Foreign Language Influence: A Case Study of English on Shop Signs in Taif City of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study investigates the presence of English as the business language in Taif, Saudi Arabia. It also explores the influence and familiarity of English in the business sector. Linguistic landscape of 162 photos of commercial shops and interview of seven shop owners were employed to analyze the language use of shop signs in the Taif market. The study results were classified into three major categories, bilingual, transliteration and monolingual signs. The research has revealed that English is used as a prestigious language that is necessary to attract customers. However, Arabic presence is inevitably needed because of the linguistic background of the customers. The study concluded that in relation to the extent of using English in shop signs, and the frequent use of English words, whether on the bilingual signs or the transliteration ones, there is a need of policy formulation and implementation for lexical assimilation of borrowed words of English.

Full text

International Journal of English Linguistics; Vol. 13, No. 1; 2023
ISSN 1923-869X E-ISSN 1923-8703
Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education
105
Foreign Language Influence: A Case Study of English on Shop Signs
in Taif City of Saudi Arabia
Jalal Almathkuri1
1 English Language Centre, Taif University, Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Correspondence: Jalal Almathkuri, English Language Centre, Taif University, Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Received: May 17, 2022 Accepted: August 31, 2022 Online Published: January 16, 2023
doi:10.5539/ijel.v13n1p105 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v13n1p105
Abstract
This study investigates the presence of English as the business language in Taif, Saudi Arabia. It also explores
the influence and familiarity of English in the business sector. Linguistic landscape of 162 photos of commercial
shops and interview of seven shop owners were employed to analyze the language use of shop signs in the Taif
market. The study results were classified into three major categories, bilingual, transliteration and monolingual
signs. The research has revealed that English is used as a prestigious language that is necessary to attract
customers. However, Arabic presence is inevitably needed because of the linguistic background of the customers.
The study concluded that in relation to the extent of using English in shop signs, and the frequent use of English
words, whether on the bilingual signs or the transliteration ones, there is a need of policy formulation and
implementation for lexical assimilation of borrowed words of English.
Keywords: linguistic landscape, shop signs, business language, Taif, bilingualism
1. Introduction
Language offers an important role in all aspects of life, including communication, whether in a monolingual or
multilingual society. English is one of the significant languages that has its presence in most societies. It includes
linguistic landscape (LL, henceforth) in which it is used to guide the non-native speakers of the local language.
Moreover, LL is an indication of people’s linguistic patterns of any society. In general, language landscapes are
sign language that is manifested on streets, signs, places and street names, shops, government buildings etc.
Landry and Bourhis (1997) defined LL as the “Language visibility and excellence in public and commercial
signs in a particular area or region” (p. 23). Based on this definition, the LL studies focus on analyzing all
written materials of the physical space of a particular place. As Landry and Bourhis’ definition is too broad, other
scholars tried to determine what to be and not to be included in LL. For example, in his definition of the LL,
Bakhaus (2007) highlighted the size of the sign that it is an LL, whether small as a sticker or a large one as a
billboard and considered the transliterated signs as multilingual ones. Similarly, Ben-Rafael et al. (2006)
language visibility and excellence in public and commercial signs in a particular area or region.
Moreover, shop signs are the clear manifestation of semantic landscape of any locality. It helps measuring the
linguistic choice of both the owners and the customers. Furthermore, symbol is an important object in LL. It is a
sentence that describes information, warnings, instructions, etc. necessary to guide you to a specific place
(Backhaus, 2007). More specifically, according to Landry and Bourhis (1997) or as termed by Ben-Rafael et al.
(2006), signs of LL are frequently divided into two categories: private and government signs, bottom-up and
up-down signs. Nowadays, English occupies significant role in business communication, including LL signs. In
the business sector, signs and their projections constitute a vital area. For instance, store use signs to display the
names of the products and services that they generally offer.
In addition, it is important how the customer perceives each item on the sign, including language items. They
give them an idea of the nature and type of transactions that the store offers. Therefore, the focus will be on the
private or bottom-up signs of Taif city of Saudi Arabia. This study is the result of asynchronous analysis of Taif’s
trademark and recording the current situation and situation in English on the store name and display. Therefore,
present study investigates the influence of English in Saudi society as represented by the linguistic materials
shown on the shop signs of Taif. Based on the aim of the study, the following research questions have been
formulated:

