grammatical constraints and motivations for - University of the ...

Abstract
GRAMMATICAL CONSTRAINTS AND MOTIVATIONS FOR
ENGLISH/AFRIKAANS CODESWITCHING:
EVIDENCE FROM A LOCAL RADIO TALK SHOW
Diane Lesley Bowers
M.A. full thesis, Department of Linguistics, University of the Western Cape.
The study investigated the practice of codeswitching within the Cape Flats speech
community of Cape Town. Members of this speech community have always been
exposed to both English and Afrikaans in formal as well as informal contexts. Due to
constant exposure to both languages, as well as historical and political experiences,
members of the speech community have come to utilize both languages within a single
conversation and even within a single utterance. Codeswitching is an integral part of the
community’s speech behaviour.
The main purpose of this research was to uncover and analyze the motivations behind
codeswitching in the bilingual communities of Cape Town, while also providing a strong
argument that codeswitching patterns evident in their speech do not always correspond
completely with linguistic constraints that are regarded as ‘universal.’
In addition, the significance of this study was that, to my knowledge, no other study had
ever dealt with codeswitching within the context of a talk show. Other studies have
generally focused on codeswitching within the context of casual one-on-one
conversations. Thus, this study was significant as it attempted to uncover motivations for
codeswitching within a completely different context, but also as it attempted to uncover
whether constraints proposed (based on recorded conversations) were evident in live
radio broadcasts.
Data for the research consisted of transcripts of a popular radio talk show. The two
shows, approximately five hours long, in total, provided the basis for the research. A
conversational analysis of these transcripts provided insight into grammatical constraints
3