Gender aspects of the use of English on a South African university campus

Abstract

Abstract: This paper seeks an explanation for the current tendency of female students at the University of KwaZulu‐Natal, Durban, South Africa, to select English rather than their L1, isiZulu, for social interactions with Zulu peers. I draw on Labov’s (2001) findings on the prominent role of women in language change, recent work on language shift and changing conceptualizations of gender. I take as given macro factors and instead explore gendered self‐perceptions which might predispose speakers to select one language over the other. I draw on qualitative perception and attitudinal data collected by myself and Zulu research assistants, by means of interviews and focus groups. After discussing labels commonly used, in several languages, for men and women on campus, I consider interactional goals which may be underlying the choice of English: the desire to express politeness and respect, to embody ‘campus style’, to negotiate changing relations with parents, and finally, to negotiate equitable relationships with male students on campus. I conclude that this instance of growing use of English is linked to continued gender inequity in South Africa, and does not necessarily imply impending language shift.