Barbara Bosch

Linguistic stereotypes: nice accent — nice person?

This study reports on an attitude survey using a matched-guise technique among Speakers ofthe three main languages ofthe Eastern Cape: English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa. We wished to investigate the extent to which Speakers in the area were using language and accent to make judgments aboutpeople, and to examine the stereotypical views regarding these languages and their Speakers. The relationship in South Africa between power, stereotypes, and language is briefly examined in order to show how, owing to events over the last 200 yearst power is very unequally distributed, and social position depends primarily and significantly on race and linguistic affiliation, which have determined education and employment opportunities. A detailed analysis ofresults reveals that discrimination against people may well be linked to the sort of language they use.

The sound patterns of English nicknames

Abstract The English lexicon has been found to reflect certain recognizable phonological preferences in relation to consonants, vowels, stress patterns and syllabic structure, and these trends have been reflected in sharper terms in analyses of particular subsets of vocabulary: phonaesthetic words (Crystal, 1995, English Today 42 (11/2), 8–12) and first names (Cutler et al. , 1994, Journal of Linguistics 26 , 471–482). Because nicknames are relatively impermanent informal names which allow users considerable linguistic licence in breaking the rules, this study analyses the phonological patterns of English nicknames in order to test the validity of the claims which have been made about English phonological preferences in general and specifically in names and favoured words. The study focuses specifically on nicknames reportedly used with positive social intent, in order to test whether positive nicknames follow more closely the phonological trends in phonaesthetic English words. The study reveals clear evidence of particular consonantal and vocalic preferences in nicknames as well as trends in terms of stress and syllabic structure, which can be argued to be linked to either the social intent of the nickname user or the gender of the bearer, which suggests evidence of some sound-symbolism at work in English nicknames.

Ethnicity markers in Afrikaans

This article examines the role of the Afrikaans language in creating an ethnic identity for the Afrikaners within a post-1994 multilingual South African context. In particular, it investigates how the Afrikaans language per se acts as a marker of Afrikanerness. Attention isfocusedon the ethnic consciousness surrounding the history and standardization of Afrikaans and the role assigned to various varieties of Afrikaans. Second, ethnicity markers in Afrikaans, such as Afrikaans lexical items, naming practices, jokes, and politeness strategies are discussed to illustrate the fact that the social definitions of Afrikaans Speakers are bound up with their particular use of Afrikaans.

'N SINTAKTIES-SEMANTIESE ONDERSOEK NA DIE GEBRUIK VAN EN

Hierdie ondersoek gaan die gebruik van die neweskikkende voegwoord en in Afrikaans na om die patroonmatigheid wat onderliggend is aan die gebruik van hierdie neweskikkende voegwoord bloot te le. Die gebruik van en om woordskakels binne die naamwoordstuk, werkwoordstuk en adjektiefstuk te koordineer, word beskryf Ook word die simmetriese neweskikking van gelykwaardige sinspotente groepe binne sinsverband en die neweskikking van twee geinkorporeerde sinspotente groepe se-manties-sintakties nagegaan en die uiteenlopende aard van die verband wat tussen gekoordineerde sinspotente groepe bestaan, word aangedui. Ten slotte word korrelatiewe neweskikking, neweskikking oor sinsgrense en “oneintlike neweskikking” waarin en optree, beskryf.

Nicknaming among Xhosa-speaking children and adolescents

This study reports on the nicknames of two separate sets of urban Xhosa-speaking informants; the first set belong to children of 5 to 6 years of age and the second set are the nicknames of adolescents of about 18 years of age. The nicknames were analysed in order to determine what patterns were evident in their coinage, and what the differences in form and function between the petnames of parents for their young children and the nicknames of adolescents were. Findings reveal interesting differences in the nature and function of the nicknames of each group; while all the nicknames show strong evidence of linguistic playfulness and creativity, the social functions of nicknames undergo a marked change from being primarily intimate and playful signals of affection in childhood, to acting as important social indicators of group membership and easy familiarity as well as a means of being mocking or sarcastic in adolescence.

'n Sintakties-semantiese ondersoek na die gebruik van die neweskikker maar

Hierdie ondersoek gaan die gebruik van die neweskikkende voegwoord maar in Afrikaans na om die patroonmatigheid wat onderliggend is aan die gebruik van die neweskikker bloot te le. Die gebruik van maar in die neweskikkende koordinasie van gelykwaardige selfstandige sinspotente groepe, die neweskikking van funksioneel gelyksoortige woordskakels en die koordinasie van geinkorporeerde sinspotente groepe word beskryf.

n Sinchroniese beskouing van diskoerslinguistiek

In hierdie artikel word die moontlikheid ondersoek dat wat tot dusver as tekslinguistiek beskou is, eerder benoem moet word met die term diskoerslinguistiek. Om hierdie benamingsverandering te moti...

Powerspeak in Rezá de Wet's “Diepe Grond”

ABSTRACT This paper argues that in Diepe grond a linguistic analysis of the text can illustrate how specific gendered relations operating within the text are supported by the linguistic fibre of the text. In Diepe grond a tension exists between the magical creative ability and vitality of language and the restrictive traditional parameters of language which are difficult to transgress without crossing certain traditional boundaries. It is argued that by violating certain stereotypical linguistic boundaries (e.g. syntactic structures, linguistic taboos, discourse strategies), barriers operating within the society (which is mirrored in the text) are dismantled.

Die Afrikaans van dagbladadvertensies: 'n komplekse linguistiese manipuleerder

Omdat die taal wat in advertensies gebruik word die wil, opinie of houding van die teikengehoor wil probeer verander om sodoende die verlangde optrede te probeer bewerkstellig, verbreek die kopieskrywer dikwels die tradisionele grense van die taal om die verbruiker se aandag te trek. Die doel van die ondersoek is om te probeer bepaal binne watter linguistiese parameters die taalkode in Afrikaanse dagbladadvertensies funksioneer. Die keuse van leksikonitems en die linguistiese struktuur van advertensie-Afrikaans word ondersoek. Aangesien die visuele in die bestudeerde korpus dikwels so heg verweef is met die talige kopie, word die effek van parataal, sowel as die interaksie wat in dagbladadvertensies tussen taal en die visuele bestaan, ook ondersoek.