Investigating Warning Signs in Leazes Terrace Student Houses inNewcastle University

1. Introduction

Needless to say， warning signs are familiar to modern readers as they are deeply embedded in our daily lives. Although we are bombarded daily with the messages on this kind of sign， we hardly perceive them on a conscious level. Furthermore， conventional wisdom has it that warning signs could possibly be of little necessity as an object of study. Contrary to what has often been claimed， this article will examine this particular type of signs， it may be worthwhile to consider what kinds of features are peculiar to warning signs. It should be stressed that the language use and the typographical design of warning signs will hold a vitally important place in the study. To put it another way， the language use， the font type of warning signs will be examined fully. It is also valuable to mention that the warning signs analyzed in this article are set within a particular situation， the study will pay close attention to the warning signs which are installed in an university accommodation. The elaborate description of the situation for the study will be provided below.

In order to gain more insight into this specific type of signs， it is essential to explore the general notion of signage in depth. Typically， signage can be divided into two main categories， namely ‘information and ‘statutory/mandatory （Stevenson 1990： 14）. To explain， naming signs and directional signs are the two important facets of information signage. Both of them are associated with orientation， nevertheless， the distinction is that the former one may be helpful for locating a position， and the latter one tells people how to get a particular place （Stevenson 1990）. This is the same sense as in Liu et al. （2012）s definition， road signs are served as markers to assist people to recognize streets， city names and directions. In this respect， Azaryahu （2012） has further noted that power and authority have a discernible impact on some street signs， which are of utmost importance to symbolize the administrative and political control over a particular domain.

2. The criteria to analyze warning signs

Before analyzing the particular examples of warning signs， it is essential to take into consideration the following criteria， which served as a useful guideline to illuminate some features of warning signs.

2.1 General features of signage

2.1.1 Language use in signs

Without doubt， simple and straightforward language should be utilized in signs as clear and concise signings are indeed beneficial to express information. The generalization is further strengthened by Schmidt （2011）s statement that removing as many unnecessary words as possible is aimed at highlighting the crucial messages， and making them easier to read.

In terms of language use， it seems obvious that choice of language（s） in signs depends ultimately on the conscious target audience （McCormick and Agnihotri 2009）. In brief， when we examine language use in signage， we should think of which groups of people need to be targeted for diverse services. On this basis， signage can be classified into three dimensions， namely monolingual， bilingual and multilingual signage. In terms of bilingual signs， there are two main strategies for language combination in this kind of signs， that is alternation and incorporation （McCormick and Agnihotri 2009）. At this point， McCormick and Agnihotri （2009） have provided further explanations， alternation of phrases can be defined as one text with two languages， each retaining its own orthography， that is to say， this kind of sign constitutes two lines， the top one with the message in one language， beneath which is the translation of the message in another language. In the discussion of incorporation of elements， which means the mixture of two languages into one phrasal structure. Accordingly， the definitions of monolingual and multilingual signage can be inferred. Just as its name implies， monolingual signage is entirely in only one language. As for multilingual signage， which is taken to mean that there are more than two languages presented in the same sign.

2.1.2 The font design of signs

Additional consideration arises when dealing with signage， that is font is of particular concern in the design of signs. It should be said that the notion of typeface is extensive， which mixes assorted types. As the warning signs analyzed in this article are designed by computer devices， this paper therefore focuses on the fonts in the computerized forms. Generally speaking， there are two fundamental font types in computerized forms， namely serif fonts and sans-serif fonts. Serifs can be defined as the small ornaments at the end of strokes （Leyla et al. 2012； Perea 2013）， for instance， in serif font with small cross-strokes at the stems. It is worth noting that Times New Roman is a crucial type of serif fonts. In contrast to serif typefaces， sans-serif letters have no cross-strokes （Cook 2004）， for example， in sans-serif type. Following Cook （2004）， who has added that Arial is the frequently cited type of sans-serif fonts. It is conceivable that serif typefaces are comparatively more legible than sans serif at small sizes （Schmidt 2011）. In this regard， similar point has been echoed by Arditi and Cho （2005）， who have emphasized that serif fonts are thought to have a profound influence on readability. According to this view， a number of researchers have found it is essential to examine the reasons why serifs may well be necessary for enhancing legibility. McLean （1980） has convincingly argued that some letters are more analogous with each other than letters that have serifs， therefore， serif type is given a weighty importance which might affect decipherment. Furthermore， Arditi and Cho （2005） have pointed out that serifs have a significant and ultimate impact on the visibility of the ends of strokes， thereby serif fonts are of most help in improving reading speed and avoiding fatigue.

