The Use of KAAPS in Newspapers

Multilingual Margins 2016, 3(2): 127-139 127 The use of KAAPS in newspapers

Anastasia de Vries University of the Western Cape

Abstract In the increasingly competitive media landscape newspapers, among others, are under pressure from digital and social media. As a result, the performance and positioning of traditional Afrikaans newspapers like Rapport, Beeld, Die Burger and Volksblad, as well as the forms of Afrikaans they use, are constantly scrutinised in surveys about the relevance and profitability of the Afrikaans print media. These surveys often point to the use of Afrikaans ‘as spoken by the people’ in emerging newspapers like Son and Son op Sondag, as the main reason for the growing popularity, healthy sales figures and advertising revenue of these two newspapers. As a result, Son developed into the largest Afrikaans daily in an Afrikaans print market long dominated by established titles like Beeld, Die Burger and Volksblad. In view of this, this contribution will firstly investigate the profitability (in monetary terms and circulation) of actually using Kaaps in newspapers. Secondly, it will focus attention on the use of this form of Afrikaans in traditional newspapers in which Standard Afrikaans is the dominant form. The question is: What is the nature of the Kaaps in these newspapers compared to the Kaaps in Son specifically? The aim of this contribution is to explore how Afrikaans newspapers create space for the use of colloquial varieties in general and Kaaps specifically, and to determine the relevance or function of Kaaps in the news domain. On the one hand the focus will be on columns in which Kaaps is the medium and on the other, on newspaper articles about the Afrikaans language variety. The data on which this paper is based were firstly, the responses to a list of questions posed to the news-editor of Son, and secondly a critical content analysis and interpretation of the manifestations of Kaaps in this newspaper in comparison to the forms in the more established Afrikaans newspapers. The general perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the use of colloquial varieties of Afrikaans, collated in a 2012 survey among readers, are also taken into account.

Introduction: numbers for traditional Afrikaans Background newspapers (Rapport, Beeld, Die Burger en Volksblad), is often perceived as The constant pressure on newspapers the encroaching, inevitable demise from new or digital media in a highly of the print media. In contrast to this, competitive media landscape, which has publications in the emerging markets been marked by a drop in circulation – Son, Son op Sondag, Kuier – seem

© De Vries and CMDR. 2016 128 DE VRIES to flourish. Their use of colloquial Kaaps manifested in newspapers and language, among others Kaaps, is often neither does it pass value judgments cited as one of the reasons for their on the authenticity and/or credibility of growth. In view of this, this contribution its use and orthographic reproduction investigates the profitability resulting by the writers in question. These issues from this language usage, particularly should rather be empirically researched Kaaps, in both established and emerging in further studies. Of relevance here is a Afrikaans newspapers. It also considers content analysis of the selected columns, the possible functions and nature of concentrating on the functionality Kaaps in these papers, and the manner and nature of the Kaaps in Afrikaans in which columns act as a vehicle to newspapers. The results of this analysis create space for Kaaps in these domains. will be discussed in the conclusion. For this purpose the following But first the focus is on the material, in addition to a content profitability, or not, of colloquial analysis of the selected columns, applies: language forms in newspapers. It is (i) the responses in 2012 of Neil Scott, significant that the growth of Son into news-editor for Son, to a questionnaire ‘the largest Afrikaans daily newspaper’ regarding these issues1, (ii) the report (Scott 2012) since 2003, is usually Media24 Afrikaans Newspaper Market attributed to its use of different Afrikaans Analysis: A qualitative probe into relevant varieties, and Kaaps specifically. In 2015 reader groups (2012) which resulted from this newspaper had more than a million an investigation by Kuper Research into readers per day, with daily sales of 79 776 among others language preferences and in the Western Cape, about 18 000 in (iii) the Audit Buro of Circulation (ABC) the Eastern Cape and more than 2 000 2016 circulation data for newspapers. in Kimberley, Northern Cape (see ABC The searchlight also falls on the extent figures for October – December 2015). to which Afrikaans newspapers create The Kuper report of 2012 (see section space for diverse varieties, and Kaaps in 9.3) indicates that every copy of Son sold, particular, focusing on columns in Son, accounts for at least 11 readers while the Die Burger and Rapport. traditional Afrikaans or more established This contribution does not attend newspapers have about six readers per to the sociolinguistic aspects of the paper.

