Abstract
In this paper we present a case study of interethnic relations through language variation involving two population groups supposedly belonging to one single speech community, namely the White and Coloured Afrikaans speakers of Namibia. The specific question that we wish to tackle in reference to that community is the extent to which Coloured and White identities are differentiable via linguistic means and how those identities are negotiated in intergroup settings where Coloured and White Afrikaans speakers are in mutual contact. The methodology used to answer this question is largely based on Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT), which entails the characterization of intergroup language variation in terms of convergence, divergence and maintenance, as well as the characterization of speakers’ group identities in terms of ‘subordinate’ and ‘superordinate’ identities.
Highlights
The study of interethnic relations from the vantage point of linguistic phenomena has been undertaken from a variety of theoretical perspectives addressing themselves with social identity, among which Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) is prominent
In this paper we present a case study of interethnic relations through language variation involving two population groups supposedly belonging to one single speech community, namely the White and Coloured Afrikaans speakers of Namibia
The specific question that we wish to tackle in reference to that community is the extent to which Coloured and White identities are differentiable via linguistic means and how those identities are negotiated in intergroup settings where Coloured and White Afrikaans speakers are in mutual contact
Summary
The study of interethnic relations from the vantage point of linguistic phenomena has been undertaken from a variety of theoretical perspectives addressing themselves with social identity, among which Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) is prominent. According to Stell (2009), there is a quantitative gap between Coloured and White patterns of Afrikaans usage in the Windhoek region pointing towards divergence across generations, with Whites generally remaining closer to Standard Afrikaans, seen as historically possessing more social prestige than Afrikaans Coloured varieties (Webb 1989) Despite suggestions that they are not socially integrated and that they are linguistically diverging, most Namibian Whites and Namibian Coloured are sociolinguistically related by being L1 speakers of Afrikaans, and by being exposed in similar terms to Namibia's English-centred language-in-education policy. Despite suggestions that they are not socially integrated and that they are linguistically diverging, most Namibian Whites and Namibian Coloured are sociolinguistically related by being L1 speakers of Afrikaans, and by being exposed in similar terms to Namibia's English-centred language-in-education policy4 They may be ideologically related by virtue of sharing a status of ethnic and linguistic minority in a Black-dominated polity of which the linguistic attribute is English. As will be made clear language use can theoretically provide a central clue in the reconstruction of interethnic relations
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