“Nordic Cool” and writing system mimicry in global linguistic landscapes

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University of Groningen

“Nordic Cool” and writing system mimicry in global linguistic landscapes

Strandberg, Janine Astrid Elvina

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Lingua

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10.1016/j.lingua.2019.102783

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Strandberg, J. A. E. (2020). “Nordic Cool” and writing system mimicry in global linguistic landscapes.

Lingua, 235, [102783]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2019.102783

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‘‘Nordic

Cool

’’

and

writing

system

mimicry

in

global

linguistic

landscapes

Janine

A.E.

Strandberg

UniversityofGroningen,HarmonyBuilding,OudeKijkinHetJatstraat26,9712EKGroningen,TheNetherlands Received26July2019;receivedinrevisedform28November2019;accepted29November2019

Availableonline24December2019

Abstract

Fuelledbypoliticalandeconomictrendsinthe21stcentury,theconcepts‘‘NewNordic’’and‘‘NordicCool’’haveenteredtheglobal sceneindesign,cuisine,entertainment,andgenerallifestyle(Østergaardetal.,2014;SkouandMunch,2016;Andersenetal.,2019). Simultaneously,duetoglobalisation,individualstodayaresubjectedtoahighernumberoflanguagecontactsituationsthaneverbefore, inface-to-facecommunicationaswellasthroughforeignproductsandinternationaladvertisements.ThisstudyexploreshowNordic orthographicfeaturesarecapitalisedonininternationalmarketingtoelevatetheimagesofvariousbrands.Nordicwordsandgraphemes canbeusedtoevokepositiveassociationsthattheconsumermayhaverelatingtotheregion(e.g.associationsof‘nature’,‘simplicity’,or even‘luxury’),orsimplytoindexforeigness,globalism,orexclusivity(Jaworski,2015a).

Keywords: Linguisticlandscape;Globalisation;Writingsystemmimicry;Indexicality;Globalese

1. Fromlocaltogloballinguisticlandscaperesearch

Theterm linguistic landscape,whichrefersto the visibilityoflanguagesin publicspaces,wasfirst introduced to linguisticsbyLandryandBourhisin1997.Intheirstudy,thelinguisticlandscapeofanareaisdefinedbythelanguageson public road signs, advertisements, and commercial shop signs (Landry and Bourhis, 1997: 25). In practice all neighbourhoods,cities,andevenentirecountrieshavetheirownlinguisticlandscape,becauseallpublicentitiesinclude someformofwrittenlanguage.AccordingtoLandryandBourhis,thelinguisticlandscapeofaterritoryhastwoprincipal functions:aninformationalfunctionandasymbolicfunction.Thesignsinalinguisticlandscapecanserveasaterritorial markerfortheareaofalinguisticcommunity,ormaydisplaypowerdynamicsbetweentwolanguagesordialectsusedin thearea,thusprovidinganinformationalfunction(LandryandBourhis,1997:25--26).Meanwhile,bothsignsincludingand signs excluding local in-grouporminority languagesmayhave a symbolicfunction, demonstratingpublic orprivate attitudes towards certain ethnolinguistic groups (Landry and Bourhis, 1997: 25--26). As such, linguistic landscape research ishighlyrelevant forstudies in bothlanguage policyand ethnolinguistic vitality(Moriarty, 2014:458). The conceptoflinguisticlandscapeshasexpandedsociolinguisticresearchfromtheusualfocusongroupsofspeakerstoa focusonphysicalspaces,andhasthusbeenarguedtohaveimmenseinterdisciplinaryvalue,overlappingresearchin disciplines such as urban studies, social geography, psychology, and anthropological and sociological diversity (Blommaert,2013:1--2;Ben-Rafaeletal.,2010:xi).

www.elsevier.com/locate/lingua Availableonlineatwww.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect

Lingua235(2020)102783

E-mailaddress:j.a.e.strandberg@rug.nl. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2019.102783

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Thestudyoflinguisticlandscapestranscendstheofficiallanguagepoliciesofaregion:forinstance,youmayliveinan officiallymonolinguallyDutchcity,butinsomeneighbourhoodsorareasyouwillfindthatDutchisusedalongsideoreven occasionallyreplaced by other languages, such as Turkish, Arabic, or Chinese.Types ofwritten language canbe professionallyproducedroadsigns,streetandplacenames,advertisementsorbillboards,butmayalsoincludeshop signs,restaurantmenus,orevengraffiti(LandryandBourhis,1997:25;Blommaert,2013:1).Forinstance,ashopsignin alanguagedifferingfromthenationallanguagecanbeusedtosignaltopassersbywhattypeofcustomeristheexpected toentertheshop(Papen,2012:57).Assuch,linguisticlandscaperesearchprovidesimportantinformationaboutthe natureofmultilingualisminacommunity,oftenshowingamoreaccurateaccountofthesociolinguisticrealitythanofficial languagepoliciescanprovide(Moriarty,2014:457).

Inmore recent research, the term linguistic landscapehasoccasionally beenreplaced withsemioticlandscape.

JaworskiandThurlow(2010:2)arguethatreferring toasemioticlandscapeemphasises‘‘thewaywrittendiscourse interacts with other discursive modalities: visual images, nonverbal communication, architecture and the built environment.’’Additionally,thetraditionaldefinitionofalinguisticlandscapeasafixednotionbeenchallengedinrecent years,withscholarsarguingthatlinguisticlandscapesshouldbetreatedasdynamicratherthanstaticlocations(e.g.

Garvin,2010:245--255;Pietikäinenetal.,2011:280).Thelinguisticlandscapetodayisoftendefinedasageographical spacethatshouldbeinterpretedinagivenmomentintime,asthespaceisconstantlychanging,andthelanguagesand culturesinitcanconstantlyberepositioned(Garvin,2010:245--255;Moriarty,2014:457).Ratherthanfocusingonsigns inaspecificlocalspace,thisstudyobservestheuseoflinguisticmarkersassociatedwiththeNordiccountriesintheglobal linguisticlandscape.Thefocusofthestudyismainlyonmobileor‘‘un-fixed’’signs(seeSebba,2010),suchasproduct labelsandbrandlogos,butafewstaticsignsarealsodiscussed.

Foreignlanguages are oftenused in signs oradvertising due to stereotypes associatedwith speakers ofthose languages,withthoseusesfurtherenforcingsaidstereotypicalnationalidentitiesandtheconceptof‘‘thenationalOther’’ (Piller,2003:173).Thisstudyinvestigateshowcertainorthographicfeaturesareusedinproductsandmarketingtoindex specificstereotypicalsocialornationalidentities,and,byextension,thevaluesconnotatedtotheseidentitiesonaglobal level.ThepointofinterestoftheresearchistherecentriseofstereotypicalqualitiesassociatedwiththeNordiccountries, andhowlinguisticfeaturesstemmingfromNordiclanguagesareusedtoevoketheseassociationsinglobalmarkets.The studyexploresthe useofwordsorgraphemesassociatedwithNordic languagesin publicspacesandmarketing in severalcountries,exemplifyingandanalysing themethods usedtoconveya senseof‘‘Nordicness’’throughwritten language.Insuchsituationstheconsumersarenotin-groupspeakersofanyoftheNordiclanguages,butarespeakersof otherlanguageswhoareexpectedtobeattractedtoproducts,shopsorrestaurantsduetopositiveidealsassociatedwith theNordicregion.Additionally,thestudyexploreshowthe mimicryofNordiclinguisticfeaturescanbeusedtoindex globalismandexlusivityinbrandswithnootherdiscernibleNordic connection.