1 The questionnaire consisted of the following questions: a. Is the Afrikaans you use for example in Son, Kaaps? How would you define it (short sentence)? b. How do you determine the Kaaps (or however you refer to it) you use? Who determines how it should be used: your editorial team, linguists, readers? c. And for the rural areas – do you also use Kaaps? d. Are your readers only coloured language users of Kaaps? e. Do you attract enough advertising income to counter possible slumps in circulation? In short: is it economically viable to use Kaaps as a dominant variety in your newspaper(s)? Who advertises in your newspaper(s) – companies like banks, PnP, et cetera? Is your advertising revenue growing/falling or stagnant? Why? f. What are your circulation figures (in terms of sales)? For Son? And Son op Sondag? Is it growing/falling? g. How many readers do you have? h. How, if at all, does the language you use play a role in people’s choice for buying your newspapers? i. Are you sometimes critised for your language usage? By whom? Why?

© De Vries and CMDR. 2016 KAAPS in newspapers 129 In addition, according to the ABC Kaaps in Son data Die Burger sold 53 463 newspapers per day in the Western and Eastern The responses of Neil Scott, news editor Cape combined, Beeld 46 627 in of Son, to the questions posed to him in predominantly Gauteng and the North- 2012 (see section 9.1, footnote 1), indicate West, while Volksblad at 16 919 was the challenges all newspapers have to primarily operative in the Free State and face in a growingly digital environment, parts of the Northern Cape. This data including those characterised by the use also showed that the Saturday edition of Kaaps and/or other Afrikaans varieties, of Die Burger shrank from 70 666 to besides the standard form. However, 66 624 and Saterdag-Beeld from 46 043 while the more established titles with to 42 629. As far as the weekly Sunday their shrinking circulation become ever papers are concerned, Son op Sondag more dependent on advertising revenue stood at 60 000 sold copies, compared to in order to be profitable, emerging Rapport that had a circulation of 138 034 papers like Son report a growing share in the last quarter of 2015, down from in the advertising market coupled with 156 211 the previous year (ABC, October a relatively steady circulation turn over. – December 2015). According to Scott, Son’s Is it purely coincidental that the circulation dropped slightly due to a circulation figures of established papers weaker economy but its income from like Die Burger and Rapport have dropped advertisements performed better than significantly since the emergence of Son expected for the financial year 2011- and Son op Sondag? If no coincidence, 2012. In a follow-up to these questions is it because the latter are cheaper than in 2016, Eldridge Jason, content editor the former or does the language forms for Son, confirmed that the newspaper in which people’s stories appear, play a is exponentially drawing advertisements role in preferences for Son and Son op from major chain stores, as well as local Sondag? business. Though the newspaper initially At this point it is worth noting that positioned itself towards historically Son, as produced in the Western Cape – coloured communities, surveys have and in Kaaps – failed to make inroads shown that the paper is increasingly in the northern provinces. In fact, it bought and read by other communities was soon replaced by the now defunct as well. The Afrikaans ‘as spoken by the SondagSon, aimed at the lower income, people’ is one of the reasons why people primarily white reader. The language use are buying Son, according to Jason. ranged from spoken Afrikaans, English He concurs with Scott (2012) that and slang to crude language. the use of Kaaps, or not, is determined In contrast, Son op Sondag, circulated by various factors, among which the in the same areas as Son, reflects less slang, geographical regions for the two daily crude language and more importantly, editions of Son i.e. ‘one for the region less distinctive colloquial forms like Boland/West Coast/Southern Cape Kaaps (Scott:2012). Because of the latter where we write more in the language the following section will concentrate on of those people’ and ‘our metropolitan the Afrikaans, particularly Kaaps, used edition’ in ‘Kaaps, Cape Flats language’. in Son, to the exclusion of Son op Sondag. This means that news reports and stories about events concerning speakers on the Cape Flats may contain more markers

