grammatical constraints and motivations for - University of the ...
grammatical constraints and motivations for - University of the ... grammatical constraints and motivations for - University of the ...
Hamers and Blanc, 2000: 258), this lack of interest is due to the “presumed deviant nature of codeswitching and codemixing judged against the prevalent paradigm of monolingualism and of the ideal speaker-hearer in a homogeneous speech community, who knows his language perfectly.” According to Appel and Muysken (1987: 117) “many outsiders see code mixing as a sign of linguistic decay, the unsystematic result of not knowing at least one of the languages involved very well” but “the opposite turns out to be the case (and) switching is not an isolated phenomenon, but (rather) a central part of bilingual discourse.” It is this approach I wish to undertake for this research as I set out to illustrate codeswitching as a complex process involving a great amount of skill in both languages involved. In the Cape Coloured speech community, many learners are exposed to English and Afrikaans throughout their schooling. English and Afrikaans are both taught as L1s and L2s. As a result of this, the majority of Coloured people in Cape Town are bilinguals in English and Afrikaans. In everyday conversation, these bilinguals communicate in both their mother tongue and their second language, very often in the same conversation and even in the same sentence. Therefore, these bilinguals are clearly engaging in codeswitching. In its simplest definition, codeswitching refers to the use of two or more languages within the same conversation. In the linguistic situation on the Cape Flats today, it is clear that English and Afrikaans not only exist side by side, but that both are integrated into single communicative events and speech acts. Although Afrikaans is both the mother tongue and the language of preference for the majority of individuals residing on the Cape Flats, they show a tendency to add English into their casual, everyday conversations. For those who show a preference for communicating in English, their knowledge and ability in the Afrikaans language does not fall away. Instead it is continuously displayed in their English communication. Both groups display a unique mixture of the two languages to which they have been exposed in their 12
everyday communication. The nature of this mixture of English and Afrikaans within the Cape Flats community was the major focus of this study. The problem with codeswitching in the Coloured community is that it is stigmatized and regarded as a result of an inability to communicate fluently in either English or Afrikaans. I believe that this linguistic phenomenon is not a result of linguistic inability, but rather a result of history and the evolution of English and Afrikaans in the Cape Coloured speech community. In order to establish a connection between Kaapse Afrikaans and the history of its speakers, it is necessary to take a look at their past. 1.3 The Cape Coloured Speech Community In 1652 officials from the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagne (V.O.C.) arrived at the Cape to establish a refreshment station. Five years later the first free burghers were allowed to terminate their service to the V.O.C. and so became a regular part of the Cape community, consisting of the Khoi, as well as many foreigners who stopped over in the Cape. A year later slaves began to arrive at the Cape, bringing with them their own languages and cultures as well. (Ponelis, 1993) This led to the formation of a diverse society at the Cape, as the area was occupied by people from a variety of cultures, speaking a variety of languages. However, the area and all aspects of society, such as religion, education, and administration, were controlled by the V.O.C. whose language was Dutch. Thus, Dutch became the language of the church and education and was even an important factor in the liberation of slaves. Conflicting views exist on the origin of the Afrikaans language. While some believe it is a variety of Dutch, others argue that it is an African language in its own right. Ponelis (1993), for example, argues that Afrikaans is a form of Dutch, proposing that a Dutch speech community was formed from a linguistically diverse society at the Cape and that this society relied on Dutch as a transactional 13
- Page 1 and 2: GRAMMATICAL CONSTRAINTS AND MOTIVAT
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- Page 9 and 10: 1.0 Introduction Chapter 1 Backgrou
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- Page 17 and 18: language of the court, education, a
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- Page 21 and 22: have always been exposed simultaneo
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- Page 25 and 26: also instances in which they do not
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- Page 29 and 30: 1.10 Outline of the Study Chapter 1
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- Page 41 and 42: Further, Franceschini (1998: 62) st
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Hamers <strong>and</strong> Blanc, 2000: 258), this lack <strong>of</strong> interest is due to <strong>the</strong> “presumed<br />
deviant nature <strong>of</strong> codeswitching <strong>and</strong> codemixing judged against <strong>the</strong> prevalent<br />
paradigm <strong>of</strong> monolingualism <strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ideal speaker-hearer in a homogeneous<br />
speech community, who knows his language perfectly.”<br />
According to Appel <strong>and</strong> Muysken (1987: 117) “many outsiders see code mixing<br />
as a sign <strong>of</strong> linguistic decay, <strong>the</strong> unsystematic result <strong>of</strong> not knowing at least one <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> languages involved very well” but “<strong>the</strong> opposite turns out to be <strong>the</strong> case (<strong>and</strong>)<br />
switching is not an isolated phenomenon, but (ra<strong>the</strong>r) a central part <strong>of</strong> bilingual<br />
discourse.”<br />
It is this approach I wish to undertake <strong>for</strong> this research as I set out to illustrate<br />
codeswitching as a complex process involving a great amount <strong>of</strong> skill in both<br />
languages involved. In <strong>the</strong> Cape Coloured speech community, many learners are<br />
exposed to English <strong>and</strong> Afrikaans throughout <strong>the</strong>ir schooling. English <strong>and</strong><br />
Afrikaans are both taught as L1s <strong>and</strong> L2s. As a result <strong>of</strong> this, <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong><br />
Coloured people in Cape Town are bilinguals in English <strong>and</strong> Afrikaans. In<br />
everyday conversation, <strong>the</strong>se bilinguals communicate in both <strong>the</strong>ir mo<strong>the</strong>r tongue<br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir second language, very <strong>of</strong>ten in <strong>the</strong> same conversation <strong>and</strong> even in <strong>the</strong><br />
same sentence. There<strong>for</strong>e, <strong>the</strong>se bilinguals are clearly engaging in codeswitching.<br />
In its simplest definition, codeswitching refers to <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> two or more<br />
languages within <strong>the</strong> same conversation.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> linguistic situation on <strong>the</strong> Cape Flats today, it is clear that English <strong>and</strong><br />
Afrikaans not only exist side by side, but that both are integrated into single<br />
communicative events <strong>and</strong> speech acts. Although Afrikaans is both <strong>the</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r<br />
tongue <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> language <strong>of</strong> preference <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> individuals residing on<br />
<strong>the</strong> Cape Flats, <strong>the</strong>y show a tendency to add English into <strong>the</strong>ir casual, everyday<br />
conversations. For those who show a preference <strong>for</strong> communicating in English,<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir knowledge <strong>and</strong> ability in <strong>the</strong> Afrikaans language does not fall away. Instead<br />
it is continuously displayed in <strong>the</strong>ir English communication. Both groups display<br />
a unique mixture <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> two languages to which <strong>the</strong>y have been exposed in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
12
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