ItshouldbenotedthatinthisarticlethetermNordicisusedtorefercollectivelytothecountriesofSweden,Denmark, Norway,Finland,Iceland,andtheFaroeIslands,whichareusuallyconsideredtosharecommonculturalandlinguistic history.ThusthedefinitionoftheNordicsisbroaderthanthatoftheregionofScandinavia,whichtraditionallyrefersonlyto thecountriesofSweden,Denmark,andNorway,althoughthetwotermsareoftenerroneouslyusedinterchangeably.

2. Symbolicvalueoflanguage

2.1. Globallanguagehierarchyandsymbolism

Whiletraditionallinguisticlandscaperesearchcanstillbeusedtostudythelanguageusesandpoliciesoflocalised physical spaces, a large part of the language we encounter on a daily basis reaches us through some type of advertisementormarketing,whichis(usually)notcontainedwithinaspecificneighbourhoodorcity.Thistypeofsignis purposefullydesignedtoattractourattention,togiveusanassociation,andtosellusaproductoridea.Thelanguage used on a product is a crucial part of its ‘‘unique selling proposition’’ (USP); a partially or wholly symbolic ideal, communicatedthroughtheproduct'slabel,packaging,andadvertising(Kelly-Holmes,2010:478).

Manyproductlabelsand brandnames aredesigned toexplicitly communicatethe purpose,use,ororigin of the product. However, in some cases it is unimportant whether the name is linguistically relevant, correct, or even comprehensibletothetargetaudience.Instead,theassociationsbroughtonbythespecificlanguageusedcanbeamore powerfulmarketingtoolthantheliteralmeaning.Inthesecasesthenamesofproductsarenotintendedtocommunicate theexactmeaningoftheword(s)totheconsumer,butinsteadrelyonthesymbolicvalueofthelanguage(Kelly-Holmes, 2005:69).Piller(2003)statesthattheideabehindusingaforeignlanguageinadvertisingisusuallytoassociatethe productwiththeethno-culturalstereotypeaboutthecountrywherethelanguageisspoken.Theconsumer'sconnotations betweenalanguageandaspecificcountryaresucha definingaspectofthemarketingtacticthatfundamentallythe product'sactualoriginisofminorimportance(Piller,2003:175).

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PerhapsthemostobviousexamplefortheuseofaforeignlanguageinadvertisingisthewidespreaduseofEnglish. Englishiscommonlyfoundinbrandnamesandlogodesigns,evenwhenthetargetaudienceisnotnecessarilyexpected tounderstandthelanguage.AslongastheconsumerpossessessufficientknowledgeofEnglishintheirrepertoireto recognisethelanguage(seeBlommaertandBackus,2013:18--19),Englishcanbeusedinglobalmarketingtoevoke positiveassociationsofmodernityandglobalisation(Papen,2012:66).Providedthattheconsumeridentifiestheforeign formasbelongingtoaparticularlanguage,theywilltransfertheethno-culturalstereotypeaboutthegroupmostfrequently associatedwiththatlanguageontotheproduct(Piller,2003:172).Consequently,whilesignsinagivenspacecanprovide insightsintothelocallinguisticcommunity,theycanalsosimplysymbolisethevaluesoraspirationsoftheproductor businesstheyadvertise(ScollonandScollon,2003:119).

Inorderto usea foreignlanguagein advertisingtosella product,the languageinquestion hastohavepositive connotations.Thisconceptiscloselylinkedtotheideaoflanguagehierarchy.Intraditionallinguisticlandscaperesearch, theuseofdifferentlanguagesreflectstherelativepowerandstatusofthelanguageswithinthatsociolinguisticcontext, andofficialsignsintheselandscapescanprovideinsightintolocallanguagepoliciesandideologies(CenozandGorter, 2006: 67; Pietikäinen et al.,2011: 278). However, when a sign is intended to evoke positive reactions in various consumersfromcompletelydifferentculturalandlinguisticbackgrounds,themarketingtacticmayrelyonbroad,more stereotypicalassociationsrelatedtothelanguage.English,whichisspokenasaforeignlanguageoratleastrecognised inmostpartsoftheworld,hasahighpositionintheglobalhierarchyoflanguageandcanbeusedforproductnamesand advertisementsonaninternationallevel.AslongastheconsumeraudiencepossessesenoughknowledgeofEnglishin their linguisticrepertoire torecognise whena message is writtenin English, the language canbeused to activate connotationswithsymbolicvaluessuchascosmopolitanism,success,sophisticationorfun(Piller,2003:172;Leeman andModan,2010:183;CenozandGorter,2006:70).Similarly,thankstoFrenchbeautyandfashionidealshavingbeen highlyregardedthroughouthistory,theFrenchlanguagehasasubstantialsymbolicvalueandisstillfavouredonbeauty productsallovertheworld(Kelly-Holmes,2010:479--480).

ThisarticleproposesthattheNordiclanguageshaveacquiredsignificantsymbolicvalueinrecentyearsduetoan increaseinpositiveassociationsrelatingtoNorthernEurope,andthatthisshiftisvisibleinthegloballanguagehierarchy and, consequently, in international marketing. Furthermore, increasing utilisation of Nordic-languagegraphemes in internationalbrandsmayalsohaveenteredthemintotheglobalconsumerregister(i.e.globalese,seeJaworski,2015a). Assuch,Nordicortographicfeaturesmaybeusedinwordsfromotherlanguagesinordertosuggestasophisticatedor worldlyglobalconnection,inadditiontoaspecificallyNordicone.

2.2. Nordicassociations

UnlikecountriessuchasFranceandItaly,whichhavebeenstronglyassociatedwithfashionandfoodfordecadesor evencenturies,widespreadpositiveassociationsrelatedtoNordiccountriesarerelativelynew.Inthelastcenturythe globalperceptionoftheNordiccountriesabroadhasshiftedconsiderably,frombeingregardedasapoorandinsignificant regioninEuropeatthestartofthe20thcentury,tobeingconsideredoneofthemostprogressiveandhappyregionsinthe wordtoday(MusiałandChacińska,2013:289).IarguethatthisshiftisvisibleinthewaythatNordiclanguagefeaturesare usedinmarketingabroad,bydirectlyreferencingtheNordicsorsimplycreatingassociationsrelatingtotheregion.