ijel.ccsenet.org International Journal of English Linguistics Vol. 13, No. 1; 2023
106
Q1. What are the functions that are exhibited by the English language on shop signs?
Q2. Does the choice of language depend on the owner/worker in the shop?
Q3. What is the owner’s attitude towards English as a foreign language?
2. Literature Review
The language perspective has attracted the attention of scholars from different regions. They studied LL from
various aspects. For example, Jordan Amer and Obeidat (2014) investigated shop signs in Aqaba, Jordan, to find
out the influence of English on Arabic and what governs the presence of English in this context, and the attitudes
of shop owners towards using English in the business context. The outcomes showed that most store signs are
bilingual. Both Arabic and English are used. Conspicuously, the purpose of using English with Arabic is to
provide information about the products and services they offer to non-native customers. Another advantage
includes that it is associated with modernism and prestige. Shop owners indicated their positive attitudes towards
using English as it affected their businesses positively. In Jordan, Al-Naimat (2020) also investigated the
linguistic landscape that was characterized by the political discourse of the Jordanian protest on May 30, 2018.
He explored the code choice on some of the signs of protest. The study results revealed that Jordanian Arabic
language addresses the local audience, whereas English is used to manage the global audience, followed by
Chinese. While examining the non-fixed signs, the author argued that the concept of place in the linguistic
landscape disappeared from the protest scene. These are mobile signs that devote more importance to the motion
of signs in the linguistic landscape.
LL is investigated to determine the types and functions of the signs. For instance, Al-Athwary (2017) studied 755
Arabic and English bilingual signboards in the public space of Yemen. The results of using Reh’s (2004)
multilingual typeface typology have shown that language landscapes are characterized by multilingual typeface
duplication, fragmentation, duplication, and complementation strategies. In addition, Arabicized English,
glocalization, and multifunctional signs comprised the aspects of the linguistic landscape in order to promote
utilitarian objects, modernity and success. Hopkyns and van den Hoven (2021) investigated COVID-19 signage
in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The authors focused on the languages used, spacing, location, audience and sociolinguistic
implications. According to the analysis, the handmade COVID 19 signage was a single language using only
English, and the alerts created by the community were bilingual using Arabic and English.
Despite the multilingual composition of the context, Korean was used as the only third language for COVID 19
signage. Aiming to investigate the impact of tourist destinations on the use of linguistic landscapes, Hamdiyah
(2019) examined the linguistic landscape and multilingualism of Surabaya and Mojokerto’s ancient places.
Subsequently, the analysis exhibited the use of nine languages on the signs of four heritage sites, namely,
Indonesian, English, Javanese, Arabic, Dutch, Latin, Sansekerta, Chinese and Madurese. The results also
revealed six functions of the examined signs: directional, instructional, warning, names of buildings, informative
and advertising. The purpose of using a language(s) on the signs encompassed facilitating local or foreign
visitors and improving their knowledge, presenting facts and showing identity. The authors concluded that tourist
spaces did not affect cultural heritage in the use of linguistic landscapes.
Kretzer and Kaschula (2021) investigated language policy and the linguistic landscape at several South African
institutions to find the relationship between the two. The findings indicated that the schools surveyed had
different language policies and landscapes on account of frequent use of English in language policy documents,
language landscapes and mottos. In contrast, linguistic policy did not mention or define the role of languages in
the linguistic landscape of the schools. Besides abovementioned regions, the Saudi context has attracted the
attention of researchers in terms of the LL. For example, Blum (2014) studied the linguistic landscape of Jeddah
to explore the use of bilingual/multilingual typographic signage and the language hierarchy and dominance. The
study results showed that English is presented through the business identity and logo trademark followed by the
Arabic translation.
On the other hand, Arabic takes priority over English in municipal signage, including highway and street signs,
in which it appeared first then followed by the English translation. Another study dealing with the Saudi LL was
conducted by Alfaifi (2015), who investigated the linguistic landscape in Khamis Mushait in two areas, namely,
tourist destination (TD) and commercial zone (CZ). In one hand, the focus of the study, was on the usage of
English at shops, streets, poster signs. While, on the other hand, it aimed to find out whether Arabic or English
was the predominant language at the abovementioned places. The study results showed that in both locations
(TD and CZ), the Arabic language is dominant. However, English appeared to have more influence on the signs
of the CZ. The author attributed such an influence to globalisation.

