Messaggi positivi nello spazio linguistico urbano: un caso di studio nelle province di Varese e Como

This paper examines the phenomenon of positive messages in the urban linguistic landscape, positioning itself within linguistic landscape studies and adopting a descriptive-interpretative approach. The study analyses a corpus of 1,166 messages collected in the provinces of Varese and Como through photographic documentation, with the aim of identifying the main semantic, morphosyntactic, pragmatic, and graphic–visual features of these linguistic productions. The findings reveal a clear predominance of affective content, followed by messages related to human rights and peace, while religious and sports-related messages appear marginal. From a formal perspective, positive messages display a strong tendency toward brevity and semantic condensation, with extensive use of minimal structures, symbols, iconographic elements, and emojis, as well as affective intensification strategies such as diminutives and hypocoristics. The analysis further highlights a high degree of linguistic creativity, particularly in the manipulation of multiword expressions, collocations, and idioms. Overall, positive messages emerge as complex discursive practices that, despite their appearance of spontaneity, actively participate in the symbolic construction of urban space and in the negotiation of values, emotions, and social relationships within the linguistic landscape.