DesignerfurniturefromNorthernEuropehasbeenmarketedgloballyas‘‘Nordic’’sincethe1950s,butithasseena newpeakofpopularityinrecentyearswith‘‘NewNordic’’andScandinavianretrodesigns,alongsidethegeneralconcept of‘‘Nordicliving’’(SkouandMunch,2016:2;Andersenetal.,2019:215).BothNordicinteriordesignandfashionhave come to be associated with positive qualities of simplicity and craftsmanship, and the conceptual aesthetics of ‘‘Nordicness’’havespreadintootherdomains(Andersenetal.,2019:216;Østergaardetal.,2014:254).Nordicfoodhas becomedefinedwithsymbolicvaluessuchas‘purity’and‘freshness’,qualitieswhich,overtime,havebecomeintrinsicto the ideaof‘‘theNordics’’(Hermansen,2012).According toSkouandMunch(2016:2),thisfascinationseemstobe ‘‘fuelledbydifferentglobal,political,andeconomictrendsandthereactualisationoftheNordicwelfarestatesashistorical rolemodels.’’

Althoughthemajoritypeopleonlyspeakorunderstandalimitednumberoflanguages,insomecasesparticularforeign expressionsandwordscanemergeas‘‘emblematicindexesofentirelanguagesandcultures’’(Järlehedetal.,2018:44). GrowinginterestinandawarenessoftheNordicshasresultedinabstractconceptssuchashyggebeingmarketedas lifestyleideologies.TheCambridgeDictionarydefineshyggeas‘‘aDanishwordforaqualityofcoziness[...]thatcomes fromdoingsimplethingsinlife’’(CambridgeDictionaryOnline).Overthelastfewyears,thisDanishconceptof‘coziness’ hastakentheworldbystorm,inspiringseverallifestylebooks,includingHygge:TheDanishArtofHappiness(Søderberg, 2016),andTheLittleBookofHygge:TheDanishWaytoLiveWell(Wiking,2016).

Asapopularconcept,hyggehasalsospreadintointernationaladvertisement.Fig.1showsthewordbeingusedinthe windowofDanishfurniturechainBoConceptin Brussels:heretheBelgianaudienceisexposedtobothEnglishand

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Danishviathehybridslogan‘‘Chooseyour#hyggemoment.’’Similarly,Andersenetal.(2019)discusstheuseofhyggeon products,forinstanceasthenameofascentedcandlefromthebrandSkandinavisk.Interestingly,althoughSkandinavisk producescandleswithnamessuchasHyggeandØy(Norwegianfor‘island’),combininglinguisticfeaturesandconcepts fromtheScandinaviancountries,theproductsaredesignedbyaBritishpersonandmadeinFrance(Andersenetal., 2019:216).ThewebsiteoftheSkandinaviskbrandalsoexemplifiesaromanticisedideaofNordicness:

‘‘Imaginea greatlandhiddenattheendofalongrockytrack.Alandpopulatedbysilentforests,silverylakes, secludedislands and mountains of snow. Where nature dominates and seasons dictate. A land larger than Germany,FranceandItalybutone-tenthofthepeople[...]Wherecommunity,consciousnessandtimelessvalues oftrust,equality,respectthrive.Whereitsinhabitantsplacethegreatestpriorityonlifebalance,onfellowship,family andfriends,andoneverydaymomentsofsharedhappiness’’.(‘About’,Skandinavisk.com)

TheSkandinavisk.comwebsitereferstotheNordicsusingafictionalidealofaserene,untouched,peacefulplaceinan otherwise hecticworld. Exclusivity and luxury issuggested through the imagery of an isolated and ‘natural’ exotic destination(Thurlow andJaworski,2010:193;seealsoThurlowandJaworski,2012;Jaworski,2019).Skandinavisk perpetuatestheideathat‘silence’and‘space’equalluxurythroughsocialexclusion(ThurlowandJaworski,2010:192), andthat,bypurchasingaproductinspiredbytheidealisedNordiclifestyle,theconsumercanbecomepartoftheglobal elite.ThisimageoftheNordicUtopiademonstratesthefascinationwith‘‘NordicCool’’(seeØstergaardetal.,2014),a positiveassociationwithexclusivitythatcanbeusedtomarketvariousproductsorevenacitivites.

AstheDanishwordhyggeisusedtosellcandlesandlifestylebooks,theSwedishwordfika,meaningto‘haveacoffee withsomething(usuallysweet)toeat’,hasalsogainedpopularity.Whilefikaisaninsignificanteverydayoccurrencefor manypeopleinSweden,ininternationalcontextsitisoftenportrayedasaluxuriousactivity.Thisisdemonstratedbyan excerptfromthewebsiteofLøvOrganic,aFrenchcompanyproducingorganictea:

‘‘Thelogicbehindfikaistobepresentinthemoment,ingreatcompany,whetherwithfamily,friendsorcolleagues. It'samomentofpurerelaxationandcomfort.Participatingcollectivelyallowsyoutotakeastepbackfromyour activities,decompress,disconnect,andrechargeyourbatteriesinatranquilenvironment.’’(‘Theperksoffikaand takingabreak’,Lov-organic.com)

Inrecentyearsthewordfikahasbeenemployedbyrestaurateursacrosstheglobe:aquicksearchontheinternet showsthattherearecafésnamedFikafromBenelux toSingapore,from theUnited KingdomtoCanada. Sincefew

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establishmentsattempttoexplainthewordinasmuchdetailasLov-organic.com,thepositiveassociationsrelatingtofika, ifnottheliteralmeaningoftheword,mustberelativelysalienttopeopleinallofthesecountries.

Asthe popularityandrecognisabilityofNordicnessbecomesgreater,fewervisualcluesarerequiredforpeopleto identifyaproductasNordicorNordic-inspired.Insomecases,theassociationcanbecreatedbyusingafullwordfroma Nordiclanguage,eveninsituationswherethetargetaudiencewouldnotunderstandtheword.Inothersituations,the namesofproductsorbusinessesmaybemadeupwordsthataresimplyintendedtolookliketheystemfromaNordic language.Quiteoften,however,thewritingsystemofoneorseveraloftheNordiclanguagesmaybemimicked,with orthographicfeaturesborrowedintootherlanguagesinordertoinspireassociationsofNordicnessorglobalism.

3. Languagemimicry

3.1. Writingsystemandtypographicmimicry

Forcertainlinguisticformstoacquiresymbolicvalueandsocialmeaning,theyfirstneedtobenoticedasoccurring withinspecificcontexts(Jaworski,2015a:229,citingJohnstone, 2013a,b).Theuseofawritingsystemorscriptisa relativelystraightforwardwayofindexingsymbolicvaluesofacertainlinguisticidentity,ifsaidwritingsystemorscriptis language-specific.InthisstudyIusethetermwritingsystem,asdefinedbyCoulmas(2003,2014),tomeanthewriting systemofanindividuallanguage,e.g.,theDutchwritingsystem.Thewritingsystemofaspecificlanguageisthuscalled orthography,whilethetermscriptisusedexclusivelyforthegraphicformoftheunitsofawritingsystem(e.g.Romanvs. Cyrillicletters)(Coulmas,2003,2014:17).