© De Vries and CMDR. 2016 130 DE VRIES of Kaaps than for example stories about question is if Son is not in fact indicative experiences in a Boland or rural context. of the heterogeneous nature of Kaaps, Thus, depending on the people in of variety within a variety reflecting the news and the contexts within which the various communities, cultures, their stories originate, news reports sub-cultures and geographical areas in Son may contain more Kaaps on a in which its diverse manifestations are particular day than on others when the rooted, within and alongside other subjects and their stories may dictate Afrikaans varieties characteristic of the greater prominence to an informal geographical regions and communities (Standard) Afrikaans with elements of accessed by Son and which also find their Kaaps or other colloquial varieties. way into this newspaper. How these varieties are transcribed An exploration of the daily to text is primarily the task of Son’s metropolitan and rural editions of Son reporters: ‘[They] determine how the undertaken by this researcher in the week language spoken by the people, should of 23 to 27 May 2016 brought to light that be written. They are the ones speaking Kaaps (and other Afrikaans varieties) directly to the people’ (Scott 2012). are indeed alternated with the standard As such, reporters are not simply variety when information is presented instrumental in documenting news in the third person and direct speech items and/or stories connected to the in news reports, articles and columns. life experiences of readers but act as In this regard Hendricks (2011, 2012) scribes of the language used to tell these distinguishes between narrative code(s), stories, i.e. the various forms of Kaaps the code(s)/types of Afrikaans in which used by subjects and readers. Does this reporters retell events, and the ‘citing imply that on any given day, dependent code(s)’ or the codes/forms of Afrikaans on the reporter, news items in Son may in which the subjects themselves give or may not reflect Kaaps or the diversity voice to what happened. Genres such inherent to it? as sport reports and recipes are almost In narrating the story, reporters exclusively in the standard variety. under pressure from deadlines, will Particularly the narrative and indeed opt for an informal Afrikaans, anecdotal contributions of Eldridge but have to stay true to form as far as Jason, Salmon Smith and Tracy-Lynn the direct speech of those they give Williams to the column ‘Oom Sonnie se voice to are concerned (Jason 2016). In stukke’ [Uncle Sonnie’s stories] reflect this addition, tight deadlines and fewer copy- interplay between Kaaps, other colloquial editors sometimes make it impossible to varieties and informal forms of Standard ‘translate’ news in Kaaps to the Afrikaans Afrikaans. The examples (a-d) below spoken in for example rural areas or are extracts from their contributions to stories from these regions to Kaaps this column. The following key applies: (Scott 2012). those sections where a narrator takes This calls into contention the the floor in the four extracts, i.e. the findings of Joline Blignaut (2014) that narrative code, is in the regular font; the Kaaps in Son is not a ‘true’ reflection sections in direct speech (citing code), is of this variety but should rather be bold while typical Kaaps phenomena are considered ‘an informal Afrikaans with underlined. elements of Kaaps’ (see ‘Opsomming’ These three columnists regularly [Summary] in Blignaut 2014). The turn out contributions in which the

