Multilingualism In South Africa Research Articles

Towards a model of world Englishes and multilingual variation

AbstractDrawing on research on multilingualism in South Africa and India, this paper attempts to integrate world Englishes studies and variationist sociolinguistics; in other words, to fill in a missing dialogue between Braj Kachru and William Labov. The classic studies of variationism have been undertaken in large western centres in which the hegemony of one language is largely accepted. In the postcolonial world elsewhere, language functions and statuses are apportioned differently. This paper therefore probes the extent to which mainstream variationism is applicable outside the western milieu that it has so powerfully illuminated. This paper will outline how P languages (carrying overt prestige and power) interact with S languages (for solidarity and community interaction) within multilingual repertoires in post‐colonial contexts. The paper also explores the extent to which S and P codes interact under contact and switching in ‘third space’ moments that best capture the post‐colonial habitus among educated bilingual speakers.

The Discriminatory Practice of Language Testing for Authenticating Citizenship: An Analysis of Operation Dudula Through a Forensic Linguistics Lens

This article utilises both the theoretical and practical lenses located in the discipline of forensic linguistics to examine the practice of administering language tests to applicants for citizenship in South Africa, considering the prevailing policies and practices in an international context, and concludes that they should be avoided. In this interdisciplinary article I outline the South African constitutional and legislative provisions affecting language testing and language proficiency when applying for citizenship in multilingual South Africa. In this paper I discuss the linkages between language, citizenship, and xenophobia, building on the work by Brits, Kaschula and Docrat on the role of language in xenophobic attacks and protests. I argue that language tests for immigrants in the South African context perpetuate Apartheid-era thinking, policies and practices. This creates linguistic inequality and contributes to racial tensions and divisions in communities rather than creating social cohesion and equality for all. The article provides a case study of Operation Dudula, where language is being used to carry out xenophobic acts under the banner of citizenship. A brief comparison is drawn with Ryanair airlines' language tests for South African citizens.

Multilingualism: An African reality

A plethora of studies, locally and internationally, concur that multilingualism is a global phenomenon. Multilingualism has become ubiquitous even in parts of the world where a monolingual stance has been prevalent. However, the hegemony of English is maintained in countries historically colonised by the British Empire. This paper examines the various reasons why multilingualism is not taken into account, especially in South African institutions of higher learning. The qualitative study discussed in this paper utilised only one respondent stationed at a university in South Africa as its participant. Data were collected through a strategic conversation analysis with the student. The results show that the multilingual student treasures his inherent multilingualism and enjoys acquiring more languages into his repertoire. In addition, the results debunk some researchers’ scepticism towards promoting multilingualism for fear of language interference. The findings further indicate the need to recognise the reality of multilingualism in South Africa and Africa, which should be treated as such.

The Minibus Taxi Industry’s Communication Strategies in Dealing with Linguistic Diversity on the Way to Business Leadership: The Case of South Africa

Informal businesses, such as the minibus taxi industry, positively contribute to the country’s economy whilst providing an essential public transport service to the linguistically diverse communities of multilingual South Africa. The systematisation of the scientific literature on the development of the minibus taxi industry proved the absence of comprehensive studies aimed at understanding the communication strategies that taxi operators use among themselves and when interacting with passengers. This paper aims to investigate the types of language strategies that take place in six taxi associations in which IsiZulu and English are the two dominant languages. This investigation is conducted against the multilingual context of the country and its attractiveness as an international and domestic tourist destination to determine how the business leadership in the taxi industry responds. The article’s theoretical framework draws from the transformative paradigm as it enables one to explore the experiences of marginalised communities. In this case, the marginalised communities are the taxi operators who stand to benefit from appropriate communication strategies. By taking the initiative and showing “agency”, they direct their efforts to solve existing problems in communication with passengers. The qualitative approach was adopted as a research methodology in which the researcher selected a structured interview approach. It involved interviews with twenty-four taxi operators and drivers who were purposefully selected in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The participants gave an account of their experiences of bi-/multilingualism in the taxi industry during taxi association meetings, when interacting informally among themselves and in their communication with passengers. The results of the analysis of the responses of the respondents showed that the communication strategies used to mediate challenges posed by linguistic diversity are translation, interpretation, slang and language dominance. It is concluded that through their agency and by taking initiatives to deal with linguistic challenges in the eThekwini taxi industry, the economically marginalised are to be commended for being able to resolve impediments to their economic growth.