Thefocusofthisstudyistheuseofwritingsystemmimicrytoindicateaspecifictypeof‘‘foreignness.’’Coulmas(2003,

2014:17)referstothisastypographicmimicry,andstatesthatitcanbecomparedtoaccentmimicry,inwhichspeakers whohavelittleornocompetenceinaforeignlanguagecolourtheirspeechwithcertainsoundsandphoneticfeatures identifiedwiththatlanguage.Likeaccentmimicry,typographicmimicryinvolvestheuseofcertainfeaturestoindicatea specificforeignnessofatext.Thisusecanalsobereferredtoasavisualaccent(Coulmas,2003,2014:17--18).

AlthoughCoulmas(2003,2014)preferstorefertothistypeofmimicryastypographicmimicry,thisstudyfollowsthe example ofSutherland (2015:150),whohasrenameditwritingsystem mimicry. Accordingto Sutherland,the word ‘typographic’couldbereplacedby‘script’,withtypographicmimicrycoveringexamplesofmimicrysuchasfauxArabicor fauxCyrillic.However,thetermexcludesmimicryoflanguageswhichsharethesamescriptbutdifferentorthographies, suchasGermanandEnglish(Sutherland,2015:150).Therefore,Sutherland(2015:150)prefersthetermwritingsystem mimicry,definingtheconceptastheimposingofrealorimaginedfeaturesofthemimickedwritingsystemontoabase writing system, ‘‘so that the basewriting system somewhatresembles the mimicked writing system while retaining legibility.’’

Asabroaderdefinitionthantypographicmimicry,writingsystemmimicryincludesnotonlythemimicryofotherscripts, butcanbeextendedtoalllinguisticfeatures.Thetermcanthusbeusedtodescribesituationsinwhich,forinstance, product names or texts written in English have been embellished with orthographic features intended to evoke associationsrelatingtoanotherlanguageorculture.However,asJaworski(2015a)argues,themimicryoffeaturesfrom foreignlanguagesandscripts maynotalwaysbeindendedtoindexa specificregion.Instead, itmay bethe useof globalese,i.e.acommercialregistersuggesting‘‘typographic-orthographiccosmopolitanism’’(Jaworski,2015a:232), usinginnovativeorthographiccombinationstoindexworldlinessratherthanonelanguageorculture.

3.2. Orthographyindexingidentity

Forcertainorthographicortypographicfeaturestobeusedasindexesofsocialornationalidentities,theyfirsthaveto beclearlyassociatedwithparticularlanguagesorgroupsofspeakers.Forinstance,Spitzmüller(2012:261,266)points outhowdifferentgraphemesspecifictoGermanwriting(i.e.häi,hÄi,höi,hÖi,hüi,hÜi,hßi),aswellasblacklettertype have cometo be associatedwith ‘‘Germanness.’’Furthermore,the extendeduseof these featuresin instances of ‘‘graphiccrossing’’inother languageshasresulted in theseorthographic featuresbecomingassociatedwithcertain ideologies(Jaworski,2015a:220).Thetypical‘‘German’’orthographicfeatures,includingblacklettertype,maythusbe usedin,forinstance,English-basedbrandnamesordesignstosymbolisethemessuchasGothicormedievalmythology, orevenNazism(Spitzmüller,2012:279).Meanwhile,thankstoimageryofold-worldtoughnessandbrutalityassociated withGermanicorNordictribes,Germanorthographyhasalsobeentransferredtorockandmetaltypology,usingwhatis knownasthe‘‘metalumlaut’’(Campbell,2003:6).Throughoutthe21stcentury,umlautshavebeenusedtosymbolise ‘toughness’inrockandheavymetalbandnames,startingwithBlueÖysterCultin1976andcontinuingonwithother bandssuchasMotörheadandMötleyCrüe(Spitzmüller,2012:279;Jaworski,2015a:220;Campbell,2003:6).

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Whenwritingsystemmimicryisusedinbrandnamesorlogos,thegoalisnottobeambiguousaboutthelanguagein whichthemessagesarewritten.Instead,thefocusisonrenderingthenameinafamiliaralphabetorlanguage,whilealso presenting‘‘thevisualequivalentofaforeignaccent’’(Seargeant,2012:192).

TheimagesdisplayedinFig.2demonstratetheuseofwritingsystemmimicry,suchasfauxDevanagari(seeChachra, 2014)andfauxCyrillic(seeMcMichael,2009).AllofthesignsareclearlywrittenusingtheRomanalphabetasabase,as theintentionisforthetargetlanguagespeakerstobeabletoreadtheproductnames.However,thesignsarealsowritten insometypeofpseudoscript,meanttoindicatethethematicidentityoftheproduct.Image1inFig.2isthesignofa restaurantlocatedinBelgium:theFrenchnameLeSyrtakicanbeclearlyreadbyspeakersofFrench.However,evenfor individualswhodonotknowthatsyrtakireferstoaGreekdance,therestaurantcanbeclearlyidentifiedasGreekasa resultofthebasewritingsystem(i.e.theRomanscript)mimickingGreekletters.

Similarly,anEnglish-speakingpersoncaneasilyreadtheEnglishwords‘MinutestoDestiny’onthebeerpicturedin Image2.However,thetextisclearlyinspiredbytheDevanagariscript,usedinSanskritorHindi,andisintendedtoremind theviewerofIndia.Likewise,Image3showsaJapanese-inspiredbeerwiththeEnglishnameHunter,writteninafont suggestingJapaneseKanji.Finally,thenameoftheDutchbeerpicturedasImage4,DirtyKatarina,iswritteninwithletters intendedtoremindthereaderoftheCyrillicscriptand,byextension,ofRussia.Forthepurposeofmarketing,itisirrelevant thatthescriptisunreadablefauxCyrillic:theCyrillicgraphemeh)i(pronounced/d/)isusedasLatinhAi;hиi(pronounced /i/)isusedintheplaceofhNi;andhai(pronounced/ja/)isusedintheplaceofhRi.Finally,thegraphemehKiismirrored, likelytoresemblehai,eventhoughsuchagraphemedoesnotexistinCyrillic.