narrators primarily use an informal by die venster van haar maisonette Standard Afrikaans sporadically in Westridge. Entjie in die hand, interspersed with Kaaps markers, while drink sy stadig aan haar koffie. Sy the utterances of their characters in is mos so excited en ever ready om direct speech show a higher frequency haar voete by Antie Gawa se deure of typical Kaaps phenomena (see (a), (b) te sit. Ant Merl trek toe op en hoot. and (c)). In Salmon Smith’s contributions “Jirre, Merl, is die nou halfvyf? ’n the narrator as well as the speaking Halfuur later? My make-up trek al characters use an informal standard hard!” wil Ouma weet. Ouma Doris variety in which markers of Kaaps are sluit toe haar voordeur toe, maar distinctly absent (see example (d)). voordat sy in die klein Opeltjie klim, (a) hardloop sy weer terug en check dat Die trane rol oor Melody Jones se die deur reggesluit is. Geïrriteerd wange. “Daddy, hoe kon jy?!” gil skreeu Merl uit die kar: “Nee, sy op haar pa. Geldgat Jones staan gonna, Doris, is alles hierdie nou egter met ’n mond vol tande en nodig? Jy kla dat ek laat is, maar probeer oogkontak met sy dogter dan vat jy nog jou eie tyd.” Ant vermy. “A-nee-a,” sê Big Boi. Sy Merl se man het al weer laat huis klein, ronde gesiggie is in een groot toe van sy druggie-vriende gekom. smile gekreukel. “Mens praat mos “Merl, is djy orraait?” vra Ouma nie só met Daddy Dearest nie. bekommerd. “Nee, ek weet nie Waar’s djou respect, huh?” Pokken meer nie. Daai man is ’n burden, hy tree vorentoe, maar Big Boi rig kyk nie meer agter sy familie nie,” onmiddellik die vuurwapen in sy antwoord Ant Merl terwyl sy wegtrek. rigting. “Make my day, pêl. Make (Williams, Tracy-Lynn 2016) my day,” sê hy dreigend. Pokken (c) draai na Geldgat Jones. “Djy bly Die ses tikkoppe lyk ver van hêppie nou maar eenmaal ’n stuk gemors. toe Jeppo by hul flat inbars. Jeppo Vir once in my lewe wou ek djou kyk die manne een vir een deur trust, but djy bewys net wee’ dat terwyl hy tydsaam sy leerhandskoene vullis nooit change nie.” (...) Big aantrek. Nie een van die ouens lyk Boi lag hardop. “Jarre, ek sou ge- soos Kenny Moses nie. “Hallo, wies likes het om dié bitch fight heeldag djy!?” vra een van hulle baie kras te kyk, but selfs Days is bietere en gluur Jeppo op en af aan. “Waar as djulle moffie-talk. Besides, ek is Mistas die Ystervoël?” ignoreer het ’n kroon om te gaan collect. Jeppo die tikkop se vraag. Sy stem Jones, vat djou meisiekind en klink ongestoord en hy is min gespin lines. “Ek en Pokkel Booze het met die vuil kyke wat die tikkoppe grootmenssake om te discuss. hom gee. “Hy’s hier uit met ’n (Jason, Eldridge 2012b) visstok en ’n stukkie steenkool. (b) Hy’t iets gepraat van treine vang. Dis amper 17:00. Ant Merl is weer Hahaha!” sak ’n ander ou met so laat, sy moes seker maak dat Tori ’n groot kop laggend af. Die eerste se meisietjie by haar ander ouma een gluur die ou met die groot kop afgelaai word. Die deal is dat almal woedend aan. “Hallo, Koppe! Djy R20 bygooi om die tenk vol te moetie nog kô jokes maak nie. Dié maak. Ouma Doris staan en wag al jong kom bars sommerso hier in

