Formal and Informal Signs: The value of vehicle signages during the 2020 pandemic
Formal and Informal Signs
The value of vehicle signages during the 2020 pandemic
By Matthew Jacob F. Ramos
ABSTRACT
This study aims to explore how people prioritize between formal and informal public signs during the time of the 2020 pandemic and how each of these signages have gained or lost authority. This research will focus on travel during the pandemic; specifically a narrow route between Loyola Heights, Katipunan, Quezon City to Buendia Avenue, Makati in hopes that this transit remains indicative of commuting within the major Metro Manila area. This route was defined due to restrictions in travel during the period. A larger sample size remains possible and there may be references to places outside the route but in the name of safety, this paper will stick to the venue mentioned above. Lastly, the paper covers a period from June to December 2020.
INTRODUCTION
Perhaps one of the more significant effects that the SARS Cov-2 virus (COVID-19) has had on the Philippine linguistic landscape was the quick adoption of new official signs manifested in response to the pandemic and the forms these signs took on. On March 16, 2020, the lockdown that the Philippine government had declared around Metro Manila and many metropolitan areas throughout the country had finally gone into effect. Businesses were put on hold. The traffic that had dominated so much of life around the capital had vanished overnight. Essential goods like food and water that had been fought over the night before trickled out of groceries and markets thanks to a limited permission system. Those others not considered to be essential workers who still worked during the crisis did so from home.
This was the case for us during the three months that followed—a period of time known as the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). Isolation worked in our favor as limited travel cut down on transport expenses and commute times were nonexistent. We reported back to work, however, in June and by then the restrictions surrounding the quarantine had softened. Still, the idea of public travel in the midst of an outbreak that was without cure or vaccine was still seen as a risk.
To mitigate infection as people returned to travel and to show a semblance of order, the government encouraged companies still in operation to perform their own precautionary measures. This included but was not limited to: social distancing, regular fomite cleaning, and limited personnel travel. Similar instructions were disseminated to the public in the form of signages posted on transportation and public areas of access. As people returned to work, the signages that they had familiarized before the mass quarantine had been given renewed meaning while others lost value entirely under the new context.
To gain a better understanding of this shift in meaning, this paper means to address how exactly pre-COVID signages appear or fare in the new linguistic landscape and what new signs have been set up to compliment—or in some cases, superimpose—over these pre-COVID signs. We will also address how these signs have been produced, placed, and how both producer and commuter interact with them.
TERMINOLOGY
When discussing signages, it is important to define which kinds/types of signs in particular should be focused on as the term alone can appear broad. Signs themselves come in all shapes and forms, and their contents vary wildly. These may range from wooden shop signs advertising a specific product or government signs that direct traffic. They may even include modern media with smartphones, tablets, and laptops acting as frames for transient signs. (Gorter)
In this paper, however, we will be limiting ourselves to what I’d like to call “Pre-COVID” and “Post-COVID” signs on public transport. These include all signs on taxis, buses, jeeps, and trains before and after March 16, 2020. I would also like to differentiate between what I’d like to call “formal” and “informal” signs. In this context, formal signs address the signs created using materials that had to be planned out beforehand. These may include billboards, airbrushed or painted signs on the side of vehicles, and large painted signs—often on tarpaulin or large stickers. Informal signs, on the other hand, were clearly rushed into creation and may take the form of printed paper that had been stuck to the backs of windshields. They may be laminated or handwritten but their clear differentiating characteristic is how temporary they appear when compared to the other signs in their immediate surroundings.
As we shall see in the commute going forward, both of these signs are represented in the vehicles operating throughout the pandemic. What we would like to address, however, is the value or “premium” for each type of sign and how they’re interacted with.
TESTIMONIAL & FRAMEWORK
To get a comprehensive understanding of the linguistic landscape within this route, we must first understand the indexability of signs permeating our surroundings (Scollon and Scollon). This allows sociologists and linguists to understand systems of social positioning and relationships of power by establishing a sign’s/signs’ “interaction order”, “visual semiotics”, and the recently coined “‘place’ semiotics.”
We begin this commute by first describing what Goffman calls the “interaction order.”
“This is an indexability provided by the configuration of social interactions within any given social scene.”