4. Thestudy

4.1. Samplinglinguisticlandscapes

Onechallengingaspectoflinguisticlandscaperesearchhasalwaysbeenthequestionofhowtoperformsampling (Gorter,2006:2--3).Althoughthe useofdigitalcamerasallowsresearcherstotakeapotentiallyunlimitednumberof photographsoflanguagesdisplayedinaspace,itischallengingtopinpointwhichsignscanbeconsideredrepresentative ofaparticularlinguisticlandscape.LeemanandModan(2009:341)investigatedthelinguisticlandscapeofWashington DC's Chinatown, choosing to largely limit their data sampling to signs located in the neighbourhood's two main commercialcorridors.Similarly,inastudycomparingthelinguisticlandscapesoftheminorityregionsofFriesland(the Netherlands)andtheBasqueCountry(Spain),CenozandGorter(2006:67)exploredsignsonasingleshoppingstreetin bothareas.However, evenwhennarrowing downthe locationfromahugecityoranentireneighbourhoodtoafew streets,itisproblematictoestablishasoundmethodologyforquantitativedatasampling.Definingwhatdoesandwhat doesnotconstituteasignandhowsignsshouldbecategorisedcanbeverychallenging.Consequently,likethestudiesof previous researchers,such as Jaworskiand Yeung(2010), ourresearch focuseson the qualitativeratherthan the

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quantitative aspect of signs in the linguistic landscape.The examples used in this article were discovered by the researcher by chance in various cities in various countries. These examples werephotographed where they were encounteredand,wheneverpossible,thewebsitesofthecompanieswerevisited.Whilethemajorityofthesignswere identified in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium, several of the signs and labels that were noted down or photographedreferredtocompaniesorproductsfromothercountries.Theexampleswerecollectedduringthewinterof 2018--2019,andhavebeendefinedbelowaccordingtothemethodsemployedtodemonstrateasenseof‘‘Nordicness’’or simply‘‘foreignness.’’

4.2. Nordiclinguisticfeaturesininternationalmarketing

AlthoughthelanguagesoftheNordiccountriesdonothaveascriptthatwouldmakethemimmediatelydistinguishable fromotherlanguages,theydoshareafewdistinctorthographicfeatures.DanishandNorwegianusethegraphemeshæ, Æiandhø,Øi,forthephonemes/æː/and/øː/,respectively,whileSwedishandFinnishusethecorrespondinggraphemes hä,Äi,andhö,Öi.IcelandicandFaroesealsousethegraphemeshæ,Æiandhø,Øi,althoughhæ,Æirepresentthe diphthong/ai/inIcelandicand/eaː/inFaroese.Meanwhile,håiandhÅiareusedinDanish,NorwegianandSwedishfor the phonemes /ɔː/ (Danish,Norwegian)and /oː/(Swedish). Thegraphemeshå, Åi arealso includedin the Finnish alphabet,butasFinnishho,Oicorrespondstothesamephoneme,theyhavenonativeuseinFinnish,andonlyoccurin propernounsofSwedishorigin,suchasplace-names(Löfbergetal.,2003:458).Becausetheseorthographicfeatures arelargelydistinctfortheNordiclanguages(withafewexceptions),1theyareoftenusedtoindexNordicnessinawide varietyofproducts,inasimilarfashionasfauxCyrillicisusedtoindextheRussianlanguageorSovietassociations (McMichael,2009:339).

Thestudy focusesonthree differentwaysinwhich Nordic linguisticfeatures areusedto suggestNordicnessor globalismininternationalmarketing.SomebrandsmakeuseofactualwordsstemmingfromNordiclanguages,asinthe caseofthepreviouslymentionedHyggecandleorthemanycafésnamedFika.Othercompaniesusewordsorphrases that may originally stem from anyof the Nordic languages, but which are intentionally misspelled,exaggerated, or enhancedwithadditionalNordicor‘‘foreign’’features.Finally,awidevarietyofbrandsusefauxNordic,i.e.themimicryof Nordicfeaturesandgraphemesinforeignlanguagewords,toassociatethemselveseitherwiththeNordicregionorto suggestinternationalism.

4.2.1. Nordicwordsmarketingforeignproducts

As the furnituremogul IKEAhasshown throughoutthe years, consumers are quitehappy to buyproducts with incomprehensible and unpronounceable Nordic-language names. With the rise of ‘‘Nordic Cool’’ in recent years, progressivelymorebrandshavetakentothisapproach.WhileproductssuchastheHyggecandleandbusinessessuch asthe countlessFikacaféscapitaliseonrelativelywell-knownmeaningsofthesewords,manyotherbrandsemploy lesser-knownwordsornamesfromvariousNordiclanguages.Theimagesbelowdemonstrateafewoccurrencesofthis approachinglobalmarketing.

ThefirstimageinFig.3showsanadvertisementofÅland,achainofSouthKoreanaffordablefashionstores,as displayedontheirOfficialÅlandInstagramaccount.ThecompanyhasrecentlyhasexpandedtotheUnitedStatesand openedaflagshipstoreinBrooklyn,NewYork(Kim,2018).Incidentally,ÅlandisthenameofthelargestislandofFinland, locatedintheBalticSeabetweenFinlandandSweden.TheislandisknownasÅlandinSwedishandasAhvenanmaain Finnish.AstheislanditselfcanhardlybearguedtohavemanyconnectionswithSouthKoreanorfashioningeneral,the namehaslikelybeenchosenduetoitssymbolicvalueas‘‘Nordic.’’InspiteoftheislandbeingFinnish,thegraphemehÅi onlyoccursinSwedish,DanishandNorwegian,andthusthenameÅlandindexesthesecountriesandtheassociations relatedtothemtoanyonewiththeselanguagesintheirrepertoire.

SlightlylessobscureisthenameDistriktNørrebro,aDutchclothingbrandclearlyinspiredbyadistrictinCopenhagen. TheirlogoispicturedasImage2inFig.3.Inrecentyears,thedistrictknownasNørrebrohasbecomewell-knownforbeing oneofthemosthip,fashionable,andmulticulturalareasofCopenhagen.Therefore,itisnotdifficulttoseewhyaclothing brandwouldliketobesoclearlyassociatedwiththedistrict.NørrebrocanbecomparedtoBrooklyninNewYorkCity, whichlikewisehasinspirednamesofcountlessbrandsinpopularcultureduetothereputationofthedistrict,particularly duetoitshistoryrelatingtohip-hopmusic.

1_It_should_be_noted_that_various_combinations_of_the_graphemes_hå,_Å_i,_hæ,_Æ_i,_hä,_Ä_i,_hö,_Ö_i,_and_hø,_Ø_i_are_also_found_in_the_alphabets_used_by

theSámilanguages.However,althoughthemajorityoftheSámipeoplearefoundwithintheNordiccountries(i.e.inSweden,Norway,and Finland), theSámi culture isoftenconsidered distinctfrom the majorityNordiccultures,andSámi customsandlanguageare seldomly representedoutsidethetraditionalSámiregions.Assuch,thecurrentstudypresumesthatglobalassociationsrelatingtotheNordiclanguages maynotwidelyincludeSámilanguages.

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AnotherDutchcompanycapitalisingontheNordictrendisthesaladbarRå(Fig.3,Image3).Asthewordråmeans ‘raw’inSwedish,Danish,andNorwegian,theestablishmentseemstobeaptlynamed.However,thechoicetousea Nordicnameforasaladbarlocatedinanothercountryhighlightspositiveconceptssuchas‘purity’and‘health’thatseem tobeassociated withthe Nordics.Additionally,while itcouldbeargued that the nameRå might beunderstoodby perceptivelocalconsumers(‘raw’israuwinDutch),theestablishmenthasalsochosentoincludetheNorwegian/Danish subtitleøkologisksalatbar(‘ecologicsaladbar’).Althoughthemeaningofthenamemaystillbeunderstoodbysome Dutchspeakers,thenameRåøkologisksalatbarisacalculatedmarketingtactic.Thename,whichincludesboththe graphemeshåiandhøi,suggeststotheconsumerthattheestablishmentexemplifiesthehighquality,health,andeven luxuryassociatedwiththeNordiccountries,evenifthemarketedproductissomethingasmundaneasasalad.

