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A good bilingual pun on this Tel Aviv sign, proclaiming "Off Market" in English, but referring to poultry in Hebrew (with a logo to match) #LinguisticLandscape #bilingual_humor

First time I've seen this one: Electronic noticeboard for the new light rail line in Jerusalem (L3) offers an estimate of about seven minutes for arrival of the train after next. If you're going to guesstimate, why bother posting a schedule at all? #LRT #LinguisticLandscape

Challenging Aristotelian logic in a department store: The top sign offers "Cold drinks" while the bottom sign counters with "The drinks are not cold" #LinguisticLandscape #Paradox #SchroedingersDrinks

Nope. ("Wohl Rose Garden" is not named after Wohl Rose, regardless of the Arabic version of the sign) ##LinguisticLandscape #translation_fails

Finally completed the #PhD journey, with a dissertation focusing on workplace communication between Jews and Arabs in colleges. Hope to share some results in the future... #Linguistics #Sociolinguistics

A lot to unpack in this "Nablus Road" / "Shekhem Road" sign from East Jerusalem, such as the choice to write "Shkhem" in English rather than Nablus, and the puzzling "Street St." or "Road St." in all three languages #LinguisticLandscape #linguistics

"Welcome" in Hebrew, Arabic, English (twice!), Russian, French, Greek... how many languages can you spot? Taken at the entrance to the train station in Jerusalem #multilingualism #Langsky #LinguisticLandscape

Poster (in Hebrew) protesting against erasure of women in the public space. "Here was erased a woman in the public space" reads the heading, adding that "Her history can't be erased." Featured in the poster: Poet Leah Goldberg #LinguisticLandscape

"Bro, recycle me": This cardboard box comes with a Hebrew caption urging people to recycle, and taking a familiar, solidarity tone. Does that increase the chance of recycling? Your guess is as good as mine #LinguisticLandscape #linguistics

Spotted this airborne song in central Jerusalem last month (a prime example of "top-down" linguistic landscape, heh heh). Hebrew readers will recognize the lyrics as Naomi Shemer's "Jerusalem of Gold". Best viewed from a bird's-eye perspective! #LinguisticLandscape

Another "old vs. new" comparison, after the revamp of street signs in Jerusalem: There was an improvement in the last name of the street sign (Klein rather than Klayn), but I find the apostrophe in "Shmu'el" unnecessary, making it unwieldy rather than easier to read ##Jerusalem #LinguisticLandscape

Another good one, this time from the First Station in Jerusalem: Check out the English text from the visitor center poster. Would you say it's a museum-level translation? Seriously, would you actually come out and say it?? #LinguisticLandscape #translation_fails #LLM_fails

I guess once you put up so many municipal street signs in Jerusalem, a few mistakes are inevitable, but this one goes a bit too far (Hebrew and English: Tsidkiyahu; Arabic: Yehuda??) #LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics #translation_fails

Always interesting, this time Elon Gilad tackles the word "ashkara" and its journey from Persian through Arabic to modern Hebrew, and the variations in meaning from "clearly, obviously," to "totally, surprisingly" www.instagram.com/reel/DUlB9e4... #Linguistics #Langsky

One-word roadside art in Hebrew: "ḥubaqti" = I was embraced. Spotted in the Jerusalem hills #LinguisticLandscape

Delighted to learn that a puzzle or jigsaw is known in Spanish as "rompecabezas," or head-breaker. If this is indeed in usage (not just in DuoLingo), I find it both excellent and easily memorable #Langsky #Spanish

Rabinovich Park, perhaps. Or Rabinovitch. Even Rabinowitz. But "Rabinoviz" is a new one for me... The park, a Jerusalem landmark, is also known as the "Mifletzet" (Monster) Park, after Niki de St. Phalle's "Golem" sculpture/triple slide #LinguisticLandscape #transliteration_fails #StreetArt

On the occasion of #HebrewLanguageDay, a shoutout to all those who speak and appreciate the language. Take a word like "Tov" (good), for example, which can be found in the Bible (Genesis 1:4) but also in modern-day graffiti (below: "Most people are good") #LinguisticLandscape #langsky

In the Old City of Jerusalem, street signs show greater variation between the languages - more translation, not just transliteration. For St. James Street, the Hebrew offers "James ha-qadosh" (the saint), while the Arabic equivalent is "al-qadis Yaqub" #trilingual #LinguisticLandscape #linguistics

Happy World Arabic Language Day to all those who use and appreciate Arabic! أطيب التهاني بمناسبة اليوم العالمي للغة العربية #Arabic #Langsky

Does this rhyme in your dialect? I think the a in "pasta" would have to be pronounced as in "past" to make it work (captured at a Jerusalem pasta eatery) #LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics

"[L]inguistics is uniquely positioned to teach us both about what all humans share and what makes cultures and individuals distinct" @adamcschembri.bsky.social expressed it so nicely, read more here: www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/ho...

