Whose Language, Whose Space? Power Dynamics in the Linguistic Landscape of Gili Islands in Lombok

Abstract

This study investigates the ideological dimensions of multilingual signage in Gili Trawangan, Lombok, by drawing on Linguistic Landscape (LL) theory and Postcolonial Translation studies as complementary analytical lenses. Through a descriptive qualitative approach, 65 permanent or semi-permanent outdoor signs were photographically documented and systematically analyzed during field observation conducted in September 2025. Supplementary commercial signage from the neighbouring island of Gili Air, observed during February 2026, is introduced as corroborating cross-island evidence. Three analytical dimensions guided the inquiry: the ordering of languages according to their visual prominence, the degree to which the Sasak language achieves meaningful representation in public space, and the extent to which market-oriented reasoning governs commercial language selection. The data reveal a stratified three-tier linguistic order: Indonesian occupies the dominant position on state-issued signs, projecting national administrative authority; English commands the commercial landscape, responding to the demands of an international tourist market; and Sasak, the ancestral tongue of Lombok's indigenous majority, is conspicuously absent from all but a single sign, in which it occupies a token, visually subordinate role. Cross-island evidence from Gili Air confirms that English-only commercial signage is a structural feature of the Gili Islands' tourist economy rather than a site-specific anomaly. Translation is shown to function not as a neutral communicative bridge but as an ideological instrument — enforcing regulatory compliance in official contexts and packaging local culture for foreign consumption in commercial ones. The study concludes that the public space of the Gili Islands constitutes a linguistically contested arena in which the claims of the nation-state and the logic of global capitalism compete for visual dominance, jointly erasing the identity of the Sasak-speaking community.