AlthoughmanybrandsorproductsmakeuseofactualwordsfromNordiclanguages,inmanycasesthesewordsmake littlesenseinassociationwiththeproductitself.AnexampleofthisisGermanbrandofcosmeticscalledHej,picturedas Image4ofFig.3.TheproductnameHejstemsfromtheSwedishorDanishwordhej,simplymeaning‘Hello’.Considering thisgreetingdoesnotinanywayreferenceorrelatetocosmetics,onecanonlyassumethattheconsumerisintendedto associatetheNordiclanguagereferencewithconceptsofhealthorbeauty.Asimilarstrategyseemstobeemployedby thebrandOckså,picturedinImage5,thenameofwhichmeans‘aswell,also’inSwedish.Thecompanystatesthattheir cosmeticsareintendedtodoubleasaninteriordesignfeatureandthattheownersare‘‘passionateaboutdesign,brand developmentandtheScandinavianlifestyle’’(Ocksacosmetics.com(2019)).AlthoughthecompanyisbasedinSweden, theownersareDutchandSouthAfrican.AsthecompanywebsiteisonlyavailableinEnglishandDutch,thissuggeststhat thetargetconsumersarenotSwedish(oratleastnotSwedish-speaking).Additionally,boththebrandnameOcksåand the name ofthe soap,Grönt (‘green’), seemintendedto draw peoplein using associationsrelatedtothe Swedish orthographyratherthantheirmeaning.Inspiteoftheword‘green’possessingconnotationsofbeingnaturalorhealthy, thispotentialmeaningofgröntwillnotnecessarilybeunderstoodbythenon-Swedish-speakingconsumer.Likewise,the wordockså(‘aswell’,presumablyrelatingtothedoubleuseoftheproductasacosmeticandadesignelement)also seemsintendedtomainlyattractpeopletopurchasethe productduetoitsScandinavian-soundingname.

The final example of a company using words from a Nordic language to market their products abroad is the aforementionedFrenchcompanyLøvOrganic.Thewordløv(pronounced/løːv/)isNorwegian/Danishandmeans‘leaf’, thusbeingappropriateforacompanythatsellstea.Still,thedesiretoplayuptheassociationwithScandinaviaandthe Nordicsisobvious,assuggestedbytheexplanationoffikaonthecompanywebsite.Additionally,thewebsiteofLøv Organicstatesthatthecompanyhasbeen‘‘inspiredbythispartoftheworldwhereamodernlifestylegoeshand-in-hand withrespectingtheenvironment’’(Lov-organic.com),drawingaparallelbetweenexclusivemodernismandthesimplicity ofnature.Thecompanyiskeenonusingthegraphemehøiwheneverpossible,notonlyintheirnamebutalsointhename oftheirSkandibløg,whichisaportmanteauof‘Scandinavia’and‘blog’,withhøisubstitutedforhoi.Furthermore,although thecompanyclearlywishestoassociateitselfwiththeNordicregion,LøvOrganicislikelyalsoareferencetotheEnglish word‘love’.Manynamesofthedifferentteasarepunsreferringtothedualityofthebrandname,e.g.‘Løvelymorning’, ‘Løvisbeautiful’,or‘Løvispure’.Assuch,theproductalsodisplaysthepopularcommodificationoflove(Jaworski,2015b: 91),suggestingtheaffectivestateoflovemaybebought,given,received,orexperiencedthroughtheconsumptionofa luxuryteaproduct.

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4.2.2. ExaggeratedNordicness

WhilethepreviousexampleshaveusednamesandwordsthathaveactualmeaningsinvariousNordiclanguages, somebrandsprefertousenamesthatexaggeratetheNordicfeatures.Examplesofsuchbrandsandbusinessescanbe foundinFig.4.

ThefirstlogopicturedinFig.4isthatoftheconceptstoreJūttu,locatedinBruges,Belgium.Thenamecouldbeargued tobeacorrectusageofaNordicword, giventhatthenameisspelledJuttuontheirwebsite(Juttu.be).Thewebsite accuratelyinformsthereaderthatjuttuisaFinnishwordwithseveralmeanings,including‘thing’,‘anecdote’,‘possession’, and‘crushornewrelationshipbetweentwopeople’.However,inthecurrentstudythestorenamehasbeenclassifiedas beingexaggeratedlyNordicorforeignduetothebrandlogo.InthelogothestorenameisstylisedasJūttu,usingamacron overhui.ThistypeofdiacriticdoesnotexistinFinnish,andhaslikelyonlybeenincludedinthelogoinordertoindicatean immediateandobvioussenseofforeignnessinthename.

Asimilarnear-FinnishnameisusedbytheoutdoorclothingbrandNapapijri,picturedasImage2inFig.4.Althoughthe brand itself is Italian, the name is a misspelled version from the Finnish word napapiiri, meaning ‘Polar circle’. Furthermore,thenameNapapijriisoftendisplayedalongsidetheNorwegianflag.Thepurposeseemstohavebeento combinelinguisticfeaturesandimageryfromtwoNordiccountriesknownfortheirnatureandcoldweatherasamethodof suggestingqualityandreliabilityoftheclothingbrand.Thecompanyitselfarguesthatthiscombinationisademonstration ofitsintersectionality,of‘‘defyinglabels,transcendingboxes,pursuingtheunexpectedjourneyintonatureandcreativity’’ (Napapijri.co.uk).

ThefinalexampleofabusinessusingexaggeratedNordic-likelinguisticfeaturesintheirbrandingistheasignfora pop-upbarandrestaurantintheNetherlands,picturedasImage3inFig.4.TherestaurantitselfiscalledBårr,andthe sign suggests an additional connection to the Nordics with the text ‘‘vålkommen’’. In Swedish välkommen means ‘welcome’,whilethecorrespondingwordinDanishandNorwegianisvelkommen.Whilethesignoverallmakesuseof EnglishasthebaselanguagebyindicatingtheopeningtimesinEnglish,itislikelythatbothEnglish-speakingtouristsand localDutchspeakerswereexpectedtobeabletodeducetheintendedmeaningof‘‘vålkommen’’(consideringthewordis welkominDutch).However,itisnotablethatthebusinessmisspelledtheoriginalword,replacingSwedishhäiorDanish/ Norwegianheiwithhåi.ThegraphemehåiisalsoprominentlyusedinthenameBårr,whichiscompletelymeaningless.It islikelythatthecompanyintendedforthenametoresemblehowindividualsofotherlanguagebackgroundsmightexpect theword‘bar’tolookinaNordiclanguage.Incidentally,‘bar’inSwedish,Danish,orNorwegianissimplybar,meaningthat thecorrecttranslationwouldnotsuggestNordicnessorforeignnessinthesamewayasthenonsensenameBårr.