Using critical language awareness pedagogy to leverage home languages in multilingual South Africa

Using critical language awareness pedagogy to leverage home languages in multilingual South Africa

Just Enough English to Get by: Language Practices of Transnational Migrants in Chinese Stores in Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract The presence of a Chinese community in South Africa has become increasingly visible over the last decade, particularly in the trading sector. This is illustrated in the sizable number of new shopping centres settled specifically by groups of Chinese traders, known as China Towns. Shopkeepers and shop assistants come from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds, China and other African countries respectively, but living and working in a multilingual South Africa, they communicate in English, which is the lingua franca. This paper explores their language practices and reflects on a particular language contact situation where shopkeepers and assistants of various migrant origins work closely together. The study adopts a linguistic ethnographic approach to the analysis of the interaction between shopkeepers and assistants and uses conversation analysis to elucidate the ways in which meaning is negotiated and understood in interaction between multilingual speakers. Unscripted audio recorded spoken interaction of the participants throughout the workday is the primary source of data. Additionally, interviews and observational notes are used to supplement the interactional data and illustrate the creative forms of language use that emerge in a in a China Town centre near Cape Town in the Western Cape.

The development of a motivation for language learning questionnaire in multilingual South Africa: Context and use

Survey questionnaires have over time become benchmark measuring instruments used to measure language learning motivation (LLM) in applied linguistics research related to second or additional language teaching. For researchers who wish to study the motivation phenomenon in multicultural and multilingual contexts, however, the problem is that many of the standardized questionnaires such as Gardner's Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) were designed to measure students' motivation primarily in Western countries. Therefore, it becomes mandatory for these researchers to devise scales that are contextually more appropriate for measuring students' LLM. Accordingly, this paper aims to contribute to the limited body of knowledge concerning the design of questionnaires for measuring LLM that are applicable to African multilingual settings by proposing a renewal of perspective in this regard. By outlining the rationale for developing a reliable motivation scale that can potentially yield valid and reliable research outcomes in multilingual contexts, the paper aims to demonstrate how the design of inclusive motivation scales can be achieved. Normative procedures or methods involved in developing questionnaire scales are briefly presented, specifically the selection of suitable survey statements, as well as the piloting and refinement of the scale. It is proposed that the scale be used in conjunction with qualitative methods in order to gain a fuller picture of how motivation interacts with other factors and processes in multilingual contexts that require the learning of an additional language.

Subtitling and the promotion of multilingualism: the case of marginalised languages in South Africa

This article investigates the role that subtitling may play in the promotion of multilingualism in South Africa. After a reflection on the current language-political situation in the country, in particular as it pertains to the public broadcaster, the findings of a pilot study focusing on the role of subtitling in promoting multilingualism and language rights in South Africa are presented. The research involves aspects such as language status, attitudes and acquisition, focusing on two of the more marginalised languages in the country, namely Tshivenda and Xitsonga. It also touches on the impact of subtitling on comprehension.

The role of English in South African multilinguals’ linguistic repertoires: a cluster-analytic study

ABSTRACT A substantial body of research has examined the role of English in South Africans’ linguistic repertoires. Many of these studies have investigated whether a language shift towards English might be underway among first-language (L1) speakers of the indigenous languages. At the same time, the role of English in the repertoires of L1 English speakers has received little attention, the implicit assumption being that English remains dominant for them. This paper presents an empirically informed comparison of English experience within and across L1 and non-L1 (Ln) English speakers in order to shed light on the importance of English in these individuals’ repertoires. Cluster analysis is employed to analyze language background data from bi-/multilinguals (n = 200). The analysis produces two clusters, which differ in extent of English exposure and preference for English use. All but one of the L1 English speakers belong to the ‘higher exposure, higher preference’ cluster, while the vast majority of the Ln speakers fall into the ‘lower exposure, lower preference’ cluster. The results indicate that English experience is relatively homogeneous across L1 speakers but differs, for the most part, across L1 and Ln speakers. The findings are relevant to our understanding of language use in multilingual South Africa.

The extraction of terminology list using ParaConc for creating a quadrilingual dictionary

The lack of terminology and language resources for the under-resourced South African languages poses a serious problem for effective communication in specialised fields such as law, education, health, agriculture, science, and technology. The ability to use all South African languages in all contemporary fields requires the existence of relevant terminology and resources. The article aims to semi-automatically identify and extract terminology for creating an English, Xitsonga, Siswati, and isiNdebele quadrilingual dictionary. Given parallel texts in the four different languages, we use ParaConc to identify and extract terminology in one language and the corresponding translations in the other languages. In this study, English is used as the source language, while Xitsonga, Siswati, and isiNdebele are the target languages. This process allowed us to identify specific lexical items in the source language (manually) and their translation equivalents in the target languages (automatically). The result was a collection of extracted terminology lists that can be used to compile a specialised quadrilingual dictionary for English and three of the under-resourced languages. We show the usefulness of ParaConc to semi-automatically extract quadrilingual terminology lists, which, by creating quadrilingual dictionaries, will contribute to the development and promotion of multilingualism in South Africa.

