Merced Speaks Exhibit Photos
Principal Investigator:
- Yiran Xu
Additional participating faculty member:
- Jiajun Liang (Co-PI)
Graduate Fellow Team Members:
- Genevieve Egbunno
- Savion Ellis
- Destina Bermejo
Community Research Collaborator:
- Merced County Courthouse Museum
Project Summary:
The team conducted research in the Merced County Courthouse Museum’s archives for historical examples of Merced’s linguistic landscapes, interviewed local business owners, and photographed multi-lingual signage in downtown Merced. Through their interviews they gained valuable insights from locals on how Merced’s linguistic landscape reflects its diversity. Additionally, the graduate fellows created an annotated bibliography along with a literature review as part of their spring research. The exhibit was hosted at the Merced County Courthouse Museum from October 24, 2024, to March 1, 2025. The exhibit posters displayed the team’s findings on Merced’s past and current linguistic landscape and how it has changed over time.
Project Outcomes:
Exhibit:
Presentations:
- Xu, Yiran and Jiajun Liang. “Multilingualism, Censorship, and Linguistic Landscape.” University of California, Merced, October 2, 2024.
- Xu, Yiran, Jiajun Liang, Savion Ellis, Genevieve Egbunno, and Destina Bermejo. “Merced Speaks: Language Diversity Past and Present.” Merced County Courthouse Museum, Merced, October 24, 2024.
- Liang, Jiajun and Yiran Xu. “Multilingualism, Censorship, and Linguistic Landscape.” Introduction to Writing Studies (taught by Susan Varnot), University of California, Merced, October, 2024.
Merced Speaks Exhibit
