scholarly journals Ethnicity and codeswitching

Pragmatics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-499
Author(s):  
Gerald Stell
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Speech Community ◽  
Language Mixing ◽  
Switching Patterns ◽  
Language Alternation ◽  
African Context ◽  
Linguistic Constraints

This article aims to compare three distinct grammatical and conversational patterns of code-switching, which it tentatively links to three different South African ethnoracial labels: White, Coloured and Black. It forms a continuation of a previous article in which correlations were established between Afrikaans-English code-switching patterns and White and Coloured ethnicities. The typological framework used is derived from Muysken, and the hypotheses are based on his predictions as to which type of grammatical CS (i.e. insertional, alternational, congruent lexicalisation) will dominate in which linguistic and sociolinguistic settings. Apart from strengthening the idea of a correlation between patterns of language variation and ethnicity in general, the article explores the theoretical possibility of specific social factors overriding linguistic constraints in determining the grammatical form of CS patterns. In this regard, it will be shown that – on account of specific social factors underlying ethnicity – CS between two typologically unrelated languages, namely Sesotho and English, can exhibit more marks of congruent lexicalization than CS between two typologically related languages, namely Afrikaans and English, while – from the point of view of linguistic constraints – insertional/alternational CS would be expected in the former language pair and congruent lexicalization in the latter. That finding will be placed against the background of different pragmatic norms regulating the conversational use of CS within the Black Sesotho-speaking community (which we will describe as ‘language mixing’ in Auer’s sense) and within the Afrikaans speech community (which in the case of Whites we will describe as tending more towards ‘language alternation’ in Auer’s sense, and in the case of Coloureds as occupying an intermediate position between language alternation and language mixing). The summary of findings on grammatical and conversational CS patterns across ethnic samples will finally be placed against the background of ethnicity and its specific definition in the South African context.

scholarly journals A pastoral investigation into some of the challenges associated with aging and retirement in the South African context

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magezi E. Baloyi
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Black South Africans ◽  
African Context ◽  
Long Life ◽  
The Church

This article is a contribution to a project that congratulates from the work of George Lotter, a pastor, pastoral counsellor and academic who wrote much on matters relating to pastoral care and counselling. Elderliness and retirement can be understood as a period in the lives of elderly people that allows them to rest after a long life of activity and service. From another point of view, old age is also a time that offers pastoral caregivers an opportunity to care for people who have contributed to their families and society. Pastoral caregivers have an important role to play in the lives of elderly people. This applies particularly to elderly black South Africans, who often find themselves confronted by poverty and other related problems. This article investigates the challenges and problems affecting retired and elderly black South Africans with particular focus on the economic impact of aging and its influence on family relationships in the lives of elderly people. To conclude: it is the duty of pastoral caregivers to search for and establish guidelines for the roles the church can play in improving elderly people’s quality of life.’n Pastorale ondersoek na enkele van die uitdagings ten opsigte van veroudering en aftredein die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Hierdie artikel is ’n bydrae tot ’n projek wat voorspruit uit die werk van George Lotter, ’n pastor, pastorale berader en akademikus wat baie geskryf het oor kwessies wat met pastorale sorg en berading verband hou. Bejaardheid en aftrede kan verstaan word as ’n tyd in in ouer persone se lewe waartydens hulle kan rus ná ’n lang aktiewe en diensbare lewe. Bejaardheid kan ook gesien word as ’n tyd wat aan pastorale versorgers die geleentheid gee om na die mense wat bygedra het tot hulle families en die gemeenskap se versorging, om te sien. Pastorale versorgers speel ’n belangrike rol in die lewens van bejaardes. Dit is spesifiek van toepassing op bejaarde swart Suid-Afrikaners wat dikwels gekonfronteer word met armoede en aanverwante probleme. Hierdie artikel ondersoek die uitdagings en probleme waarmee bejaarde swart Suid-Afrikaanse afgetredenes te kampe het. Dit fokus spesifiek op die ekonomiese uitwerking van veroudering en die invloed wat dit op familieverhoudinge in die lewens van bejaardes het. Die slotsom word gemaak dat dit die plig van pastorale versorgers is om riglyne te soek en te bied vir die rol wat die kerk kan speel ter verbetering van die lewensomstandighede van die bejaardes.

