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

The next, and final, switch is to Afrikaans where the caller uses ‘ja’ in an
otherwise English matrix language construction. However, whether or not this
should be regarded as a valid switch at all is quite controversial as ‘ja’ appears to
have become integrated into the lexicons of many English mother-tongue speakers
and could very well be regarded as an acceptable South African English word.
In turn 433, the host engages in codeswitching for the first time in this
conversation, in what appears to be an attempt to evoke the caller’s Cape Flats
identity and establish common ground:
Ja, right! Okay, ja Clarence. I mean, really now, because you were … Clarence
left here, I, if, if, we, we, were in countries where we had to cross borders
between border police en sulke goed, we would have been in BIG trouble. He left
here with a suitcase full of, of, med-, medication… Ja, it was like drugs for
Africa. Its drugs vir ‘ie (vir die), for the lung, drugs for the liver, drugs for the
kidney, drugs for his left foot, drugs for his right foot …
However, when the caller continues to maintain the use of a single language, the
host resorts to speaking mainly English, except for a few instances in which
switching serves as a means of creating a humorous tone.
This conversation provides yet another example of how the host engages in, or
even avoids codeswitching as a means of accommodating his addressees. In this
conversation the host attempts to evoke a shared, in-group identity by switching,
but then avoids switching as soon as it becomes apparent that the caller wishes to
speak only one language at a time. Thus, using a minimal amount of
codeswitching serves as a means of indicating that not only is the host aware of
the caller’s preferences, but also takes them into account.
Roles and identities
Before concluding the analysis of the data, I would like to briefly discuss
codeswitching in relation to speakers’ roles and identities. As Banda (2005)
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