4.2.3. FauxNordic

FauxNordic,likefauxDevanagariorfauxCyrillic,referstoNordic-languageorthographicfeatures(e.g.hå,æ,øi)being mimickedinthebasewritingsystemofotherlanguages.However,formanyproductsitisdifficulttoasseswhetherthis

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typeofNordicwritingsystemmimicryisintendedtoprovidetheconsumerswithassociationsspecificallyrelatedtothe Nordicregion,oriftheysimplyareexamplesofglobaleseinuse.

Fig.5,Image1showsthelogooftheGermancosmeticsbrandNø--nomakeup.Asthereisnosuchwordas‘‘nø’’in eitherDanishorNorwegian,itislikelythatthebrandsimplymakesuseofthegraphemehøiasareplacementofhoiinthe Englishword‘no’. Asthe taglineofthebrandis‘‘nomakeup,’’theinclusionoftheorthographicfeature høimaybe intendedtosuggestconceptsoftenassociatedwiththeNordics,suchashealthandsimplicity(and,byextension,clear skin).However,itisunlikelythatanypronunciationchangeisindicatedwiththeuseofhøiintheplaceofhoi.Asimilarly innovativeuseofthe graphemehøiisalsofound inImage 2,picturingthe logo ofa scentedcandlewiththe name KarmArøm(aportmanteauof‘karma’and‘aroma’),whichisproducedandsoldinBelgium.Likewise,amimickedhøiis presentinthelogoofthejewellerybrandNøvae,alsoadvertisedinBrussels,Belgium(Image3).Neitherofthebrands KarmArømorNøvaeseemtosuggestanyassociationwiththeNordiccountriesasidefromtheuseofthegraphemehøi. However,itisnotablethattheKarmArømcandleissoldbytheBelgianconceptstoreHopono,which,similarlytoJūttu, heavilystylisesthegraphemesofthelogowithmacronsandunderscores,potentiallyinanefforttoseemmoreexoticor international.

AnothercompanywhichemploysfauxNordicisTöstBeverage,acompanybasedintheUnitedStatesandpicturedin Image4.Ontheirwebsite,theyusethephrase‘‘it'salwaystherighttimetoTÖST’’,suggestingthatthenamestemsfrom English‘toast’,withthegraphemehöiinsertedtoreplacethediphthong.AswiththebrandnameNø,itisunlikelythatTöst isintendedtobereadas/tøst/,astheuseofhöisuggests.However,itisunclearwhetherthenameTöstissupposedto suggestaNordicorEuropeanconnectionfortheAmericanconsumer,orifthenameissimplymeanttoseeminternational andexclusive.Nevertheless,thesymbolicvaluesof‘elitism’and‘health’arereferredtoonthecompanywebsite,where theproductisdescribedasanatural,non-alcoholicbeveragesuitedforfinedining(Töstbeverages.com).

ThefifthimageinFig.5demonstratesastaticsignadvertisingbreadwiththeword‘‘TØAST’’,foundinabreweryin Ghent,Belgium.LikethenameTöst,thesign‘‘TØAST’’isprobablyintendedtobereadas‘toast’,ignoringthegrapheme høi.Interestingly,thesameestablishmentalsohadasignstating‘‘RØK’’toindicatetheirbarbecuemenu.Considering thatrøkisthepastsimplefor‘smoke’inNorwegian(comparerookinthelocalDutch),theuseofthegraphemehøiinboth TØASTandRØKintheBelgianestablishmentseemstosuggestsometypeofNordicassociation.

Images6 and7show twot-shirtswithfauxNordic usedfortheEnglishwords‘enjoy’(Diego-Garcia.fr)and ‘love’ (DHGate.com).Inbothwordshøihasbeensubstitutedforhoi,creatingthefauxNordicforms‘‘ENJØY’’and‘‘LØVE,’’ respectively.Althoughløvemeans‘lion’inDanishorNorwegian(whereitispronounced/løːwə/),itisunlikelythatthe designerswereaimingfor thisparticularmeaningand pronunciation.Instead,the graphemehøihasprobablybeen includedtoevokeeitherspecificassociationswithNordicorScandinavianfashion,orsimplytosuggestthattheproductis foreignorcosmopolitan.

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5. Discussion

This qualitativeresearchproject exploredthe useofNordic linguistic featuresin internationalproduct labelsand marketing.InmanycasescompaniesuseNordic-languagewordsasnames,regardlessoftheactualoriginofaproductor brand,andsometimesregardlessoftheconnectionbetweenthemeaningofthewordandtheproductitself.Meanwhile, somebrandssimplyusefeaturesfrom oneorseveral oftheNordic languagesin ordertocreateorexaggeratethe Othernessoftheproductinquestion.

Overall,theuseoforthographicfeaturesassociatedwiththeNordiccountriesisprevalentinthevastmajorityofthe examples used in this study. The majority of names made use of one or several of the stereotypically Nordic linguisticfeatures,e.g.høiinLøvOrganic,DistriktNørrebro,andNø,håiinRå,Åland,andBårr,orhöiinGröntand Töst. The specific popularity of the graphemes høi and håi in marketing is likely due to their relativelinguistic unambiguity:whilehöiandhäimayalsosuggestGermanorthographyandlanguage,høiandhåiarelargelyonly associated with Nordic languages. The use of these featuresenforces the Nordicconnotations of the brand or business,evenwhentheconsumermightnotunderstandtheoriginalword.Onlythreeofthebrands,i.e.thecosmetics brandHej,theconceptstoreJūttu,andtheclothingbrandNapapijri,didnotmakeuseoftheorthographicfeatureshå,æ, ä,ø,öiintheirnames.Ontheotherhand,bothNapapijriandJūttuexaggeratedthe‘‘foreignness’’oftheirbrandsin otherways,i.e.byusingthenon-Nordiclinguisticfeatureshńiandthecombination-ij-inotherwiseNordic-language names.

BothinthecaseofexaggeratedbrandnamessuchasJūttu,BårrandNapapijri,andfauxNordicbrandnamessuchas NøorTöst,themarketingtacticreliesontheabilityoftheconsumertorecognisetheformofthesewordsasrelatingtothe Nordiccountries,or,attheveryleast,tosomethingforeignorunique.Withthebrandsmakinguseofexaggeration,the focusonbeingassociatedspecificallywith‘‘Nordicness’’seemsmoreimportant,giventhatstatementsreferringtooneor severalNordiccountriescanbefoundontheirwebsites.However,thenitcomestoproductsemployingfauxNordic,it seemsthatoftenthegoalissimplytoseem‘‘exotic’’or‘‘international,’’nottoovertlyassociatethebrandwithNordic values.TheinnovativeuseoftheNordic-languagegraphemeshøi,håi,andhöiinwordsfromEnglishorotherlanguages canbearguedtofallintothecategoryofvisual-linguisticformsorglobaleseproposedbyJaworski(2015a).Jaworski discussesthenonstandarduseofpunctuationmarks,diacritics,andtittlesasgraphemicindexingoftheglobal,arguing thattheresultingformsareoften‘‘detachedfromanyspecificethnolinguisticgrouporlocality,withonlyechoesoftheir originsinanytraceable‘‘national’’or‘‘ethnic’’languages’’(2015a:220,231).Thust-shirtslogansstating‘‘ENJØY’’or brandswithnamessuchasKarmArømmaysimplyseektosuggestaforeignorglobalassociation,notadirectconnection toNordiclanguagesorcultures.