Climate Change and the Common Good: Some Reflections from the South African Context

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernst M. Conradie
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South African ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Theological Discourse ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Common ◽  
Christian Discourse ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractThis article is based on the observation that any theological discourse is always from a particular location and a particular point of view, which is immediately recognized by others. At the same time, any (theological) discourse cannot escape the use of universals, of common categories that we need to communicate with others. We make constructions of the whole, of that which is common, albeit that we ineluctably make particular constructions of the whole. This poses particular challenges for discourse on the common good in the context of public theology. On this basis the article investigates a selection of ecclesial statements on climate change produced during the course of the year 2009 alone that are available in English. It focuses on how these statements handle the dilemma of speaking about the universal and the particular, given the moral ambiguities surrounding any Christian discourse on climate change. It argues that most of these documents are plagued with problems of reception; namely, whether the stipulated addressees would actually receive and read the documents, let alone respond to them appropriately.

scholarly journals Language choice, language alternation and code-switching in the Mercator-Hondius Atlas

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-45
Author(s):  
Aleksi Mäkilähde
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Switching Patterns ◽  
Language Alternation ◽  
Different Types ◽  
First Editions ◽  
Linguistic Approach ◽  
First Time ◽  
Different Parts

The atlas of Gerardus Mercator (Gerard de Cremer), or the Atlas sive cosmographicae meditationes de fabrica mundi et fabricati figura, is one of first modern atlases and one of the most famous of those compiled in the Netherlands. The first (unfinished) edition was published in 1595, but the copperplates were later acquired by Jodocus Hondius (Joost de Hondt) and his business associates. The revised Mercator-Hondius Atlas was published for the first time in 1606 with added maps and texts. The texts printed on verso of the maps were written by Petrus Montanus (Pieter van den Berg), who was a brother-in-law of Hondius and a Latin teacher. Many subsequent editions of the atlas were produced in the years that followed. The first editions were in Latin, but versions in European vernaculars such as French, German and Italian were produced later as well. The present article focuses on the multilingual nature of the Mercator-Hondius Atlas (1613, editio quarta) by discussing language choice, language alternation and code-switching patterns in different parts of the atlas. The dominant language of the descriptive texts is Latin, but there are also switches into many other languages, including Greek (written in Greek script) and several vernaculars. Furthermore, the map pages tend to indicate the names of different types of area (e.g. cities, seas, and oceans) in different languages. The aim of the present article is to provide a preliminary exploration of the possibilities of approaching the atlas with the aid of concepts and ideas derived from modern code-switching studies. I demonstrate how these concepts can be used to describe the language choice patterns in the text and discuss some of the challenges the data poses for a linguistic approach.

scholarly journals Die gebruik van ‘Skrifkritiek’: ’n Herbesinning

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
H.J.M. Van Deventer
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
The South ◽  
The Bible ◽  
African Context ◽  
Specific Meaning ◽  
General Meaning

The use of ‘Scriptural criticism’: a Reflection.  In the reformed theological world the term Scriptural criticism is a well-known concept. However, no clearly defined definition for this term exists in reformed circles. This contribution endeavours to fill this gap by focusing on the origin of the term specifically in the South African context. Also, it seeks to indicate how the term is used firstly, as having a specific meaning when reference is made to a method of biblical interpretation, as well as secondly, having a more general meaning related to a dogmatic point of view regarding the nature of the Bible and the role of a reader in understanding the Bible. It is suggested that reformed theology in the South African context should rethink the use of this term.

scholarly journals Ethnicity in linguistic variation

Pragmatics ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Stell
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
New South ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Sequential Patterns ◽  
Clear Correlation ◽  
Speech Community ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ethnic Divide ◽  
Ethnic Norms ◽  
Mixed Code