(...),” sê hy. Koppe vryf selfbewus In my opinion the first three oor sy kop. “Sorry, ou Manna. Niks contributions (a-c) to ‘Oom Sonnie se soe bedoel nie, my broe.” Manna stukke’ are credible mirror images of draai na Jeppo. “Wie’s djy?” vra hy the diversity within Kaaps. It therefore dan kortaf. “Ek’s jou ma se antie,” stands to reason why Hendricks (2016) antwoord Jeppo sarkasties. Op could put data from this column to good daardie oomblik kom ’n seun van so use in the first chapter of Kaaps in Fokus sewe jaar by die sitkamer ingeloop. to illustrate the linguistic markers of “Pappa, ek is honger,” sê hy aan Kaaps. Manna. The different manifestations of (Smith, Salmon 2013) Kaaps in this column confirm that Kaaps (d) is no homogenous variety and that it Anthony Leyman, sy gesig can stand its ground in a newspaper grotesk in die maanlig, se alongside other varieties of Afrikaans. vinger krul om die sneller. It is significant that Son to its sole credit “Nee! Asseblief, moenie!” gil has created a whole new generation Lucien en probeer regop kom, maar of (newspaper) readers (see the Kuper die grond is té glyerig. Vaagweg hoor Report 2012, section 9.3; also 9.1). hy iemand sy naam noem. Die geluid Van der Rheede (2012:123) is of kom uit die huis. Maar dis dan sy ma the opinion that Son plays an important se stem, besef hy. Anthony gryp hom role in the advancement of ‘linguistic aan die skouers en begin hom te creativity’ among reporters and readers: pluk. Hy kyk op en is verbaas om sy ‘Linguistic creativity offers a basis ma se gesig in plaas van Anthony se for optimally unlocking the social, gesig te sien. Toe sit hy skielik regop educational and economic value of the en kyk verward rond. Hy is dan in sy Kaaps vernacular Afrikaans.’ Of this kamer. “Is jy oukei, my kind?” vra the traditional Afrikaans newspaper Maria hom. Hy kyk op na haar. “Ek seemed to take due cognisance and het ’n nagmerrie gehad, Ma,” sê hy. columns in Kaaps began appearing in, “Ek het jou hoor gil en toe breek among others, Die Burger and Rapport ’n glas. Dis dié dat ek kom kyk since the early 2000’s, while articles het wat aangaan.” Sy vee die sweet about Afrikaans increasingly included van sy voorkop af. Sy kyk na die Afrikaans colloquial varieties (see section skerwe van ’n koeldrankglas in die 9.3). hoek van sy kamer. Lucien kyk ook However, it remains an open daarna. “Ek moes dit seker in die question if the space allocated to spartel van die bedkassie afgeklap colloquial Afrikaans, including Kaaps, in het. Ek het van Anthony gedroom, the traditional, established newspapers Ma. Daar was woede en wraak in are materially profitable. According to sy oë. Hy wou my doodmaak.” Kay Karriem (2013), editor of Kuier, this Maria druk Lucien teen haar vas. magazine is a success exactly because the “Toemaar, my kind, hy is nou stories of her predominantly coloured veilig agter tralies.” “Ma, wat is readers in the Afrikaans they speak, die kanse dat hy bail kan kry?” are the ‘main attraction’ and not, as is Lucien kyk vol afwagting na sy ma. the case in the traditional publications, (Smith, Salmon 2010) served as a ‘side-dish’. Significantly under her leadership Kuier more

than doubled its circulation in this making it sound like ‘dictation’. Others increasingly competitive news market. admitted to having migrated to Son Her retort about main attraction vs. because the news is packaged in ‘more side-dish followed on an interview with pleasing’ language, but they did not want Waldimar Pelser in 2013, shortly after he to see the more ‘vulgar’ manifestations was appointed editor of Rapport, which of it in mainstream papers. Instead, they the interviewer described as ‘Afrikaans wanted the other newspapers to engage media’s last roll of the dice’ (Leonard the community in the manner of Son and 2013). Daily Voice. The question is: is the inclusion of In the past decades, Kaaps has contributions in and about colloquial indeed gained access to the mainstream Afrikaans in the established newspapers Afrikaans newspapers, albeit on a much merely a case of serving ‘side-dishes’ – smaller scale than in Son. The creation of and therefore not profitable - or does space for this variety in Die Burger, Beeld it actually have a different function? In and Rapport has been achieved in two the following section the focus is on the ways. allocation of space to colloquial varieties, The first one is the sporadic Kaaps in particular, in these established publication of literary or linguistic Afrikaans newspapers. contributions in which Kaaps, or aspects of it, are discussed. Titles like the following give a clear indication that Kaaps in traditional Kaaps is central to these contributions: Afrikaans newspapers ‘Kort vokale so eg Kaaps as kan kom’ [Short vowels as Kaaps as they come] This section on the use of Kaaps in the (Anonymous 2002a); ‘Kaapsers maak mainstream or traditional Afrikaans lang vokale kort. Dit was beslis die laaste papers draws on the Kuper Report hanekloot’ [Speakers of Kaaps shorten that was discussed extensively by the long vowels. That was definitely the full editorial team of Rapport in 2012 last cock’s testicle] (Anonymous 2002b); (see section 9.1). In this report the ‘Small het Kaaps in Afrikaanse poësie gevestig’ performance and positioning of Die [Small established Kaaps in Afrikaans Burger, Beeld, Volksblad and Rapport were poetry] (Coetzee 2001); ‘“Kaap-se-taal” under scrutiny. The forms of Afrikaans allermins net ’n mistykie’ [Cape language used in these papers and the language not a little mistake at all] (De Vries preferences of their readers were among 2001); ‘Kaaps, taal van my hart’ [Kaaps, the other points of discussion. In short, language of my heart] (De Vries 2006); the language picture painted in the ‘Bal die vuis vir Kaaps’ [Make a fist for report, was as follows: Kaaps] (Le Cordeur 2010) and ‘Kaaps All these newspapers were generally is nie Capey nie’ [Kaaps is not Capey] praised for their ‘pure Afrikaans’ (Snyders 2002a). Also of relevance in this which pointed to these publications as regard are the contributions of, among trustworthy news sources. Especially others, Llewellyn Prince, Kay Karriem, coloured readers deemed these papers Alicestine October and Maygene de Wee to be of educational value, based on their in Die Burger’s daily column Van alle Kante ‘high level’ Afrikaans. In contrast, some [From all sides]. readers indicated that the Afrikaans A second point of entry for Kaaps that is used, strips the stories of colour, in the mainstream print news media

