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In this section, I identify brand names where two (or more) scripts are used in conjunction, and for the purposes of this study, I refer to these as multi-script brands. I also seek to identify cultural identities where the two scripts are used within one brand name. In particular, the combination of Roman and Arabicised Roman script, or Arabic and Romanised Arabic script are particularly prevalent, and I explore here the issues related to these pairings.

4.6.1 Roman and Arabicised Roman Script

With regards to this category, Burger King, shown in Figure 4.7, displays two scripts: Roman and Arabicised Roman. Since the Arabicised Roman writings take up more space and larger font size, they are more visually arresting (see Kress and Van Leeuwen, 1996). The Roman script in the sign not only performs as an informational means of portraying the restaurant as a global place, but also works as a tool for promoting the concept of exoticism to appeal to the sign‟s readership (Backhaus, 2007). This concept is essentially demonstrated to create a sense of persuasion in the minds of viewers, particularly when it communicates the image of foreignism so as to appear attractive and new. Even though the semiotic features of the font size make the Arabic writing more visible than the Roman script, the sign signals attributes of the international market and points to the local community (Scollon and Scollon, 2003). In other words, the sign in Figure 4.7 reflects the interplay between different local and global ideologies.

95 Figure: 4.7 – Burger King Sign

To many people, Burger King connotes the idea of the production of hamburgers and other meals in a fast and professional manner (Schortman, 2010). At the same time, the Arabic writing, through reflecting the linguistic shadow of the Roman characters, fails to convey that idea, since it does not convey the meanings of the words Burger or King. The existing Arabic script neither displays the English speakers‟ pronunciation of Burger King, nor reflects a Jordanian pronunciation of the brand name. The Arabic characters include the use of the voiced palato-alveolar affricate [dʒ] in both Burger and King, but the voiced velar [ɡ] sound is still articulated in the Jordanian LL. From this phonetic overlap, it can be inferred that the sign-maker is quite confident of Jordanian customers‟ awareness of and capability of recognising the brand name, even though the Arabic script is displayed to refer to the local context or to imitate the Roman scripts. In essence, the absence of the original Arabic words in

Burger King signifies the fact that the business owner realises local inhabitants‟ ability to read and understand the commercial message in Roman writing. The meaning is that the brand name in its current form has become part of residents‟ cultural identities, initiating the feeling that the writing of such a brand belongs to their language, rather than the language of any other groups. The issue of cultural identity often arises in individuals on the bases of nationality, language, religion, ethnicity, or any other aspect that unites a group of people together

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(Ennajy, 2005: 25). The physical semiotic manifestation of Burger King also suggests that the unified layout of the brand name is becoming more and more accepted, particularly for the purpose of the promotion of Western products that are already popular in the Jordanian market.

In terms of the Arabic script, the semiotic functions of font and colour are illustrated here to promote Burger King in its original script, as a particular type of language that refers not only to the Arabic language, but is also part of a language used across the global LL (Tufi and Blakwood, 2010: 201). Therefore, the display of Arabic script necessitates bidirectional symbolic meanings between the global and the local practices. This linguistic process, which has been termed „glocalisation‟, not only homogenises the language of scripts, but also helps to establish the different feelings and emotions inferred in the brand name on the part of local residents in Aqaba (Swyngedouw, 2010: 26). Accordingly, the extensive occurrence of the Roman-script brands alongside their Arabic scripts in the local LL implicates not only the services and the products, but suggests that the complementary beliefs and ideas can be also culturally recognised. Craig, Suzan, and Bennett (2009), in this respect, argue that eating in fast-food restaurants does not highlight consumers‟ intentions to consume US food; rather, it demonstrates a sense of fondness for American fast food, which is part of the Western lifestyle. Likewise, Curtin (2009) points out that the presence of glocalised Roman scripts in Taipei‟s LL refers to both the cultural cosmopolitanism in connection with the languages of Europe and the US, and a local Taiwanese prestige. As such, in its original script, Burger King

introduces a new lexical item relating to new, modern Western cuisines, resulting in a social shift through the creation of new spaces that bring together taste, flavour, and linguistic features. This particular type of shift is realised in the occurrence of the Arabic script, where its linguistic opacity is made clear by looking at the Roman script, allowing viewers to identify

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the brand name in its source script and thus generating meanings of prestige and modernity, particularly among the restaurant clients or the younger generations.