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design of the
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ting bilingual
h
ave the infor
m
p
one-fifth (2
0
o
r example, o
n

, it ca
n

 is not
t
a
nd name, a
n
r
e than 20 t
h
has anything
t
Linguistics
shop sign (1)
n
for using E
n
s
”. He also sai
s
around here
”
a
ct as many cu
s
e
shop sign is
t
L
ORIST in wh
c
s,  
P
HARMACY
ows disorderi
n
sign, see Figu
r
shop sign (2)
m
ation in one
0
%) of the tot
a
n
the sign 

n
be found tha
t
t
ranslated in E
n
n
d everybody
h
ousand Saud
i
t
o do with glo
b
n
glish besides
A
d, “We want
t
”
. As for whet
h
s
tomers as we
t
o improve bu
s
ich the Arabi
c
OUD ELITE
and  

n
g error in the
r
e 5.
language an
d
a
l number of t
h

 

t it is repeate
d
nglish, see Fi
g
knows that,
a
i
riyals per
m
b
alisation, he
s
Vol. 13, No. 1;
A
rabic on the
t
o attract cust
o
h
er the reason
can. I
t
’s busi
n
s
iness by attr
a
c
name is tran
s
E
,  


 ROS
T
English trans
l
d
part is repea
t
h
e studied bili
n

, the wor
d
d
in English as
g
ure 6.
a
nd they targ
e
m
onth like do
c
s
aid ‘maybe’.
2023
sign;
o
mers
i
s for
n
ess”.
cting
s
lated


T
ERY
ation
ed in
n
gual

clear
e
t the
c
tors,

ijel.ccsenet
.
4.1.4 Frag
m
The infor
m
other lang
u
in another
8% of th
e
Figure 7;
i
the Englis
h
4.2 Transl
Transliter
a
alphabet
o
different
fr
former do
characters
constitute
s
Arabic wr
i
.
org
m
entary
m
ation is disp
l
u
age. In other
language. In
t
e
total numbe
r
i
t has the En
g
h
‘LOOK’ as
i
iteration
a
tion is a kin
d
o
r script of an
o
fr
om translatio
n
es not offer a
n
. In this stud
y
s
48.1% of the
i
tten in a Ro
m
I
n
Fig
u
l
ayed in one
l
words, the in
f
t
his study, the
f
r
. An exampl
e
g
lish translatio
n
i
t appears on t
h
Fig
u
d
of writing i
n
o
ther languag
e
n
as the latter
p
n
y meaning b
u
y
, the translit
e
total number
m
an script or E
n
Figure 8. Di
s
n
ternational Jo
u
u
re 6. An over
l
l
anguage on t
h
f
ormation is
w
f
ragmentary c
a
e
from the da
t
n
of the name
h
e right side o
f
u
re 7. A frag
m
n
which the w
r
e
. It is frequen
t
provides the
m
u
t helps the r
e
e
ration catego
r
of signs studi
e
n
glish written
i
s
tribution of s
u
u
rnal of English
110
l
apping biling
u
h
e fragmentar
y
w
ritten in one l
a
a
tegory is the
l
t
a is provided
e
and further i
n
f
the sign.
m
entary biling
u
r
iter employs
t
t
in representi
n
m
eaning of w
o
e
ader pronou
n
r
y occupies t
h
e
d, see Figure
i
n an Arabic s
c
u
bcategories
o
Linguistics
u
al shop sign
y
signs, and s
o
a
nguage but s
o
l
east among t
h
by the sign

n
formation is
u
al shop sign
t
he closest co
r
n
g names fro
m
o
rds or text in
a
n
ce such word
h
e top of the
l
1 above. Tran
s
c
ript.
o
f transliterati
o
o
me parts are
o
me of the in
f
h
e bilingual si
g