© De Vries and CMDR. 2016 134 DE VRIES is through columns in which Kaaps as was created ‘to celebrate and explore the writing code is prominent. Examples diversity and beauty of Afrikaans’, is also of these columns are Peter Snyders’ applicable to his column: ‘My Afrikaans Kopstukke (in Die Burger)2, Anastasia de lyk soesie mense wat it praat. Die geskiedenis Vries Duskant Maandag (in TYD-Rapport) van Coloured mense is heeltemaal locked up and Nathan Trantraal’s Sypaadjies (in innie Afrikaans wat hulle praat. Is Engels, Rapport). Snyders as well as De Vries Dutch, Malay, Indonesian Arabic, Khoe. Dis and Trantraal are competent in Kaaps ’n version van Afrikaans wat unedited is, and all of them have made their mark sône gatekeepers en sône affectations’ [My in the literary domain. For this reason, Afrikaans looks like the people who their columns are written in the form of speak it. The history of coloured people stories or narratives reflecting different is completely locked up in the Afrikaans varieties of Kaaps. they speak. It is English, Dutch, Malay, In Kopstukke, Snyders focuses on Indonesian Arabic, Khoe. It’s a version the life and times of people on the of Afrikaans that is unedited, without Cape Flats. He created three characters, gatekeepers and without affectations.] Ghoeroe, Doktor en Ralph, mouthpieces These three writers display for his deep philosophical thoughts in differences and similarities concerning Kaaps about issues like existentialism, the use of Kaaps as narrative and citing identity, economic and political injustice code. To explain this observation, extracts and justice. Through his character from a column of each will be discussed ‘Gediggies Dirk’ he comments on below (see examples e-g). The key Afrikaans literature and the literary applied to the discussion of the column establishment. ‘Oom Sonnie se stukke’, also applies here: In her contributions to the the parts of the text where the narrator magazine column Duskant Maandag speaks (the narrative code), is in regular Anastasia de Vries writes from the local font; those in direct speech (citing code) space of Ravensmead about universal is in bold, while characteristic Kaaps issues: being gay, parenthood, social and phenomena are underlined. political injustice, and women’s rights. The narrator in Peter Snyders’ ‘People A collection of these columns were later se outokrasie bieter as demokrasie’ [People’s published in her anthology Baie melk en autocracy better than democracy] uses twie sykers (2010). Marius Crous (2010) mostly utterances peppered with typical would later comment on this work: ‘All the Kaaps linguistic elements, as the extract way through she also uses [...] a Kaapse (e) below makes clear (see the parts of idiom which is particularly reflected in texts in regular font). With the exception the dialogue, without obstructing the of one utterance ‘Hy wou haar verkrag’ [He reading process.’ wanted to rape her], this observation is Trantraal also dedicates his column also applicable to all the other utterances Sypaadjies to social commentary in appearing in direct speech (see the parts Kaaps about the life of coloured people in bold). in townships on the Cape Flats. His Example (f) below is an extract description of his writing code on the from Anastasia de Vries’ column ‘Die website afrikaans.com, a platform that lewe is ’n speeltoneel’ [Life is a drama].

