'No trash - do not touch': Handwritten textual objects at a construction site

Abstract

Drawing on social semiotics and geosemiotics, this paper analyses multimodal texts written on different surfaces at a construction site. The analysis is based on longitudinal ethnographic work and a large collection of photos of handwritten texts that involve verbal language and other semiotic elements such as drawings or symbols. The analysis focuses on the multimodal design of the texts, their spatio-temporal contexts, and their temporal trajectories connected to the progression of the construction work. The analysis contributes to the existing research on language practices in manual work by providing new understanding of multimodal texts that are integral parts of construction workers’ day-to-day language use. The analysis also speaks to the importance of longitudinal and visually-based research designs in analyzing the language practices of manual and physical work contexts.