Over time, I have become more aware of language in public spaces, and evolved a more accepting attitude towards code-switching/translanguaging at home. That's one takeaway for me from #sociolinguistics: How has linguistics changed your attitude towards everyday language? #WorldLinguisticsDay

"Gingy burgers": The Hebrew "gingi" for redhead appears to be derived from UK English "ginger"; I wonder if there are similar derivatives in other languages. The Portuguese "dindi" (as in the Jobim song) appears to be, alas, an unrelated term of endearment #LinguisticLandscape #Langsky #Linguistics

A lot to unpack in this billboard featuring an ad for yogurt, from the prominent English-in-Hebrew letters ("Save the date") to the emotional language ("come and rejoice with mango and banana"). C'mon, it's just a fruit-flavored yogurt, not a family wedding #AdSpeak #LinguisticLandscape #Foodscape

From the mistaken "Amamya" in Arabic to the gratuitous apostrophe in English, this "Amatzya" street sign needs an overhaul #LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics #Transliteration_fails

See under: hyperbole: For the start of the academic year, the municipality invites people to "Study in the center of the galaxy". While medieval maps cast Jerusalem as the center of the world, this takes it to a whole new level #LinguisticLandscape #AdSpeak

This sign I spotted at Lindos (Rhodes) is an interesting example of nominally bilingual signage that in practice, highlights the English and backgrounds the Greek. It's pretty clear who needs guidance for getting around the (lovely) town... #LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics #Langsky #Greece

Sometimes municipal signage does change for the better: After the #Jerusalem municipality revamped their signs in the city center, the Arabic on this "Sukkat Shalom" sign looks much improved, compared to the older, incorrect "Iskat Shalom" version #Diachronic #LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics

When icons leave the digital world and appear in real life... not clear to me what the message is here though (beyond "we're digitally literate") #LinguisticLandscape #Eilat #StreetArt

This howler in Google Maps ("Hose San Martin") is probably the result of an unfortunate transliteration from Hebrew, but that's still no excuse. I assume this was meant to be José de San Martín St. #transliteration_fails #DigitalLL

Pesach is traditionally a season for holiday-oriented ad copy; here, a play on words between Hebrew/Aramaic phrase for "on one hand-on the other" (meḥad gisa-me'idach gisa) and Had Gadya liturgical song. All that is supposed to whet one's appetite for tuna fish... #Linguistics #Langsky #DigitalLL

And this is why diacritics matter: Hebrew: New (referring to new traffic light) English: New Arabic: Iron ("ḥadid" rather than "jadid") #LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics #translation_fails

No man is an island: What do you do when Hebrew street name already has a perfectly good spelling in English, but pronunciation is different? 2 signs, 2 solutions (IMO, writing "Island" doesn't work here, should just write "Iceland") #Linguistics #LinguisticLandscape #Langsky #transliteration_fails

Never hurts to remind people of this

Two nearby signs leading to the Jerusalem Zoo Road ("Gan Hahayot Rd) show just how messed up Arabic signage can be- one has "darb" as road, but the other offers "min khilal" since Hebrew derech can also mean "through." cf. Latin "via" #Linguistics #LinguisticLandscape #langsky #translation_fails

Gotta watch out for those specious penthouses #translation_fails #LinguisticLandscape

Happy World Arabic Language Day to all those who speak, learn or appreciate the language! #WorldArabicLanguageDay أطيب التهاني بمناسبة أليوم العالمي للغة العربية

This sounds wonderful, an exhibit of imagined books; hope it includes a copy of A History of Love, referenced in the Nicole Krauss book of the same name

This café demonstrates the adding of Hebrew vowels to signs in English characters: here, two ḥiriqs and a pataḥ (to make it even clearer how to read "Michali's"). As @aharoni.bsky.social explains, it can also give a sense of familiarity to the Hebrew reader #LinguisticLandscape #linguistics #langsky

An interesting addition to the #LinguisticLandscape in Jerusalem: it looks like sign language but one ISL informant was unable to make sense of it. So just performative, or perhaps another sign language? Input welcome #Linguistics #Langsky

Any institution that's willing to make my kids more literate, and asks for only enthusiasm in return, is OK in my book 📚 #SupportYourLibrary