2 Notably, Snyders had already published columns in Kaaps in 1998 in Beeld, northern sister newspaper of Die Burger, before his weekly column Kopstukke appeared in the Cape newspaper in the years 2000.

As in this extract, the utterances of her Ghoeroe en Piering was een dag ‘n Ravensmead characters, often contain plakkerskamp in met carriers vol typical Kaaps elements (see the parts in klere wat hulle koelek het. Terwyl bold). In contrast, the parts where her die hoofvrou en haar luitenant vir narrator speaks, is sometimes written hulle ‘n flagontjie maak, kom twie in informal Standard Afrikaans (like in ouens en ‘n vrou met ‘n dronkie the opening part of the extract (f)), and daar in. “Hy wou haar verkrag,’’ other times (as in the utterance ‘Nie, sweer sê een van die manne met sy arm ant Myra, soe whallai kassiem, daai dae voor onner die dronk ou se armpit. Paasfees het die mense in haar plek ’n oop Die hoofvrou verlaat toe saam met hand’ [No, swears aunty Myra, true as hulle na ‘n anner kamer. Toe die Bob, those days before Easter, the people hoofvrou die sakie afgehandel het, in her place have an open hand]), an kom sy trug na Ghoeroe en Piering informal standard variety with linguistic en sê: “Ons los maar onse eie markers of Kaaps. problempies op. Die lô sal in any Extract (g) can be found in Nathan case nie iens kom nie.’’ Trantraal’s column ‘My antie maak home movies en ôs kyk ’it oo en oo’ [My aunty Nou daai is wat ek kôl people’s makes home movies and we watch them outokrasie; iets bieter as demokrasie. over and over]. This extract illustrates As djy skullag is, is djy skullag en te the typical linguistic presentation in hel met al jou smaart mondstukke. Trantraal’s texts: essentially narratives Demokrasie moet af en toe gebuig in the third person cast in Kaaps word. with characters who seldom speak for (Snyders 2002b) themselves. (f) (e) Dis die week voor Paasfees. EK begin al hoe meer die wêreld deur Ghoeroe se oë te sien. Ghoeroe En sy weet: van môre af word sê: “God is dood. Demokrasie, die die strate van Ravensmead ’n antichris, het sy plek ingeniem.’’ skouspelagtige opelugteater. As die eerste vishoring sy hees gebalk Die ergste van hierdie demokrasie oor die Lane uitstuur en die perde is dat hoeggeleerde djitse en kopspelend voor die groentekar magistrate klou aan hulle wette soes aangetrippel kom ... word die lewe snot aan ‘n handdoek, al lyk die wet ’n speeltoneel! hoe verkeerd te wies. En wat van (...) die arme wetsgehoorsame mense? En môre sal ’n stem oor die reuk Hoe’s demokrasie met hulle? van vars vis heen die vroue straat Nië, wat, hulle moet maar aanhou toe roep: “Snoek! Snoek! Twennie om te fast op ‘n leë maag. Hulle rên vi twie. Lekke vet, lekke vasse, het in elke geval nie die geld om vasse viste! Ky’ra-da, dié viste vir kwaai lawyers te betaal nie. het tot nettoutjies nog lekketjies Dis of course anneste met die rondgeswem!” ghêngs en organised kraaim. Die (...) wetsgehoorsame mense se grootste vyand is daai djitse en lawyers wat Nie, sweer ant Myra, soe whallai soe volhou: Die wet is die wet. kassiem, daai dae voor Paasfees het

