"We just mix": code switching in a South African township

Abstract

This study concentrates on the interaction between languages with similar morphological and syntactic structures. It will show that code switching between morphosyntactically similar languages ofequal social function has certain implicationsfor the matrix language-frame modelfor code switching which has been developed by Myers-Scotton (1993b). The two languages under scrutiny here are Southern Sotho and Tswana, two very closely related and functionally equivalent languages spoken in South Africa. In certain contexts the Speakers ofthese languages will switch frequently from the one language to the o t her. The paper will investigate how the matrix language in this multiple switching can be determined and whether the distinction between the matrix and the embedded language is still relevant in such a Situation. Given the relatedness ofthe two languages, the implicationsfor the constraints which the matrix language-frame model proposes will also be examined. The paper concludes that in this case an interlanguage has developed which must be regarded äs a merger between the two languages. This is particularly salient in the South African context since the harmonisation of the Sotho and Nguni languages respectively has been put forward äs the Nhlapo-Alexander proposal (Alexander 1989).

Slang registers, code-switching and restructured urban varieties in South Africa

“…What would then be used when teenagers, especially boys, wish to be rebellious, antilinguistic, and artful? On the other hand we have no difficulty in accepting that the urban dialects have stabilised as home languages in the main cities in the last few decades, ousting the more traditional, rural-based erstwhile standard dialects (Schuring 1992;Calteaux 1996;Finlayson & Slabbert 1997). There might even be a broad restructuring along the lines of (a) an Nguni urban variety, (b) a Sotho-Tswana urban variety -for a strong argument, over the latter, see Finlayson and Slabbert (1997).…”

“…On the other hand we have no difficulty in accepting that the urban dialects have stabilised as home languages in the main cities in the last few decades, ousting the more traditional, rural-based erstwhile standard dialects (Schuring 1992;Calteaux 1996;Finlayson & Slabbert 1997). There might even be a broad restructuring along the lines of (a) an Nguni urban variety, (b) a Sotho-Tswana urban variety -for a strong argument, over the latter, see Finlayson and Slabbert (1997). It is also likely that some vocabulary once associated with the tsotsitaal style alone should have stabilised outside this register in the urban varieties, becoming acceptable to young and old, male and female.…”

“…Our analysis, however, proposes that the syntactic and/or insertional switching associated with some tsotsitaals does not occur without the urban language it is associated with readily admitting such switching a priori. These modern urban varieties are used by urban males and females, rather than the deep, rural-based standard varieties of their grandparents' generation (Finlayson & Slabbert 1997). The urban varieties evince (a) heavy lexical borrowing historically, (b) synchronic insertional switches from Afrikaans and especially English of elements of the sort listed in Figure 1, and (c) syntactic switching and/or partial restructuring.…”

“…Still other conjunctions like or and because can be found in urban code-switching data (e.g. that of Finlayson & Slabbert 1997). There are also occasional emphatic negators (never, nie 'not' from Afrikaans), and (phatic insertional) fillers (I mean).…”

Diversity and contested social identities in multilingual and multicultural contexts of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa

“…https://repository.uwc.ac.za/ Like other people from the urbanised Pretoria and Johannesburg Townships, this student is likely to have learnt how to speak Xhosa and related languages in the Nguni family such as Zulu in addition to Tswana and English (Finlayson and Slabbert 1997). The 'refusal' by the Tswana student to 'pass' as Xhosa is taken as a snub by some Xhosa speaking students who retaliate by walking away and 'refusing' to 'pass' as English.…”