I was additionally privileged to receive financial support from the University of (KwaZulu-) Natal in the form of a prestigious Doctoral Fellowship in the Humanities from 2002 to 2004. I am grateful to many individuals in the Umlazi municipal community for their exceptional kindness and support, particularly the staff members of Mziwamandla High School in Ward M, whose names unfortunately I cannot mention here. Further thanks go to my family and friends in Germany, who supported my studies emotionally and psychologically, and especially to Pavlo Vesely, who played a much more important role in the completion of this research than he may realize.
Also important to the completion of this study was my unwavering faith and belief in post-apartheid South Africa. This thesis explores how language, identity and ethnicity are intertwined in the post-apartheid South African state by focusing on one particular language group, viz. Drawing from general theoretical foundations in the field and sociohistorical considerations, the study empirically explores the significance and importance of isiZulu. in the life experience and identity negotiations of the residents of Umlazi.
Using a triangulated approach, which combines quantitative and qualitative empirical methods, the study discusses the individual subjective meanings and embedded emic categories that guide participants' understanding of who they are in relation to languages in the post-apartheid state. Finally, the researcher explores the implications of this study in the wider context of South Africa's sociolinguistic reality and suggests that the promotion and development of isiZulu is indeed a worthwhile undertaking in the democratic state.
Introduction
Theoretical foundations
- Phenomenological considerations
- Introduction
- Language and culture
- Identity
- Ethnic identity and ethnicity
- Language, identity and ethnicity
- The South African perspective
- Relevant theoretical approaches
- Language as an ethnic boundary
- Are language attitudes ethnic attitudes?
- Language and identities in education
- Language shift and shifting identities
- IsiZulu ethnolinguistic vitality
White (1947), one of the first anthropologists, points out the importance of language in the study of culture as it encompasses all symbolic behavior. With regard to the mother tongue, the loss of the language is also often seen as a cultural loss (Webb and Kembo-Sure, 2000d). Herbert Mead (1934) was one of the first scholars to explicitly emphasize the salience of language in the formation of the social self.
Especially in the context of South Africa's isiZulu-speaking community, "ethnicity" is a very complex and highly politicized topic. For more details on the erroneously simplistic labeling of conflict in the early twentieth century, see Sithole (1998). In the African context, the link between language and ethnicity may be more direct than in other parts of the world.
Whether this is true here or not, we will answer in the analysis of the empirical part of the thesis (Chapter 4). This could be a sign of language vitality independent of the use of languages in the community. The complete loss of the Khoisan languages is the most striking example in the history of South Africa.
When the South African sociolinguistic landscape is examined, the ambiguity of the concept becomes even clearer.
Socio-historical background
- Introduction
- Language treatment and language policy in South Africa
- The early years of colonisation
- The hegemony of English
- The isiZulu-speaking community in KwaZulu-Natal
- The 'Shakan past'
- Colonisation
- The rise of institutionalised racism
- Apartheid era and beyond
It could be argued that this was the beginning of the end of anglicization politics. Eiselen, head of the Department of Native Affairs, led a specific committee (the Eiselen Commission) which introduced the new oppressive dispensation into the education system of the black population (Hammond-Tooke 1997: 68). Verwoerd who zealously supported the separate development of the diverse ethnolinguistic groups in the country (for more details see Davenport 1991 and Chidester 1992).
Although the importance of the institution [PanSALB] is widely acknowledged, its instrumental and legislative power is quite questionable (Alexander and Heugh 2001: 32, Perry 2004). Its dominance in South Africa today is believed to hinder the promotion of indigenous African languages (see LANGTAG 1996). Another factor that contributed to the improvement of the English language was the fact that the Indian population immediately adopted the language as the dominant medium of communication.74.
77 Similarly, Phillipson (1992) shows negative consequences of the dominance of English in the African states in general. Therefore, the empowerment of the African masses must be linked to the empowerment of the African languages. I argue that the apparent superiority of the language has influenced the speakers of the indigenous African languages in the way they see themselves and their languages.
South African scholars have increasingly argued for the recognition of the integral role that history plays in the debate on ethnicity (see, for example, Mare 1995, Wright 1991; Wright and Hamilton 1996). Considered the founder of the Zulu nation, Shaka kaSenzangakhona is portrayed in various ways in literature. For example, it was possible to take up arms against rival chiefdoms in the name of the British monarch.