 

provided abo
u
r
responding l
e
m
one languag
a
nother langu
a
s or phrases
u
l
ist of the ma
j
s
literation on
t
o
n signs
Vol. 13, No. 1;
translated int
f
ormation is w
r
g
ns as it forms

, sho
w
u
t the shop ty
p
e
tters of a dif
f
e into anothe
r
a
ge. In contra
s
u
sing simila
r
-
s
j
or categories
t
hese signs is
e
2023
o
the
r
itten
only
w
n in
p
e by
f
erent
.
It is
t, the
ound
as it
e
ither

ijel.ccsenet
.
4.2.1 Ara
b
As clear
fr
(27%). T
h
Examples
zohoor alr
b
ased on t
h
arreef, res
p
on the spe
l
The signs
script bes
i
 -
W
with the
fl
want to at
t
translitera
t
b
usiness.
translitera
t
of custom
e
shop, esp
e
women, t
h
signs incl
u
.
org
b
ic in Roman
S
fr
om Figure 8,
h
e Arabic sho
p
of this type
eef. In Arabic
,
h
is, the words
p
ectively. It i
n
l
ling of the Ar
 
-
i
de the origin
a
W
AHED FAL
A
fl
ow”, and wh
e
t
ract Arabic s
p
t
ion of the Ar
a
Upon asking
t
ion on the si
g
e
rs they targe
t
e
cially non-A
r
h
e main custo
m
u
de  
I
n
S
cript
Arabic in R
o
p
name is wr
i
of translitera
t
,
the letter ‘l’
o
ALSHIAKA,
n
dicates that t
h
abic word rat
h
-
WAHE D FA
L
a
l Arabic na
m
A
FEL- said th
a
e
n asked whe
t
p
eakers as En
g
a
bic name usi
the shop o
w
g
n, he said: “t
o
t
, he said that
r
abic speaker
s
m
ers since En
g
EZARI 

Fig
u
Figu
r
n
ternational Jo
u
o
man script si
g
i
tten in Arabi
c
t
ion include:

o
f the definite
AlRumanah
a
h
e transliterati
o
h
er than its pr
o
L
AFEL- and

m
e of the shop
,
a
t they design
e
t
her they wan
t
g
lish attracts
t
i
ng English at
t
w
ner of 

o
imitate other
s
designing the
s
such as Pa
k
g
lish is a pres
t

  a
n
u
re 9. An Ara
b
r
e 10. An Ara
b
u
rnal of English
111
g
ns makes up
c
on these si
g

 ALS
H
article {al-} i
s
a
nd alreef are
e
o
n system fro
m
o
nunciation.

  BE
D
,
see figures
9
e
d the shop si
g
t
to attract the
t
hem the mos
t
t
racts the cust
o

  BED
O
s
. Because mo
sign in this
w
k
istanis, Filipi
n
t
igious langu
a
n
d  
K
b
ic in Roman s
b
ic in Roman
s
Linguistics
less than one
g
ns and furthe
H
IAKA, 

s
pronounced
a
e
xpected to b
e
m
Arabic into
D
OON ESSM
9
and 10 resp
e
g
n in this wa
y
non-Arabic
s
t
”. This mean
s
o
mers’ attenti
o
O
ON ESSM
a
st brand nam
e
w
ay makes it e
n
os and India
n
a
ge. Other exa
m
K
alemaat Ha
w
s
cript sign (1)
s
cript sign (2)
-third of the t
r
r transliterate
d