An useful conclusion can be drawn in light of the previous evidence， that is serif fonts have been taken precedence over sans-serif fonts in most continuous texts. Notwithstanding， some kinds of headlines and notices presumably tend to place more weight on sans-serif typefaces than on serif typefaces.

2.2 Specific characteristics of warning signs

Broadly speaking， in this article， there are two aspects of thinking about when addressing the particular features of warning signs. The first is the utilization of boldness， the following one is the pictorial element displayed in warning signs. Both of them will be explored in the subsequent study.

2.2.1 The effect of boldface in warning signs

It is well accepted that bold typeface is given a weight importance in warning signs which might affect legibility. At this point， Luckiesh and Moss （1940） have certainly believed that bold type has a positive effect upon legibility by increasing stroke width. In this respect， Sheedy （2005） has expressed a similar point in the following way， bold letters have wider stroke widths， which are more likely to improve readability of fonts in printed form.

2.2.2 Warning signs with pictorial elements

An interesting atmosphere has been found by observing warning signs. In most cases， warning signs are designed with one or two pictorial elements， which may well be necessary for the understanding of the signs （Stempler and Polger 2013）. This feature can be embodied in the following examples. As mentioned earlier， conciseness is considered as an important characteristic of warning signs. Hence， graphic designs also need to be simple， and serve functions.

In the previous section， the primary emphasis is on the criteria， which have been proposed and explicated to find out some characteristics of warning signs， such as the language use， the choice of font type， the utilization of boldness and the display of pictorial elements. More importantly， the value to establish such a guideline is to provide a foundation for the analysis of warning signs. Before dealing with the particular warning signs， it is helpful to know the context in which the warning signs are displayed.

3. Studying setting

Before meticulously analyzing the details of the warning signs， it is necessary to provide a brief description of the specific studying situation. This paper focuses on a photographic analysis of the warning signs in Leazes Terrace， which is a student accommodation in Newcastle University in United Kingdom. It is important to stress that Leazes Terrace Student Houses is located opposite Newcastle United Football Stadium. Moreover， the accommodation is adjacent to Leazes Park and a four minute walk from the campus （The information of the location taken from the following website： http：//www.ncl.ac.uk/）. The reason for the selection of this particular setting is that the place draws on residents have various cultural background. Hence， Leazes Terrace can be viewed as a social space， which may provide a fertile analytic territory to explore warning signs.

4. Analyzing warning signs

The article attempts to analyze some examples of warning signs， which are set within the context of Leazes Terrace Student Houses in Newcastle University. The analytic process is in accordance with the criteria presented in the preceding section. Shedding light on analyzing the graphic features of the signs， and analyzing the language used in the signs

In order to gain more insight into the warning sign， the image and the verbal language of the sign will be dealt with in detail. In comparison with actual observation， the image of ‘watching eyes can be much cheaper and simpler. The ‘watching eyes strategy can be viewed as an invaluable intervention to prevent crime by evoking the psychology of surveillance （Nettle et al. 2012）. In such a situation， it is surely reasonable to suppose that people is liable to behave in more socially desirable ways， because the sign is aimed to warn bicycle thieves that the psychology is being watched. In terms of behavior change， some mainstream behavioral scientists have presented a convincing evidence that the surrounding factors （for instance， some kinds of information or the ambient conditions） can be of considerable value to influence human psychology， which can be of utmost importance to affect subsequent decision-making and human behavior （Dolan et al. 2012）. It is valuable to mention that the original ‘watching eyes effect was demonstrated in laboratory contexts， the main purpose was to superintend the prosocial behaviors among participants （Haley and Fessler 2005）.

