Flora Veit-Wild

‘Zimbolicious’ – The Creative Potential of Linguistic Innovation: The Case of Shona-English in Zimbabwe

Code-switching and the emergence of new hybrid languages are common in contemporary urban culture in Africa. While the linguistic and sociological aspects of switching between Shona and English in Zimbabwe has been widely analysed, this article proposes that the new linguistic usages entail highly creative and at times subversive potential and energy. The widespread use of new media such as the internet not only strongly enhances the blending of languages and the creation of new idioms but also establishes international ties within a language community. A close reading of the lyrics and the style of musical hits will demonstrate how bilingualism serves the agents of popular culture to create a local artistic flavour within a global setting. Compared with the prolific use of code-switching and slang in the lyrics of songs, the domain of Shona literature shows a greater reluctance to experiment with language. However, the examples of A.C. Moyos play Pane Nyaya and of Ignatius Mabasas novel Mapenzi illustrate the linguistic resourcefulness of two prominent literary innovators.

Carnival and hybridity in texts by Dambudzo Marechera and Lesego Rampolokeng

In the post‐independence era, a multi‐layered perception has replaced the dichotomies of the anti‐colonial struggle. But white Africanists still have a bias towards a nation‐based outlook and favour writings which reflect some kind of African identity. African writers have rejected such patronising classification. They have moved away from unilateral ways of thinking and developed modes of writing which surpass the realism of the literature of resistance. This paper focuses on the elements of hybridity and of carnival as major characteristics of postcolonial literature. Examples from the works of Zimbabwean writer Dambudzo Marechera and South African poet Lesego Rampolokeng illustrate the subversive quality of syncretic, carnivalesque art which aims at decentring dominant discourses. Such writings undermine and challenge discourses of African identity which have not only become outdated and obsolete but extremely dangerous as they are used by black elites to justify their autocratic rule.