A typical day on our ascribed route goes as follows: The first signs appear on the elevator of the residential building. Three notices taped to the cabin’s farside talked specifically about safety protocols and the most recent COVID-19 cases within the area. These messages had been up here—unchanged—for a little over five months now. Long gone were the monthly rules against sweeping trash into the hallways and chastising those homeowners who disposed their cigarette butts outside windows. It was often the case that in some places after the quarantine had struck, notices remained untouched.
Image 1. Informal sign on taxi side door window
I had arranged a personal pickup point with the bus driver at the nearest intersection of Aurora boulevard and Katipunan avenue—still a two-block walk away from where I began. Most of the vehicles that trailed past me as I made my way there were privately owned, with barely a sign on their windshields beyond that of Pre-COVID signs like baby stickers or license plates. The few taxis searching for passengers did have pieces of paper taped to their windows. These, unlike those on private vehicles, were impromptu and quickly put together. One read: “No face mask, no ride” in large block letters. This contrasted the litany of other signages painted on the taxi’s flank, indicating brand, services, and contact information. Despite the haphazard nature of the signage, one could make the argument that passengers were likely to prioritize the details on this stickied sheet of paper over the other details present. (Image 1)
Image 2. Post-COVID signs on the entrances of buses
More signages of similar content appeared as I came by Aurora. Here, the influx of traffic allowed for a wider variety of on-vehicle signs. For public transportation, signs that directly addressed the pandemic were placed in accessible spaces for commuters; places like entrances and windshields; prioritizing the constant wearing of masks and face shields. Other signs indirectly addressed the pandemic in their own ways. The physical handling of cash being deemed unsanitary, most public transports, like buses, advertised contactless payment via Beep loading, which required tapping an RFID card to a scanner. It was an elegant system that had been rushed into usage as seen by the laminated posters hung from the vehicle’s windows. (Image 2)
Image 3. Informal signs on the windshield, on the side closest to waiting pedestrians
The bus I frequented, however, used no such system. Our company had chartered a fleet of buses from the Worthy Transport corporation, coopting them from routes that had previously ran through Baclaran and Fairview. Now they serviced a dedicated manifest of employees, with our particular bus taking the Aurora to Buendia Ave route. The old route remained plastered over the vehicle’s forehead, sometimes misleading other commuters who were unaware of the change. The “true” signage can be found at its lower left windscreen; a printed sheet of paper with a large “30” indicating its route and the logo of the company that had rented it. Other hired buses even had their signages obstructing the original labels in an attempt to gain the proper attention. It was a simple and eye-catching exercise. (Image 4 and 5)
Image 4 and 5. Left, Post-COVID signs superimposing Pre-COVID sign. Right, a handwritten Pre-COVID sign.
The bus arrives at a timely 6:05 AM. I greet the driver good morning, board the bus, and continue on.
Once inside, another set of stickied signages become my next priority: the seat numbers. These were clearly not new additions as these too were printed out on paper that had been stuck to the headrest of every other seat and covered with a clean sheet of plastic. This layer wrapped around the entire bench and was also done in the name of public safety, as the alternating placement of numbers allowed people to remain a seat’s length apart from each other. A wider berth would mean less passenger capacity and therefore a further loss in revenue for the bus company. This balancing act between economy and safety continues to act as a driving force for signages throughout the entire quarantine period. (Image 6 and 7)
The bus continues its drive down Aurora, picking up more passengers in their designated rendezvous points. By the time we reach the South Super Highway, most of the employees are already onboard. By 7:10 AM, we’re outside the office building in Makati and we disembark.
Image 6 and 7. Informal signs found in the interior of the Shuttle 30 bus.
One thing that should be pointed out, however, are the number of non-employee commuters who attempt to hail the bus so they can climb aboard. This is due to a misunderstanding of the remaining signages of the bus’ prior route before the pandemic still emblazoned to the vehicle’s exterior. It’s much easier to see these older signs than the smaller signs of the bus’ repurposing so these misunderstandings are inevitable.
The ride home by 5PM in the afternoon follows a similar interaction order and visual semiotics as that of the morning but with less passengers than that of the morning. Similarly, non-employee commuters still attempt to hail the bus and hitch a ride—only to be turned away by either spotting the smaller new signages or the driver waves them away.