According to Goddard （2002）， who has maintained that images come to be associated primarily with verbal texts， both of them accompany with each other and cannot be isolated. Hence， aside from the graphic feature， the verbal text of the warning sign also needs to be taken into account. Examination of the Figure 1 reveals that the verbal message， ‘CYCLE THIEVES： WE ARE WATCHING YOU presented in a direct tongue， the purpose is to prevent crime by deterring potential offenders. It should be noted that the message is set in all capitals， which have a profound effect on readability. In this sense， Sheedy et al. （2005） have supported the view that uppercase letters are more legible than lowercase letters because of their larger size. Therefore， returning to the message， the utilization of capital letters here for the purpose of highlighting the visibility of the warning text.

Apart from the headline， the display of verbal language in the warning sign could be seen as revealing that a sans-serif font is utilized for the short piece of verbal message. As already noted， sans-serif typeface is widely used in a variety of notices， presumably for readability reasons. By this point， sans-serif font is selected here on the basis of the fact that sans-serif fonts to be more legible than serif fonts when the message is printed in large size （Schmidt 2011）. Furthermore， looking again at the warning sign， the verbal text is set in lower case. As the amount of research in the field of text legibility has shown， lowercase words have been found more legible than uppercase words in terms of the same size （Tinker and Paterson 1939）. In the similar vein， Cook （2004） has pointed out that capitals adversely influence their legibility because of the squared-off shape. Moreover， Sheedy （2005） has written in line with Tinker， Paterson and Cook， the greater readability of lowercase words has been attributed to the pattern of ascending and descending letters. Accordingly， the lowercase used in this warning sign is to improve the legibility.

The focus so far has been on the idea of verbal language. As in the previous section， it should have become clear that the appropriate combination of verbal texts and images may determine the effectiveness of warning signs. Thus the paper will shift the focus of attention away from the verbal language， and towards the graphic design in the warning sign. The image is designed simply which featured cartoon character. The picture is a form of language-making， which can suggest a certain idea， that is pay attention to the person behind you and do not let strangers into the building.

5. Conclusion

In this article， we have been able to touch on warning signs， the main objective has been to illustrate and analyze warning signs in terms of its language use， fonts and graphic features. The paper has begun with an attempt to explain the general idea of signage and clarify warning signs are a crucial component of statutory/mandatory signs. Subsequently， a basic set of criteria has been proposed， which has been viewed as the theoretical foundation to analyze warning signs. It is important to stress that some characteristics of warning signs have been illuminated fully in the criteria， for instance， language use， font type， graphic design and so forth. Next， the article has shifted the focus of attention towards some particular warning signs， which have been of major concern in the study. The warning signs have been taken from Leazes Terrace， a student house in Newcastle University. Moreover， each sign has been treated as a text and collected as data for further analysis. It is valuable to mention that the analytic process have largely relied upon the criteria discussed previously. A thorough analysis of the font and language used in the warning signs has been performed. Related to this analysis is the fact that simple and straightforward expressions are highly utilized in warning signs， the intention is to efficiently convey information.

References：

[1]Arditi，A.and Cho，J.（2005）.‘Serifs and Font Legibility.Vision Research，45（23），2926-2933.

[2]Azaryahu，M.（2012）.‘Hebrew，Arabic，English：the politics of multilingual street signs in Israeli cities.Social & Cultural Geography，13（5），461-479.

[3]Cook，V.（2004）.The English Writing System.London：Hodder Eduction.

作者簡介：周玥（1989.8.8-），漢族，湖南人，碩士研究生，研究方向：應用語言學與對外英語教學。