AN INVESTIGATION INTO BILINGUAL (WELSH/ENGLISH) TRAFFIC SIGNS

THE READING TIMES OF THREE TYPES OF BILINGUAL (ENGLISH/WELSH) ADVANCE DIRECTION SIGNS HAVE BEEN COMPARED WITH THEIR MONO-LINGUAL, ALL ENGLISH, EQUIVALENTS BY SOME 28 SUBJECTS, SEVERAL OF WHOM SPEAK WELSH. INCREASED READING TIMES WERE FOUND WITH MOST OF THE BILINGUAL SIGNS. THE INCREASES WERE GREATEST IF THE WELSH NAME WAS PLACED ABOVE THE ENGLISH NAME ON THE SIGN. SIMILAR RESULTS WERE FOUND FOR A NUMBER OF WARNING AND REGULATORY SIGNS WHICH HAD SUPPLEMENTARY PANELS BEARING WORDED MESSAGES. ONE EXCEPTION TO THE GENERAL FINDINGS WAS FOR A SIMPLE PRIMARY ROUTE (GREEN BACKGROUND) SIGN FOR A CROSSROADS WITH ONE DESTINATION SHOWN IN EACH DIRECTION. PROVIDING THE ENGLISH VERSION OF THE PLACE NAME WAS POSITIONED ABOVE THE WELSH, THERE WAS APPARENTLY NO INCREASE IN READING TIME. ALSO CONSIDERED IN THE REPORT IS THE INCREASED AREA OF THE SIGNS AND THE CONSEQUENT INCREASED COST. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • TRRL-LR-475
• Corporate Authors:

  Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)

  Wokingham, Berkshire  United Kingdom 
• Authors:
  • Rutley, K S
• Publication Date: 1972

Media Info

• Pagination: 25 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Automobile drivers; Costs; Direction signs; Language; Psychometrics; Reading; Traffic signs
• Old TRIS Terms: Directional sign; Traffic sign observance
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00226753
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 31 1974 12:00AM