by Doris E. Martínez Vizcarrondo
Approaching the sediments of the history of protest in the linguistic landscape of the University of Puerto Rico means delving into a complex semiotic and discursive framework characterized by the confrontation between students and the government. Scollon and Scollon (2003) define the linguistic landscape as the visible linguistic expressions in a specific environment, such as signs, posters, and graffiti, which reflect the interaction between language and physical space. These expressions not only communicate information but also reveal social and cultural aspects of the place where they are found. Additionally, the concept of “space as text” suggests that space is not merely a physical container but a “text” that is constructed and interpreted through social and cultural interactions. This approach, known as geosemiotics, highlights how the meaning of signs is produced in relation to their location in the real world and their social context (Scollon & Scollon, 2003). Space as a discursive text invites us to consider how spatiality intertwines with time, culture, and human interpretations. It is crucial to understand that the signs and symbols in the linguistic landscape of the University of Puerto Rico not only represent resistance and protest but also act as witnesses to the history and collective identity of the university community. This approach goes beyond mere physical location and allows us to understand the complexity of places and their meaning in historical and social contexts.
Framed within this theoretical postulate, we conducted a study with our students on protest in the linguistic landscape of the University of Puerto Rico. On the campus of the University of Puerto Rico, students in the Writing and Style course embark on a project titled “A Semiotic Diachrony of Protest in the Linguistic Landscape.” This project explores how linguistic expressions on campus have evolved over time, especially in contexts of protest. Within the geosemiotic approach, the research question is: How is protest articulated in the university’s landscape? We consider the university space and its interactional, iconographic, spatial, and temporal components as a complex textual framework.

Protests against the Gag Law of 1952 that prohibited speaking about independence and raising the Puerto Rican flag
It is in the complexity of this protest context that student’s study how manifestations have been expressed in the linguistic landscape of the university over the years. To compile the historical photographic corpus and the current linguistic landscape, we used the book “Lenguas callejeras” by Luisa Martín Rojo, Camila Cardenas, and Clara Molina Ávila (2023). This resource allowed students to conduct a critical and sociolinguistic reading of the historical dynamics of the university’s linguistic landscape, facilitating a deeper understanding of how linguistic elements reflect and affect the social and cultural life of the campus. This approach influences students’ writing by fostering more critical and reflective writing. By analyzing the linguistic landscape and its evolution, students develop skills to interpret and contextualize the signs and symbols in their environment. This enables them to produce texts that not only describe but also analyze and question the social and cultural dynamics present on campus. Additionally, integrating sociolinguistic perspectives into their writings enriches their ability to address complex topics with greater depth and academic rigor.
The linguistic landscape of the University of Puerto Rico is characterized by the dynamic interaction between student discourse and the State. This discourse, characterized by decades of violence and conflict, reflects a constant struggle between the voices of the student community and government authorities. Through their analysis, students have identified how linguistic expressions on campus, such as signs, graffiti, and other symbols, document protests and the State’s responses over time. Both physical and symbolic violence have left an indelible mark on the linguistic landscape, making it a living testimony to students’ resistance and persistence in their quest for freedom.
In their analysis of photographic resources, newspapers, and interviews, students found that from the 1920s to the 1970s, university students focused on combating restrictions imposed by the United States government. The images of the identified linguistic landscapes show their struggle against the 1952 Gag Law, which prohibited raising the Puerto Rican flag and speaking about independence, the expulsion of the United States Army ROTC, the rejection of mandatory military service, and the Vietnam War. These images reflect the students’ challenge and, consequently, the violence unleashed against them by the State.

Strike for the increase in tuition and for university autonomy in 1981
From the 1980s to the present, student activism has continued, addressing issues such as tuition increases, budget cuts, and other political and economic grievances. The 21st century, like the 20th has been defined by the extended occupation of the campus by students in response to the economic situation. The examined documentation shows slogans and counter-discourses directed at a single entity: the United States. In this linguistic landscape represented by photography, the university is a space occupied and reconfigured by student discourse. The slogans, trenches, barricades, and occupations of university space have turned the university, according to the photographs, into a battlefield, where on one side are the students and on the other, the United States, represented by the local government and police force.

Strike of 2010
The massive migration to the United States caused by Hurricane Maria, the pandemic, and the economic crisis have significantly impacted the linguistic landscape of the University of Puerto Rico. The dramatic drop in enrolment has transformed the campus; students are no longer visible in the library or recreational areas as before. The photographed spaces show the absence or scarcity of students. However, protests are still etched on the campus walls.
Current protests refer to issues such as gender identity and inclusion, budget cuts to the University by the Fiscal Control Board that controls Puerto Rico’s budget, reproductive rights, and the protection of animals and the environment. Students record in their images a linguistic landscape where student presence is scarce. They note that there is no university life; few students are seen in faculties, green areas, or food zones. There are few marks of any protest discourse in this linguistic landscape that for decades was in effervescence.
References
Martín Rojo, L., Cárdenas Neira, C., y Molina Ávila, C. (2023). Lenguas callejeras: paisajes colectivos de las lenguas que nos rodean. Editorial Octaedro, S.L Licencia Creative Commons
Scollon, R., y Scollon, S. W. (2003). Discourses in place: Language in the material world. Routledge.