Accents and Original Pronunciation as Tools for Teaching and Performing Shakespeare in South Africa

In multicultural and multilingual South Africa, recent initiatives to decolonise curricula have suggested dispensing with the works of Shakespeare and other ‘Western’ texts to make space for African and postcolonial texts. The elevated and archaic language of classical texts often proves difficult for students to access comprehensively and discourages their interest or engagement. This article gives an account of the author’s interventions in the field of Theatre and Performance, and specifically vocal pedagogy, to tackle the language conundrum and therefore to broaden entry into and to invigorate Shakespeare’s plays. The study of Original Pronunciation (OP) is proposed as a means of ‘levelling the playing field’. In the project described, characters from the Shakespearean canon are chosen as possibly representative of individual students’ cultural backgrounds; then key speeches are translated into students’ first/home languages, spoken in the accents of those languages, shared and discussed before an engagement with the sounds of OP. The project culminates in a production and an analysis of how the language shifts described can increase access to, and understanding of, text. The article concludes that the exploration of accents and OP in studying Shakespeare’s works proves an invaluable tool.

Being English in multilingual South Africa

AbstractThe multilingual repertoires of African home language and bilingual Afrikaans‐English speakers in South Africa have been investigated comprehensively in the recent past. Less attention has been paid to the language repertoires of English home language speakers. Very little is known about the nature of their repertoires and their attitudes towards the languages in their repertoires. These Inner Circle users of English are immersed in a deeply multilingual Outer Circle society where most individuals know at least two languages and the majority of the citizens know more than four languages. The use of English as a home language is also expanding in this context. In this paper, the language repertoires of urban English home language students that participated in a longitudinal language repertoire survey and a group who created language portraits are examined with a view to understand the nature of their language repertoires better. The main finding is that being English in multilingual South Africa means to be at least bilingual with a multilingual mindset. English home language repertoires in South Africa therefore differ from English home language repertoires in Inner Circle contexts like the USA and Australia; and from Outer Circle contexts like Kenya.

Ethno-linguistically diverse South African students' writing

One of the major challenges for designers of academic literacy programmes is to accommodate culturally and linguistically diverse student groups. This longitudinal study was conducted with pre-service teachers at Stellenbosch University to determine their understanding of the importance of good writing and ways in which they can use translanguaging to assist them in their writing. This study has also been viewed against the backdrop of multilingualism in South Africa, with the notion of socio-cognitive processes and its influence on the students’ ability to write. The aim of this study was to explore what students regard as good writing and to identify the kinds of strategies that multilingual students use when they write extended texts. When pondering on the holistic view of the findings, this study endorses the use of home languages in the educational practice of academic writing, but with particular caveats. The findings reveal that academic writing entails more than mere grammatical correctness on a surface level, but also involves taking cognisance of the second language learners’ background and way of implementing mental structures derived from their home language.

China Town as a multilingual workplace

Since the emergence of China within the BRIC [1] -group in 2001 (BRICS as from 2010), people of Chinese origin have gradually secured a market share in Africa that is successful at both formal and informal levels. A fitting example present at the informal level is the establishment of China Town stores and Chinese markets. These Chinese markets are characterised as a network of small, family-owned businesses which sell goods imported from China at competitive prices. This business model has become part of most towns and cities in Africa, with Chinese-owned stores featuring in lower- and middle-class areas. Overwhelmingly, the stores are managed by Chinese patrons who employ shop assistants of African migrant origin. Both groups have integrated themselves into specialised occupations, with the Chinese opening these (in)formal stores and the Africans working closely with them as shop assistants. The shopkeepers and their assistants speak different languages, but living and working in a multilingual South Africa, they communicate in English which is the common lingua franca. This research report presents an overview of an ongoing doctoral study which focuses on the Chinese markets in South Africa, with a specific interest in the nature of interaction between the Chinese shopkeepers and their African shop assistants. It seeks to describe and explain how language-in-interaction is performed or socially produced, where participants do not have a common first language, and English is the lingua franca. The data comprises audio recordings of the interaction between shopkeeper and assistants throughout the workday, as well as field note from observations of the research site. The ongoing study wishes to describe what happens linguistically when these different groups of migrants find themselves in new social and linguistic environments to which they acclimatise in profound ways. [1] BRIC: abbreviation for rapidly developing economies in Brazil, Russia, India and China, coined in 2001; in 2010 South Africa joined, so that then the group became “BRICS”.