The Afrikaans speech community is characterized by a long-standing rift between Whites and Coloureds, and is for a large part bilingual, with English being increasingly integrated in its stylistic repertoire. Yet, the history of English is different across the White/Coloured divide, as in particular in terms of diffusion and in terms of ideological associations. The question we wish to ask is twofold. First, how far may there be a question of ethnic norms of Afrikaans-English code-switching? Second, if norms of code-switching are different across the ethnic divide, is code-switching used differently in the negotiation of White and Coloured identities? This contribution is organized in three main parts. First, we give an overview of the different norms of Afrikaans-English code-switching encountered across Whites and Coloureds on the basis of a corpus of informal speech data. Then we give an overview of the sequential patterns of Afrikaans-English code-switching following a CA methodology. Finally, we determine with the help of macrosocial knowledge in how far these different forms and functions of Afrikaans-English code-switching are made relevant to the projection of White and Coloured identities in South Africa’s current post-Apartheid context on the basis of select individual examples. The results of our analysis indicate that Afrikaans-English code-switching in the Coloured data displays the features of a ‘mixed code’, which is perceived as a ‘we-code’, where English input tends to be stylistically neutral. By contrast, English input is more syntactically and sequentially salient in the White data, and more visibly serves purposes of identity-negotiation. Despite those differences, there remains a clear correlation in both White and Coloured samples between the use of English monolingual code and affiliation with ‘New South African values’.

Epilogue

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shana Poplack
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Production Data ◽  
Unified Theory ◽  
Speech Community ◽  
Lexical Borrowing ◽  
Actual Production ◽  
Language Mixing ◽  
Theory Of Language

Analysis of language mixing in the actual production data of bilingual individuals has permitted us to test and overturn many long-standing assumptions about borrowing and code-switching empirically: borrowing is not monolithic but takes many forms in the speech community; it does not originate as code-switching; integration is not gradual but abrupt; speakers tend not to code-switch individual words but to borrow them. This work has also confirmed that code-switching and borrowing are diametrically opposed, not only structurally but from the perspective of the individuals who engage in them. The observable differences between multiword code-switches and lone other-language items, coupled with the overwhelming preponderance of the latter in every bilingual dataset that has been quantitatively analyzed, together demonstrate that any model of language mixing with pretensions to constituting a “unified” theory of language contact phenomena is in fact a theory of lexical borrowing.

scholarly journals Language mixing in Palasa

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-243
Author(s):  
Brian D. Joseph ◽  
Rexhina Ndoci ◽  
Carly Dickerson
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Speech Community ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Language Mixing ◽  
The Village

Abstract We explore here several kinds of language mixing to be found in the Greek-Albanian bilingual speech community of the village of Palasa in southern Albania. Palasa is of particular interest for Greek dialect studies because it offers a window in the present day into highly localized dynamics of language contact. Among the mixing observed in Palasa is code-switching, motivated by various factors as identified by Myslín & Levy 2015, borrowing, both lexical and structural, and hybridization, at a number of levels of analysis, including phonology, morphology, and semantics. Our findings indicate that language contact is still alive and well in the Balkans at least at the level of village dialects.

scholarly journals A socio-linguistics view of the resent mixed form used in Bengali

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-124
Author(s):  
Salma Nasrin
Keyword(s):  
Language Shift ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Speech Community ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Dimensional Changes ◽  
Structural Variety ◽  
Code Mixing ◽  
Bilingualism And Multilingualism ◽  
Cultural Components

As a social phenomenon, language is frequently influenced by different social codes, orders, and customs of society. Apart from the structural variety of language, many social dimensions of languages, develop over the time, occur. Nowadays Bengali- a rich language of south Asia- is encountering such social dimensional changes, as it interacts with its complex socio-cultural components. More elaborately, Bengali exhibits frequently different sociolinguistic characteristics such as code switching and code mixing, bilingualism and multilingualism, social dialect and dialectal free variation, language maintenance and language shift. This paper provides a brief description of sociolinguistic terms mentioned above from the point of view of the recent changes in Bengali. Key words: speech community, sociolect, code switching code mixing, code shifting, language shiftDOI: 10.3329/dujl.v1i2.3719 The Dhaka University Jaurnal of Linguistics: Vol. 1 No.2 Augus, 2008 Page: 115-124

Exploring recidivism in the South African context.

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Bedell ◽  
Nicholas Challis ◽  
Charl Cilliers ◽  
Joy Cole ◽  
Wendy Corry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
South African Context ◽  
The South ◽  
African Context
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