A Sydney Council Has a Plan to Make It Harder to Use Foreign Words on Shop Signs

Strathfield City Council has floated the idea of minimising the use of foreign words on shopfront signs, menus and window posters.

At a council meeting earlier this month , its principal strategic planner recommended: “All signage is to be displayed in the English language, with a direct or near direct translation into another language using smaller letters or characters. Where signage includes a translation into another language, this must not exceed more than 30 per cent of the overall area of the sign.”

The reason given for limiting the use of foreign words is to: “Maintain a high quality public domain and to provide effective communication.”

Strathfield, which is located in Sydney’s west approximately 15 kilometres from the CBD, is known for being multicultural and, according to the last census, only 38 per cent its residents were born in Australia. The suburb’s largest cultural group is Chinese – 21.9 per cent of its population claimed Chinese ancestry, far more than the national 3.9 per cent average.

At home, 65.4 per cent of households spoke languages other than English (only 32.7 per cent of Strathfield’s residents spoke English only), including 14.5 per cent who spoke Mandarin.

The push by the council has left some businesses feeling alienated.

Eun Kyuang of Han Yang Groceries on Strathfield’s The Boulevard says she was particularly disappointed with the council’s proposal. “People who shop in our Korean grocery store are mainly Korean. The storefront is in Korean for our Korean customers,” she said.

“I’ve never had an Australian come in and tell me they have an issue with my signage. It seems like a waste of time, all the shop owners will be out on ladders measuring what font is bigger for a community that doesn’t really care about the issue.”

Management from Hawker-style Malaysian restaurant Ho Jiak also commented on the issue, saying the diversity of the area is something to be celebrated and placing restrictions on using different languages didn’t feel inclusive.

“As a business focusing on Malaysian cuisine, our food is a variety of Chinese, Malay and Indian heritages – as Malaysia is such a culturally diverse country. As such, whilst we have a lot of customers who speak fluent English, we also often encounter people who don’t. Our menu is written in English and Mandarin, its inclusive for everyone, so everyone can understand,” they told Broadsheet.

Staff at Old Siam Massage, also on The Boulevard, found the measures intrusive and unnecessary. One staff member told Broadsheet : “We don’t really need the council to tell us how to do our signage, we have English and Thai on our shopfront and massage menu. Everyone is included, and everyone can read what our business is.”

NSW Business Chamber spokesman Damian Kelly told Yahoo7 News the chamber backed any measures that may minimise customers feeling isolated by restricting signage. “We welcome anything that will encourage new customers,” he said.

Kelly conceded a blanket policy might not be the best approach though. “We would much prefer councils to work closely with individual businesses,” he said.

Both Liverpool and Campbelltown councils require 50 per cent of shop signage to be in English, according to the minutes from the April 10 council meeting where the proposal was discussed. In Parramatta, all signs displaying foreign words must contain the English equivalent, with no percentage specified.

The City of Sydney’s controls for the Chinatown precinct requests a translation in English if possible, but the council will not refuse a development application if a suitable translation had not been provided.

At this stage, the proposal is still being refined with no immediate changes to be made. Strathfield City Council is also calling for community involvement, asking locals to submit feedback on its website.

You can have your say and contact the council here.