Abstract
This article addresses the unresolved issue of systematic survey area selection for large-scale quantitative
Linguistic Landscape (LL) studies. It presents a strategy of ‘hypothesis-driven stratified sampling’ whereby survey areas are
picked out in a nested, multi-step process on the basis of the configuration of local LL audiences (regarding age,
multilingualism, and tourism) and ambient activity types (commercial vs. residential). The rationale for this strategy is drawn
from variationist sociolinguistics; and the undertaking is accordingly cast as ‘Variationist Linguistic Landscape Study (VaLLS)’.
The details of the design are showcased and implications discussed in the context of the large-scale project ‘ELLViA – English in
the Linguistic Landscape of Vienna, Austria’. More generally, it is shown how the application of state-of-the-art variationist
principles and methodology to quantitative LL research significantly enhances the latter’s scientific rigor, which has been a
major point of criticism.
Area selection for diamond exploration using deep-probing electromagnetic surveying