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

may also be due to the fact that the question had already been answered and the
information being conveyed in Afrikaans results in a change in topic. The host
then switches back to English as he reverts back to his answer – “no, no names”,
but this shift to English also indicates a change in tone as the host becomes more
serious and attempts to emphasize his answer.
In turn 53, the host once again begins in English as a means of portraying a
serious tone, but then reverts to Afrikaans once the topic shifts back to the story
being told. Once again, the dominant language is Afrikaans accompanied by
some English nouns which fill lexical gaps (e.g. check-in counter, excess
baggage). Other switches serve as possible quotations, as with “20 kilograms per
person” and “R180 per kilogram”, where it appears as though the host is imitating
an airline staff member. In addition, Afrikaans would not add a plural ending to
the Afrikaans word ‘kilogram’. In other words, if the speaker had chosen to utter
the phrase in Afrikaans, he would have said “twintig kilogram per persoon.”
In turn 55, the story is yet again told in Afrikaans, with the exception of a few
words and phrases. The use of the English word, ‘outfit’, serves as a means of
filling a lexical gap as it is unlikely that the host or his audience would have any
knowledge of the Afrikaans equivalent, ‘uitrusting.’
The English adjective, ‘matching’, translates as ‘passende’ which is, to some
extent, an uncommon Afrikaans word among speakers of Kaapse Afrikaans.
Thus, it is possible that the host may have intentionally avoided using the
Afrikaans equivalent in order not to risk being regarded as too formal. In
addition, while the English adjective is used in conjunction with the Afrikaans
nouns, ‘skoene’ and ‘sokkies’, the speaker may specifically have chosen to use the
English conjunction because, in context, the shoes and socks matched the outfit.
Thus, the adjective, ‘matching’, appears in the same language as the noun, ‘outfit’
as the shoes and socks match the outfit in this context.
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