Translanguaging in urban tourism: multilingual and multimodal resources in Nanning’s linguistic landscape

This study examines the linguistic landscape of five 4 A and 5 A tourist attractions in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, based on 880 photographed signs. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods, it explores how multilingual and multimodal resources interact in the construction of tourism spaces and urban images. The findings reveal a regulated multilingual environment characterized by a clear hierarchical order. Chinese–English bilingual signs predominate (n = 500, 56.9%), while minority (n = 76, 8.7%) and ASEAN languages (n = 73, 8.3%) appear selectively, reflecting both institutional governance and economic positioning strategies. Minority languages, particularly Zhuang, function primarily as symbolic markers of cultural identity rather than as fully operational communicative tools, indicating a stratified rather than egalitarian multilingual practice. Beyond linguistic distribution, the signage integrates multimodal resources visual design elements and interactive features, which jointly contribute to meaning-making and user engagement. Overall, this study provides systematic evidence of how translanguaging practices are materially manifested in Nanning’s tourism linguistic landscapes.