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4.0 Introduction<br />

Chapter 4<br />

Research Design <strong>and</strong> Methodology<br />

This chapter provides a detailed description <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> research design <strong>and</strong><br />

methodology, as well as <strong>the</strong> methods <strong>of</strong> data collection involved in this research.<br />

One major goal <strong>of</strong> this study is to analyze whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> utterances produced by<br />

Cape Flats English/Afrikaans bilinguals show consistency with <strong>the</strong> <strong>grammatical</strong><br />

<strong>constraints</strong> discussed in Chapter 3. The aim <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> analysis, <strong>the</strong>n, is to evaluate<br />

<strong>the</strong> applicability <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se <strong>constraints</strong> in relation to English/Afrikaans<br />

codeswitching.<br />

Ano<strong>the</strong>r major goal <strong>of</strong> this study is to uncover <strong>the</strong> reasons speakers engage in<br />

codeswitching. While codeswitching has been attributed to a number <strong>of</strong> socially<br />

motivated factors, this study aims to uncover <strong>the</strong> social <strong>motivations</strong> within <strong>the</strong><br />

Cape Flats speech community in particular.<br />

4.1 Study Area<br />

The current Cape Town population consists <strong>of</strong> around 2.9 million people, <strong>of</strong><br />

which, Coloured people account <strong>for</strong> 48.13%, while Blacks <strong>and</strong> Whites account <strong>for</strong><br />

31% <strong>and</strong> 18.75% respectively (South African National Census 2001).<br />

The Cape Flats refers to <strong>the</strong> low-lying, expansive area situated south <strong>of</strong> Cape<br />

Town’s Central Business District. It is <strong>the</strong> area to which those who were classified<br />

as non-White by <strong>the</strong> apar<strong>the</strong>id government were <strong>for</strong>cibly moved during <strong>the</strong> 1950s.<br />

The Group Areas Act <strong>and</strong> pass laws, put in place by <strong>the</strong> apar<strong>the</strong>id government,<br />

<strong>for</strong>ced non-Whites to relocate to this area <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> central <strong>and</strong> western areas <strong>of</strong><br />

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