Nation-building and Writing System: Mongol Bichig in Linguistic Landscape of Ulaanbaatar

This study examines the linguistic landscape of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, in relation to the country’s current nation-building processes, which are closely intertwined with the introduction of the classical Mongolian writing system, Mongol Bichig , into official documentation and school education. The author relies on the method of photographing linguistic landscape units in the center of Ulaanbaatar and on surveys revealing public opinion on Mongol Bichig and people’s linguistic competence in it. The research shows a natural time lag between the intentions of the government and Mongolian society and the actual presence of Mongol Bichig in the linguistic landscape and everyday linguistic practices. The issue of Mongol Bichig is considered within the broad historical and linguistic context showing past and present efforts to construct national identity, currently building it on the original writing system. The research shows a natural time lag between the intentions of the government and Mongolian society and the actual presence of Mongol Bichig in the linguistic landscape and everyday linguistic practices. So far, Mongol Bichig performs mostly symbolic function. Its symbolic representations in the linguistic landscape of Mongolian capital are driven not only by historical memory, ideas of national identity and patriotism, but also by the strategies of commodification of national identity in the form of marketing of authenticity and locality.