melayu (BM) or Malay language, English, Arabic, and other languages, yet questions remain on whether its signage embodies the faculty’s nature. Using a mixed-methods design, the study documented 174 signs in APB. Semi-structured interviews conducted with students provided insights into readers’ perceptions of the faculty’s LL. Findings revealed that APB’s LL is dominated by monolingual signs with 68%. Among bilingual and multilingual signs text composition, partial translation, with BM and English, was the most prevalent. Other languages taught and offered by the faculty were almost entirely absent, despite their curricular significance. The students, during the interview, agreed that the signs do not really reflect the focus of the faculty and they believed that the language courses offered should be reflected in the faculty’s LL. From the findings it could also be concluded that LL of the faculty does not promote other languages besides BM and English. This could be due to the fact that more than 95% of the students in the faculty comprise of local students whose native language is BM and are able to understand English. However, given the fact that the faculty focuses on language courses, it should realise the potential of promoting the use of the languages it offers in its linguistic landscape.

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