 AlRumana
a
ccording to t
h
e
ASHSHIAK
A
another scrip
t
show Arabic
e
ctively. The
s
y
because the
y
s
peakers, he s
a
s
that designin
o
n and ultima
t
a
bout the re
a
e
s are in Engli
s
asy for the c
u
n
s. He adds
t
m
ples of Ara
b
w
waa.
Vol. 13, No. 1;
r
ansliteration
d
in Roman s
h and 

h
e following s
o
A
, ArRumana
h
t
seems to be
b
written in R
o
s
hop owner o
f
y
“just [want]
t
a
id, “
N
o, bec
a
g the sign wi
t
t
ely improves
a
son for incl
u
s
h”. As for th
e
u
stomers to fi
n
t
hat it also at
t
b
ic in Roman
s
2023
s
igns
c
ript.


o
und;
h
and
b
ased
o
man
f

t
o go
u
se I
h
the
their
u
ding
type
d the
t
racts
s
cript

ijel.ccsenet
.
4.2.2 Eng
l
Making u
p
Arabic to
using Ara
b
not exist i
n
‘fine fair’
shop sign
English /t

Arabic, se
e
In the inte
sign this
w
design it t
h
customers
owner em
p
using Eng
l
The secon
 who
Furtherm
o
Arabic tra
n
in this cat
,
P

.
.
org
l
ish in Arabic
S
p
73% of the
English at Ta
i
b
ic script. Th
e
n
Arabic. For
is  
,
SIGNATURE

/ by the Ara
b
e Figure 11.
e
rview with th
e
w
ay—having
h
is way. As s
h
, so she convi
p
hasized the
c
l
ish, at least i
n
d interview o
n
said that it is
a
o
re, he said th
a
n
slation, 

egory are al
m
P
izza Hut 

.
I
n
S
cript
total number
o
i
f markets. O
n
e
writer used t
h
example, the
s
,
‘Fresh Juice’
is transliterat
e
b
ic combinati
o
Figu
r
e
shop owner
o
English writt
e
h
e says, writin
g
nced me”. Li
k
c
onnection be
t
n
business, has
Figu
r
n
the signs of
t
a
brand name,
a
t English wa
s

, it will
n
m
ost brand na
m

, New
n
ternational Jo
u
o
f transliterat
i
n
these signs,
t
h
e Arabic lett
e
s
ign ‘ICE-CR
E
is  

e
d as 

o
n of -tsh-; th
i
r
e 11. An Eng
l
o
f Fresh Juice
e
n in Arabic
l
g
the sign bot
h
k
e the reason
g
t
ween using E
n
a kind of pre
s
r
e 12. An Eng
l
t
his category
w
and they wan
s
essential an
d
n
ot give the s
a
m
es such as c
e
Mark 

u
rnal of English
112
i
on signs, En
g
t
he English p
r
e
rs equivalent
E
AM FACTO
R

, and ‘THE
B

, in which t
h
i
s is because
t
l
ish in Arabic
 ,
l
etters, see Fi
g
h
in Arabic an
d
g
iven by the
o
n
glish and fe
m
s
tige as custo
m
l
ish in Arabic
w
as conducted
t to attract cu
s
d
dominated t
h
a
me meaning
i
e
ntre point 


, motherc
a
Linguistics
g
lish in Arabi
c
r
onunciation
o
s or the close
s
R
Y’ is translit
e
B
ODY SHOP
’
h
e English /g/
t
hese two En
g
script sign (1)
he was asked
g
ure 12. He
s
d
English is so
m
o
wner of BE
D
m
ale custome
r
m
ers prefer, es
p
script sign (2)
with the own
e
s
tomers from
a
h
e scene in ce
r
i
n this context

,
L
a
re  ,
R
c
signs indicat
e
o
f the shop na
m
s
t ones if the
E
e
rated into 

’
is  

is represente
d
g
lish sounds
a
about the rea
s
s
aid, “My da
u
m
ething prefe
r
D
OON ESSM
s
r
s. This streng
t
p
ecially femal
e
e
r of THE BO
D
a
ll regions: Ar
a
r
tain contexts,
, see Figure 1
3
L
ifestyle 
R
EDTAG 
Vol. 13, No. 1;
e
the preferen
m
e is translit
e
E
nglish sound