Sustaining linguistic and cultural balance in multilingual South Africa

Sustaining linguistic and cultural balance in multilingual South Africa

Literacies: Skills and practices in developing writing identities

This study was prompted by the fact that students who use a second language (L2) for higher education studies are often faced with the dilemma of not being able to express themselves in writing. This study attempts to comprehend experiences by higher education multilingual students engaging in the practice of expressive writing. Mastering a language and being able to make sense of oneself in writing is a complex activity especially for L2 writers. In this article, I look at ways in which we may understand the writing process better when viewing students’ writing against the backdrop of multilingualism in South Africa, with the notion of a social (cognitive) process and its influence on their ability to write. The literature review highlights Bakhtin’s concept of a heteroglossic dialogic relationship referring to the tensions between the multiplicities of language varieties within a national language, which draws it towards a standard central version by the use of expressive writing. This qualitative case study design, guided by interpretive epistemology, was used to collect students’ views, perceptions and suggestions on their experiences in writing. The aim of this study was to identify the kinds of strategies that could assist L2 students with English language writing tasks. The findings suggest that multilingual students benefit from the use of expressive writing. When pondering the holistic view of these findings, this study endorses the use of expressive writing as a developmental tool in the process of becoming academically literate.

What is in a language: Essentialism in macro-sociolinguistic research on Afrikaans

AbstractEssentialist conceptions about language, and the relationship between language and other things, are still fairly common in society, and to some extent in linguistics. It is of particular relevance when working with specific (named or unnamed) languages in multilingual environments, or with one specific (named or unnamed) variety of a language among many. This article investigates how essentialism manifests in a collection of macro-sociolinguistic research articles on Afrikaans in contemporary, multilingual South Africa through critical discourse analysis. The findings indicate that subtle and covert indications of an extent of essentialism are quite common in the data, and even explicitly essentialist statements and claims are not completely absent. Some counter-examples of and challenges to essentialism in the data are also explored, although they are found to be less common than covert instances of essentialism. Suggestions regarding a few essentialism-related problems that arise from the data are discussed briefly.

Translanguaging and English-African language mother tongues as linguistic dispensation in teaching and learning in a black township school in Cape Town

ABSTRACTDrawing on the notion of translanguaging, I show how learners in a Black township secondary school in Cape Town use their multilingual repertoire to achieve power, agency and voice. I use the conceptualisation of the prototypical pedagogical macrogenre from systemic functional linguistics to show how translanguaging can be used strategically to actualise regulative and instructional registers to engender teaching and learning in multilingual contexts, and to illustrate that the often-assumed “chaos” in translanguaged discourse can be harnessed to engender pedagogic discourse. I demonstrate that by using the extended linguistic repertoire, learners do not need to be competent in monoglot English to be involved in classroom interactions and learning, as the Xhosa-English translanguaged discourses provide the co(n)texts on which the “standard” English texts are consumed and produced. The article concludes with a thesis for language education policy that puts translanguaging at the centre of classroom practice in multilingual South Africa: it provides a new avenue for postcolonial learning/teaching, as it frames the learners’ cognition of content and ability to construct meaningful texts in familiar cultural and sociolinguistic contexts.

Embracing African languages as indispensable resources through the promotion of multilingualism

This paper seeks to explore the potential significance of additive multilingualism in South Africa’s multilingual society. Additive multilingualism treasures the principle of equality among all 11 official languages. Therefore, our point of departure is the South African Constitution and various policy provisions that advocate for a multilingual mode of operation. The paper is premised upon the potential value of multilingualism that encompasses indigenous African languages and the view of language as a resource. This concurs with the language policy of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), which seeks to promote a multilingual society. Perceptions and experiences of a group of part- time LLB students regarding the learning of isiZulu as an additional language at UKZN were solicited in this study. The ‘ language as a resource’ framework was employed as the theoretical approach of the study. The study established an acknowledgement of the resourcefulness of isiZulu as instrumental in fostering social cohesion, breaking communication barriers , and dispelling misconceptions about the value of these languages.

The management of isiZulu as a language of teaching and learning at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's College of Humanities

ABSTRACTOver the past few decades, there has been an increased awareness of the strategic role of indigenous African languages in multilingual South Africa. This article discusses the strategic role that indigenous languages could and should play in the promotion of multilingual South Africa. The article pays attention to bilingual education and the functional status of these languages in Higher Education. We argue that the use of isiZulu as a medium of instruction alongside English in Higher Education not only overturns a long-held dismissive attitude towards African languages, but immensely strengthens the status of African languages across Africa by providing a positive example of what has been achieved at one university in Africa. A policy espousing a dual language medium of instruction counteracts the hegemony of English that is perpetuated in postcolonial Africa. It is concluded in the article that the use of the previously disregarded African languages such as isiZulu as the second medium of instruction at the University of KwaZulu-Natal is not only seen as enforcing additive bilingualism, but also as primarily addressing the goal of social equity: forging equal access to education and equal language rights for all citizens of a democratic country.