Language Matters· 2026Q1
Antiquity in the Construction of Diasporic Greek Identity in Johannesburg
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- 2026year
Short summary
References to ancient Greece are actively used to construct and signal authentic Greek diasporic identity in Johannesburg, shaping the city's semiotic landscape.
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Key points
- Greek diaspora in Johannesburg uses references to ancient Greece to signal authentic group belonging.
- Allusions to Greek antiquity play a central role in shaping the city's semiotic landscape.
- Multimodal data (photos, notes, interviews, newspaper articles) were used in the study.
- Practices are possibly linked to over a century of Greek nation-building efforts.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Ancient Greece is often portrayed as the birthplace of diverse intellectual and cultural traditions. In Johannesburg, the Greek diaspora draws on such associations with antiquity to signal authentic group belonging. This article examines how references to antiquity are used to construct and inscribe Greek cultural identity in the contemporary city. Using multimodal data—photographs, field notes, interviews, and archival newspaper articles—the study shows that allusions to Greek antiquity play a central role in shaping the city’s semiotic landscape. These practices are probably linked to more than a century of deliberate nation-building efforts by Greece since independence. The article contributes to scholarship on the influence of non-colonial diasporas on Johannesburg’s semiotic landscape and extends sociolinguistic research on the Greek diaspora in South Africa.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Language Matters, 2026 · DOI ↗
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