Communicating worshipscapes in Tanzania: examining the linguistic landscape and its implications on access to information

This study examines the linguistic landscape of religious worship spaces in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, highlighting how religious signboards communicate identity, authority and access to information. Grounded in social semiotics and sociolinguistic theories, it analyses textual and semiotic features on signboards as tools for meaning-making and accessibility. Employing a qualitative approach, data were gathered between 2024 and 2025 through field observation and photography across four municipalities in Dar es Salaam. A total of 97 signboards from Christian, Islamic, Bahá’í and other religious institutions were purposively selected for detailed analysis and coded using multimodal social semiotic frameworks and content analysis. Findings reveal that Kiswahili dominates on worshipscape signs as a unifying language that promotes inclusivity and national identity, while English signals prestige, elitism and global belonging. Semiotic elements such as colour, images of ministers and digital platform references further shape religious competition and audience targeting. While Kiswahili enhances access to religious information, the presence of English, Chinese and Arabic introduces linguistic barriers for many Tanzanians, reflecting broader power dynamics in information accessibility. By focusing on worshipscapes—a largely understudied domain—the study contributes new insights into how language and visual semiotics structure religious communication and visibility in multilingual urban spaces.