Insomecasestheincomprehensibilityorunreadabilityofsomebrandorbusinessnamesmayalsobeintendedto suggestahigh-endproductorestablishment.InastudyonvisiblegentrificationinBrooklyn,NewYork,TrinchandSnajdr (2017) demonstrate how up-scale shops and restaurants tend to favour distinction-making signs. Brands or establishmentsseektodistinguishthemselvesbyusingnamesmadeupofasinglewordorshortphrase,apolysemic orcrypticname,oranameinanotherlanguagethanEnglish(TrinchandSnajdr,2017:75).Bydistinguishingthebrand withaquirky,weird,orincomprehensiblename,thebusinesscanbeseenasmoreworldlyandthusmoreattractiveto consumers.Whilethesetypesofnamesseemtextuallysparce,theyoftenhavearichunderlyingmeaningorassociation, makingthosewhoknowthemeaning(s)feelexclusivebecausetheyare‘‘in-the-know’’(TrinchandSnajdr,2017:76).A namesuchasRåcanbearguedtobedistinctiveinthisway:fewDutchcustomerswouldinitiallybeexpectedtomakethe linguisticconnectionbetweenNorwegian/DanishråandDutchrauw(‘raw’),butthenameisobscureenoughtoseem exclusiveandauthentic,andthustowarrantattention.Additionally,iforwhenthecustomerdoesfindoutthemeaningof thename,theyacquireafeelingofbeinginonaprivatejoke.

Whiledistinction-makingsignscanbeusedtoconveyasenseofsophisticationinmarketing,socantheconceptof silenceandspace,aspreviouslydiscussedinrelationtoSkandinavisk.comandLov-Organic.com.Themajorityofthe productsorlogosin thisstudyseemtostrivefora‘‘visualsilence,’’usingsimpleandunderstatedpackagingorlogo designs.BrandssuchasDistriktNørrebro,Hej,Rå,TöstandNøusefewcoloursandshyawayfromintricatetextsor images.Therelativeemptinessandsimplicityoftheproductdesignisreminiscentofthediscretetypographyusedin advertisementsforluxuryholidays(Jaworski,2019:96),suggestingthatthetagretconsumerislikelyatleastaspiring upper-middleclass.Thevisualsilencereflectstheconsumerperceptionofaparallelbetweentranquilityandexclusivity, withmanybrandspreferringtousesimpleblackandwhitedesignstoindexeleganceandrefinement(Jaworski,2019: 103;Järlehedetal.,2018:50;Adami,2018:12).

AlthoughsomecompaniesuseNordiclinguisticformssimplytobedistinctiveortodemonstrateaglobalconsumer register, many of the brands analysed in this article seem to purposefully channel positive associations relating specificallytoNordicculture,food,andlifestyle.Thesefindingssupportpreviousresearchreferencingtheideaof‘‘Nordic Cool’’asaninternationalmarketingtactic(e.g.Andersenetal.,2019;SkouandMunch,2016;Hermansen,2012).The

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consciouseffortofthesebrandstoassociatethemselveswithwhattheyconsidertobeNordicvaluesisalsoevidentfrom overtdeclarationsfoundonseveralwebsites.Forinstance,thecompaniesOckså,Jūttu,andLøvOrganicalldefinetheir sourceofinspirationasNordicorScandinavianlifestyleordesign.Itisalsoclearthatthesecompaniesarespecifically targetinganon-Nordicaudience,giventhatmostofthemarebasedoutsidetheNordiccountries,andinmostcasestheir websitesarenotavailableinanyoftheNordiclanguages.

The study shows a clear relationship between the linguistic features employed by various businesses and brandssellingfashionandcosmetics,andthevaluestheyseektoconvey.Withtheexceptionoftextsinvolvingpure fauxNordic orglobalese, many of the productnames stemfrom existing wordsinone or several of theNordic languages.Yetinmostcasestheintendedforeignnessseemstobeevokedthroughtheuseofgraphemesassociated withNordiclanguages,ratherthanthroughthemeaningsofthewordsthemselves.Indeed,itisnotthemeaningofthe foreignlanguagethatismostrelevantinadvertising,buttheidentificationofthislanguagebytheconsumer(e.g.Piller, 2003;BlommaertandBackus,2013:18--19).Insomecasessimplydistinguishingaproductorestablishmentwithan unusualnameisenoughtoseemexclusive(seeTrinchandSnajdr,2017).Forthebranditisunimportantwhetherthe audienceunderstandsthemeaning ofwords suchas ocksåorløv, orifa namesuch Jūttu,Töst,or Napapijriis conventionallymeaningfulintheliteralsense.Thefocusisonthesenamesattracting(usuallymiddle-orupper-class) consumersbyevokingpositiveconnotationssuggestingglobalism,sophistication,ortheexclusiveidealoftheNordic lifestyle.

ItisinterestingtonotethatthecountriesofDenmark,Sweden,Finland,andNorwayallseemtobereferenced undertheumbrellatermsofeither‘‘Scandinavian’’or‘‘NordicCool,’’withoutmuchdistinctionbeingmadebetween them.WhetherabusinessorbrandchoosestouseaSwedish,Finnish,Norwegian,orDanishlinguisticreferencein their marketing,they all point to the same values of stereotypicallyNordic or Scandinavian lifestyleor design. Internationallythere seemsto bevery littleconcern regardingideologisticallytreating the Nordiccountries as a collectiveunit, bothculturallyandlinguistically.As such,itisirrelevant whetheranonsense namesuch asBårr suggestsaSwedish,DanishorNorwegianroottotheconsumer,asalloftheNordiccountriesareessentiallytreated asasingleculturalentitywithauniformsetofsymbolicvalues.Nevertheless,itisnotablethatduringmyresearch,I neverencounteredexamplesofspecificallyIcelandicorFaroeseorthographicfeatures,e.g.thegraphemeshÞ,þior hĐ,ði.ThismaysuggestthatIcelandandtheFaroeIslandsareatthismomentintimeconceptuallyremovedfromthe Nordiccountriesintheeyesoftheinternationalaudience,perhapsduetotheirphysicaldistancefromtheotherNordic countries.

Conflictofinterest None.

Acknowledgements

IwishtothankProf.CharlotteGooskensforherinputandsupport,aswellasherhelpwiththeDanishdefinitionsinthis manuscript.Ialsowishto thankProf. AdamJaworski,whoprovided me withinvaluablefeedback and constructive criticisminhisreview.

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