- 


. Moreove
r
d
by Arabic /
d

a
re not availa
b
s
on he design
e
u
ghter asked
m
r
able by the f
e
s
hop, Fresh J
u
t
hens the vie
w
e
s.
D
Y SHOP 

a
bs and non-
A
and if they u
s
3
. Rest of the
, Do
m
 and To
y
2023
c
e of
rated
does

 ,
r
, the

/ and
b
le in
d the
m
e to
e
male
u
ice’s
w
that


A
rabs.
s
e the
signs
m
ino’s
y
sRus

ijel.ccsenet
.
4.3 Mono
l
Monoling
u
categories
monoling
u
of foreig
n
means the
In the inte
r
that it is a
for custo
m
expensive
.
5. Discus
s
The stud
y
linguistic
i
the busin
e
that what
language
h
increasing
Moreover
,
Tai f p er ce
i
they can
a
(2014), w
h
services t
h
modernis
m
The seco
n
Having di
signs (48.
1
second ca
t
simultane
o
(5.6%). L
e
.
org
l
ingual Signs:
E
u
al signs are
. It constitute
u
al shop signs
n
language, E
n
signs on whi
c
r
view with th
e
new style to
u
m
ers, he said t
h
.
TOP30 shop
s
ion
y
aimed to in
v
i
tems used on
e
ss sector. Th
e
functions are
h
as a strong
ly present in
,
an increase i
n
i
ve those bran
a
fford to buy
h
o discovere
d
h
ey offer to
n
m
and prestige
.
n
d research qu
e
vided the sho
p
1
%) are foun
d
t
egory accord
i
o
usly. The las
t
e
t alone the
m
I
n
Figu
r
E
nglish Only
the last maj
o
s only 5.6%
are excluded
f
n
glish in this
c
c
h English is
o
e
shop owner
o
u
se English r
a
h
at it might n
o
sign is shown
Fig
u
v
estigate the
i
shop signs. It
e
curren
t
stud
y
exhibited by
t
influence in
t
everyday lif
e
n
familiarity
w
ds as a symbo
the products
w
d
that English
n
on-native cus
t
.
e
stion encom
p
p
signs into t
h
d
under the tr
a
i
ng to the fre
q
t
category in
t
m
onolingual A
r
n
ternational Jo
u
r
e 13. An Eng
l
o
r category
w
of the total
n
f
rom this stud
y
c
ase, on the
s
o
nly used. Ex
a
o
f ‘TOP30’, h
e
a
ther than Ara
b
o
t attract low-i
n
in Figure 14.
u
re 14. An En
g
i
nfluence of
E
also explored
y
formulated t
h
t
he English l
a
t
he business
s
e
because cu
s
w
ith foreign b
r
l of great pres
w
illingly. Thi
s
was used by
t
omers. Besid
p
asses that do
e
h
ree major ca
a
nsliteration c
a
q
uency is the
b
t
his classifica
t
r
abic signs th
a
u
rnal of English
113
l
ish in Arabic
w
hich is also
n
umber of th
e
y
since the ce
n
s
hop signs m
a
a
mples of this
e
was asked w
h
b
ic and using
E
n
come custo
m
g
lish monolin
g
E
nglish on th
e
the degree to
h
ree research
a
nguage on sh
s
ector as it i
s
s
tomers are s
u
r
ands also im
p
tige and weal
t
s
result is co
n
shopkeepers
t
d
es, advantage
e
s the choice
o
tegories acco
r
a
tegory. The s
c
b
ilingual sign
s
t
ion is the mo
n
a
t have not be
e
Linguistics
script sign (3)
the least nu
m
e
signs studie
d
n
tral theme of
a
terials. There
f
category incl
u
h
y he designe
d
E
nglish is “
p
r
e
m
ers because
p
g
ual shop sign
e
business se
c
which Englis
h
questions. Th
e
op signs? Th
e
s
a means to
u
bjected to t
h
p
roves the eco
n
t
h. It values th
n
sistent with
t
t
o provide inf
o
of using En
g
o
f language d
e
r
ding to the li
n
c
ript of one l
a
s
(46.3%), w
h
n
olingual sig
n
e
n selected fo
r
m
ber of signs
d
. As mentio
n
the current st
u
f
ore, the cate
g
u
de ‘ProoF’,
A
d
the shop sig
n
e
stigious and
g
p
eople think t
h
c
tor of Taif,
r
h
is spread an
d
e
first researc
h
e
study result
s
have access
t
h
e influence
o
n
omic conditi
o
em more than
t
he results of
A
o
rmation abo
u
g
lish is that it
e
pend on the
o
n
guistic item
s
a
nguage repre
s
h
ere English a
n
n
s in which o
n
r
analysis in a
Vol. 13, No. 1;
among the
m
n
ed earlier,
A
u
dy is the infl
u
g
ory ‘monoli
n
A
didas, and T
O
n
this way; “h
e
g
lobal as well
”
h
at brand nam
e
r
epresented b
y
d
the role it pl
a
h
question en
t
s
show that fo
t
o various cu
l
o
f foreign i
m
o
ns as the loc
a
the local bra
n
A
mer and O
b
u
t the product
s
is associated
o
wner in the
s
s
, about half
o
s
ents the othe
r
n
d Arabic are
n
ly English is
ccordance wi
t
2023
m
ajor
rabic
u
ence
n
gual’
O
P30.
e
said
”
. As
e
s are
y
the
a
ys in
t
ailed
r
eign
l
tures
ages.
a
ls of
n
ds as
b
eidat
s
and
with
s
hop?
o
f the
.
The
used
used
h
the