4.6.2 Arabic and Romanised Arabic Script

This category involves the orthographic representation of brand names, in which Arabic sounds are transliterated in their Roman counterparts. The cultural and social appeals of these brand names are lost at the time at which they are translated into English, and therefore they often retain their own orthographic forms, as in the transliteration of the local brand

‘Jamdeeko‟ (the basic component of Mansaf, a traditional Jordanian dish) into Romanised Arabic. This also applies to other Jordanian products and services, such as the transliteration of „Sayadeh‟ in „Fish Sayadeh‟ (a Jordanian fish dish) and Sajeda (women‟s Islamic clothing brand name). As Figure 4.8 shows, Sajeda is discussed as an illustrative instance of the Arabic and Romanised Arabic script category.

Figure: 4.8 – Sajeda Sign

Even though the initial uppercase letter of Sajeda in Roman script is similar in font size to that of the Arabic writing beneath, Sajeda in Arabic characters occupies more space than the Roman writing. This, in turn, enhances the visibility of Sajeda in Arabic letters, thus assisting the commercial and linguistic communication between most viewers and the business name. As can be seen in Figure 4.8, the display of Arabic pronunciation in Roman script entails

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different cultural perspectives in association with both Jordanian and foreign passers-by. The Roman script describes the country‟s linguistic identity, in which the Arabic brand Sajeda has not been replaced with a new term; rather, it is transliterated in Roman letters, thus becoming more acceptable among the majority of Arabic speakers in the LL. Although, through the juxtaposition of the Arabic writing, the Roman script is likely to be readable and understandable on the part of Jordanians, its semiotic attributes also allow foreigners to acquire some clues and ideas about the local context where brand names are used. The shape of the letter „S‟ in the Roman script incorporates the outline of a woman‟s headwear, where the particular design of the letter „S‟ is used to symbolise two potential cultural practices. The first includes the semiotic interpretation of the letter to be a brand logo, which is aimed to portray a woman wearing a Hijab. The logo reflects a cultural image of an Arab woman, implying social practices related to modesty, control, and privacy, all required by Islam to be preserved when females wear this outfit The second interpretation is the role of the design in capitalising the letter „S‟, whereas all the other letters are written in lowercase. Although capitalisation is commonly used when writing proper names (Straus, Kaufman, and Stern, 2014), in this context, capitalising the letter „S‟ suggests the brand‟s associations with the local cultural practices and customs, particularly habits of naming in society, where the name of Sajeda is popular among Jordanian families for its religious connotations and meanings.

This noticeable semiotic meaning, which has a potential readability by foreigners, is meant to convey the use of Sajeda as a name given to female babies in Jordan. Essentially, the image of the Hijab illustrated in the sign, as well as the Roman and Arabic scripts, maintain the religious message of the brand name in the Jordanian LL, in which the multimodality is fundamentally designed to urge Arab women, as well as those from other foreign cultures, to wear the Hijab in accordance with Islamic teachings. Therefore, the investigation of Sajeda, as an example of an Arabic and Romanised Arabic brand name, reveals important symbolic

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implications in association with Jordan, where Islam is a considerable part of the culture. The preference for transliterating the Arabic brand into Roman characters further displays a significant cultural message to foreigners, which is less likely to travel across the world without its new linguistic form.

In conclusion, the multi-script brands reflect cultural interplay between global and local practices. Whereas Roman and Arabicised Roman scripts manifest the global forces connected with prestige, modernity, or any symbolic meanings attached to Burger King, for example, Arabic and Romanised Arabic scripts reflect local practices via the use of Roman writing and the Jordanian cultural logo. The semiotic investigations of these linguistic elements uncover differing social realities associated with the multicultural perspectives of the scripts (Ben- Rafael, 1996). Of course, the display of brand names in Roman scripts has made significant changes to the shape and status of Aqaba‟s quarters and neighbourhoods. Having recognised the similar percentages of both types of multi-scripts in Table 4.4, the signs compete to convey conflicting cultural forces through the different languages of the scripts. The Roman scripts consolidate the new social practices demonstrated in fast-food signs (such as Burger King), or their prestige meanings, but at the same time the Roman script of Sajeda indexes the inherent religio-cultural aspects of the local context. Although both types of multi-script brands seek to make financial profits, their efforts entail an increasing competition in displaying different cultural approaches in the LL.