METHODOLOGY
To get a clearer picture of the difference in linguistic landscapes, a comparison has been provided in Table 1.
Table 1. Hierarchy of information as determined by the interaction order
Here, we see the main differences in visual semiotics as well as how both classes of signages compare in the new pandemic setting. There is an odd distinction for Post-COVID signs on vehicles: despite being smaller, less formal, and fewer than Pre-COVID signs, they are given more value by commuters. In some cases, Pre-COVID signs lose their value completely because the newer signs block them entirely.
When interviewed, drivers responded to the production of their signs as being more of a necessity of speed rather than aesthetics.The official declarations mandated by the government regarding the state of quarantine were highly anticipated but equally sudden. Organizations had to act quickly in order to communicate details that were most essential to travelers.
In Thom Hueber’s “Bangkok’s Linguistic Landscape: Environment Print, Codemixing, and Language Change'', Thom notes how the production of signages can influence the visibility of authority in linguistic landscapes. Signs that are well done have more value. The opposite is true during the pandemic as the citizens inherently understand when to dismiss signs that lose context during the state of emergency. (Hueber)
In terms of each message’s content, these new signages follow what Landry and Richard Bourghis describe as an “Informational Function.” In this case, these signs relay pertinent information regarding rules of entry, hygiene, seating placements, and safety tips. (Landry) The majority group with the power to enforce these rules are those of the government and the corporations whose vehicles are allowed on public roads.
Lastly, it should be noted that this expression of authority is solely written in English and ties into what Peter Backhaus discusses in his paper “Multilingualism in Tokyo: A Look into the Linguistic Landscape.” He mentions that the enforcement of majority and minority languages in signs relates directly with the power structures currently in place. Because the current power structures favor English to disseminate information, the majority of signs on public vehicles are also in English (Backhaus).
Table 2.1 Commuters during June 2020
Table 2.2 Commuters during July 2020
Table 2.3 Commuters during August 2020
Table 2.4 Commuters during September 2020
Table 2.5 Commuters during October 2020
Table 2.6 Commuters during Novemberr 2020
Table 2.7 Commuters during December 2020
These second set of tables show us the efficacy of Post-COVID/informal signs to both designated employees and random commuters who happen to spot the Route 30 bus. Because employees can count on the timely arrival of the bus, they are better prepared to greet it during its scheduled intervals. Random commuters must chance upon the bus along the designated route.
Another notable trend is that there appear to be fewer random commuters who approach the bus at night. This can be explained through an axis of visibility; signs written on sheets of paper are harder to read at night than their much larger pre-COVID signs.
Most interesting, however, is a diminishing rate of employee passengers as months proceeded towards December. Upon questioning, passengers explained that this downturn may be due to a laxing of traffic restrictions during the pandemic, allowing some commuters to use less limited forms of transport such as private vehicles.
FINAL INSIGHTS AND CONCLUSION
Comparing the qualitative and quantitative findings of this study, it is clear that the surge in informal Post-COVID vehicle signs have established a certain premium or value above Pre-COVID vehicle signs during the later half of 2020. Formal signs created before the pandemic are largely ignored in favor of more pertinent information. This points to the government and functional businesses as the source of power and authority while people commute through the quarantine.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Backhaus, Peter. “Multilingualism in Tokyo: A Look into the Linguistic Landscape.” International Journal of Multilingualism, vol. 3, no. 1, 2006, pp. 52–66., doi:10.1080/14790710608668385.
“Geosemiotics.” Discourses in Place: Language in the Material World, by Ron Scollon and Suzanne B. K. Scollon, Routledge, 2003, pp. 1–24.
Gorter, Durk. “Linguistic Landscapes in a Multilingual World.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, vol. 33, 2013, pp. 190–212., doi:10.1017/s0267190513000020.
Hueber, Thom. “Bangkok's Linguistic Landscape: Environmental Print, Codemixing, and Language Change.” Linguistic Landscape: New Approach to Multilingualism, by Durk Gorter, Multilingual Matters, 2006, pp. 31–51.
Landry, Rodrigue, and Richard Y. Bourhis. “Linguistic Landscape and Ethnolinguistic Vitality.” Journal of Language and Social Psychology, vol. 16, no. 1, 1997, pp. 23–49., doi:10.1177/0261927x970161002.
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