The linguistic composition of the African population in the area of present-day KwaZulu-Natal was quite homogeneous. The rebellion represented another turning point in the lives of Africans in the region. In particular, as the Charter of Zulu Society makes clear, there was a fear that 'departing from wholesome Zulu traditions' meant a lack of discipline in the home (ibid.).
The white minority hoped to control the political aspirations of isiZulu speakers in the region by restoring the name of the Zulu monarchy (ibid). The association of the Zulu language with a history of bravery was highly controversial in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Data collection
- Introduction
- Environment and participants
- The Umlazi township
- Methods of data collection
- The triangulation approach
- Limitations
- Conclusion
During the period of the Group Areas Act, a large number of Africans were evicted from Cato Manor (Umkhumbane) in the 1960s and forced to move elsewhere. According to the linguistic statistics of the 2001 census, however, it has only about 400,000 inhabitants. Many of the informants were from the pedagogical environment, since that is where the investigation began.
They are community members who subliminally supplied me with sociolinguistic information. In the context of post-colonial notions of "hybridity", the identities of urban municipalities are located in the space between "Western" and "African" subject positions (Callaghan 2003: 40). Although the theoretical basis of this study and data analysis is based on sociolinguistic paradigms, it also draws heavily from an anthropologically influenced methodology.
The nature and manner of the central research questions therefore further indicate an approach in the tradition of the Ethnography of Communication (Saville-Troike 1989). I seek to understand the role of language in the lives of isiZulu native speakers by relating linguistic behavior to general questions about the social system and cultural values of the community. For an excellent account of the role of English in the lives of urban Africans, see Breitborde 1998.
It should be emphasized that the aim is not to obtain the corresponding total compatibility111, but to compare the differences detected in the obtained data to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the respective methods. The following methods were used for data collection: questionnaires, interviews and participant observation. Any empirical investigation requires a flexible analysis process on the role of the researcher and a presentation of the limitations involved.
It seemed sufficient to make different channels available in order to gather information about the participants' perception of the status and value of the mother tongue. One must certainly be cautious about the generality of the findings, as the purpose of this study is primarily to elicit specific ethnolinguistic data about a specific target group, ie. the work of anthropologists and anthropological linguists has shown that ethnographic data is highly dependent on the role of the participant observer in the field (Fischer 1992).
Data analysis and discussion
- Introduction
- Analysis of the data obtained from questionnaires
- Overview
- Further analysis and interpretation
- Brief summary of findings
- Analysis and interpretation of recorded data
- Juxtaposition of isiZulu versus English in identity negotiations
- English as the 'other tongue'
- Educational issues
- Language demands and ethnic identity claims
At school, 39% of participants claimed to use both isiZulu and English, a similar number only English (37%) and significantly fewer learners indicated that they only speak isiZulu at school (20.5%) (Question 7a) . Despite the praise for English, a third of the participants indicate that they maintain isiZulu as the language of the home. The connection established in the previous question between language, culture and identity also prevails here, although with a stronger emphasis on the ease and happiness associated with the use of the mother tongue.
Strong pride associated with isiZulu and Zulu culture is evident in many of the subjects' responses. Yet more than a third of participants chose to use the English language in court. The next part of the questionnaire contained closed questions (questions 13-16), which offered participants four response options.
Sixty percent of the learners mentioned isiZulu as the preferred medium if they had a choice, while 34% expressed their preference for English. The results are expected to show that 59.5% of the learners answer affirmatively and only 38.5% negatively. The remnant of the past is deeply embedded in the above statement and shows that English is by no means uncritically regarded by all as the 'language of liberation'.
English is overwhelmingly preferred (50.5%) as a means of communication, with only 41.5% of subjects indicating a preference for isiZulu. According to them, using the English language in conversations with the older generation is disrespectful. This brings us to the question of the role of isiZulu and its potential as a language of education.
The results of the questionnaire indicate that a significant number of students prefer to have isiZulu as a medium of instruction in school. It is clear from the above comment that awareness of the new legislation has raised isiZulu's status. Most of the teachers interviewed during this study argued.