ijel.ccsenet.org International Journal of English Linguistics Vol. 13, No. 1; 2023
114
aim of the study, the major category is transliteration under which English in Arabic script made up 73% of this
category which means that although English names are there, Arabic seems to be inevitably required for the
customers, a reason for which the Arabic script is shown on these signs to facilitate the customers.
On the other hand, English is necessary for the business sector to attract non-Arabic speakers’ attention, as
indicated by some shop owners whom the researcher interviewed and some of the local customers, especially
women who liked English as they believed it was a prestigious language. This result of the study is similar to the
findings of a study conducted by Alfaifi (2015), who found that in tourist destinations and commercial zone, the
Arabic language is dominant. In contrast, English appeared to have more influence on the signs of the
commercial zone. This attribution is influenced by the impact of globalization. Thus, it is concluded that the
choice of language was hinged on the owner in the shop as business sector perceived English as dominant
language.
Answering the last research question, what is the owner’s attitude towards English as a foreign language? The
study found that some shop owners used English to attract foreign customers’ attention. Other shop owners
stated that they used Arabic and English because the latter is associated with prestige, modernization, and looks
fancy. To sum, English language received a positive attitude as it improves their businesses. This finding is
similar to a study conducted by Blum (2014), who found that English was used by shop owners more often as it
became a symbol of business identity.
6. Conclusion and Recommendation
This research focusses to investigate the influence of English on the business sector of Taif, represented by the
linguistic items used on shop signs, to find out the degree to which English is spread and the role it plays in the
business sector. The frequent use of English words, either on the bilingual signs or the transliteration ones,
advocates that English is dominating commercial zones in Taif, Saudi Arabia. Moreover, English as foreign
language has gained popularity and familiarity in the Saudi society. However, there is a need of policy
formulation and implementation in order to adapt English for the lexical assimilation of borrowed or
transliterated words under the local Saudi Arabic linguistic system used in the city. Further research on the role
of English in road signs, signs, local newspapers, and television and radio programs are recommended to provide
an overview of the existence of these foreign languages in Taif, Saudi Arabia.
7. Study Limitation
The study did not investigate monolingual Arabic signs for analysis.
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