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

has chosen to split the phrase into two separate languages. Instead of saying,
“with his [bəgΛ:З ] and all” or “met sy [bəgΛ:З ] en al”, the speaker chooses to
draw on both languages. This implies that either ‘met’ has become incorporated
into the host’s English lexicon, or ‘and all’ has become incorporated into his
Afrikaans lexicon. The latter is more plausible due to the phonetic similarity
between English [aend ):l] and Afrikaans [єn Λl].
This switch is then followed by the Afrikaans phrase, ‘verstaan jy’, before the
host reverts back to English, saying, “He paid his excess. He paid it with a smile.”
Here, the switch once again indicates that the information being provided is
merely additional and not one of the host’s main points in the storyline.
The final switch which is of importance in this turn is “Hy het nie eens…” Here
the switch serves to amplify or emphasize the fact that the person under
discussion was compliant and truly did not look for an argument or a way out.
The rest of the turn continues completely in Afrikaans, with the exception of a
number of English nonce loans or minimal constituents which have either become
integrated into the host’s Afrikaans lexicon, fill lexical or pragmatic gaps, or
contribute to the speaker’s conversational goals.
Turn 59
In turn 59 one would expect the host to begin his answer in English as he tends to
answer in the language in which he was addressed. Here, the answer begins with
the word, ‘ja’, suggesting that ‘ja’ has become integrated into the host’s English
lexicon. Within the broader Cape Flats speech community, ‘ja’ is used so often,
even among English first language speakers, that it could very well be regarded as
an acceptable South African English word.
The phrase, “that was a revelation” is a repetition of the host’s closing statement
in turn 57 – “…but at Amsterdam that was a revelation.” The host then continues
91