die mense in haar plek ’n oop hand. As presentations in newspapers of Maar nou ja, as jy nie daar is nie, which a large number of readers are not moet jy maar haar woord daarvoor proficient in Kaaps, these three columns vat. collectively, if implicitly, draw attention Of vra vir Toeroerie, sy wat al die to the linguistic and contextual aspects laaste dertig jaar of meer elke elke of Kaaps. All these columns reflect many jaar dié tyd dieselle ou rympie of the linguistic markers described by sommer oor die draad (tussen hul Hendricks (2016) and, among others, huise) uitskree: “Myrieee! Djy moet also by Ernst Kotzé (1984). Typical Kaaps wee vi my van daai mittedjale vi phenomena in (e), (f) and (g) comprise my ingelêde vis gie, gehoor? Die among others direct borrowing from ou ding va my, askies my ou beste, English (carriers, muster); morphological het hom laas jaa skoons blinkbek embedding of English lexical items ge-iet an jou vis!” (flagontjie, gebother); common lexical items (dronkie for dronkaard [drunkard], (De Vries 2010:49-50) mittedjale for (speserymengsel) spices, (g) the exclamation ky’ra-da (Kyk daar![Look My antie is nou oppie screen, sy there!])); pronunciation phenomena pretend om die kameraman weg te such as /e/-elevation (bieter, nië, wies), jaag, wan sy hou nie van aandag ’ie. /o/-elevation (hoeggeleerde), post-vocal My antie direct, edit, produce en is /r/-omission (maa, skinne, vi) and /a:/- die lead actor in al haa home videos, shortening (an). maa elke film begin met haa wat ’n The linguistic differences monologue gie oo hoe sy aandag manifesting in the columns of Snyders, haat. Sy gooi parties met haa kosgeld, De Vries and Trantraal are threefold: soedat sy die video’s kan maak. The first difference pertains to the My antie is soes Klaus Kinski, sy form of Kaaps that is reflected. is mal en lief virrie kamera. Die res Snyders uses an older form of Kaaps vannie video is net klomp mense wat that was/is spoken on the wider Cape iet, die heeltyd, maa gross. ’n Klomp Flats and specifically the southern ytgevriete mense wat gevang wod op suburbs of Cape Town. Trantraal’s camera, soes dai scene in Spirited Away waa Chihiro se parents in column reflects the Kaaps of varke ve’anne van gimbageid. townships like Bishop Lavis and Die second act is essentially Mitchells Plain. The Kaaps in De alternate versions vannie macarena- Vries’ contributions is that of the video. Niks much gebeu hie oek’ie, northern suburbs of Cape Town, in behalwe dat een van my antie se particular Ravensmead. Collectively niggies die vrou ookant die pad these three columns shed light on try om te force om te dans op die the heterogeneous nature of Kaaps. macarena. Die antie ookant die pad The second difference is idiolectic ruk die niggie se hand los, met al preference. Each of these columnists’ die meanness wat sy kan muster. Jy use of Kaaps reflects her/his own kan sien my antie skinne baie by die selection from the many options vrou oorie niggie, my antie hettie within a heterogeneous variety such gebother om die stukkie yt te edit ’ie. as Kaaps. (Trantraal 2016b)

Thirdly these columnists differ The differences in writing in Kaaps regarding the orthographic may necessitate the development of a presentation of Kaaps. They normative writing system for Kaaps which reflect for example the following could be to the benefit of journalists, as differences: the use of the umlaut to well as the creators of literary texts. A indicate the elevation of /e/ is only step in this direction should be taken with typical of Snyders: liëwe (Snyders caution as it could lead to prescription 2001), nië (Snyders 2002b), onsiëker and the restriction of options. In a (Snyders 2002b), tiën (Snyders contribution to Die Burger’s column 2002b). The pronunciation of almal Taalskatkis, Ponelis (2004) cautions [everybody] as [aməl] is written that we should be sober and practical differently: ammel (Trantraal 2016a), in matters regarding how Afrikaans ammil (Snyders 2002b). The use should be written: ‘Let us be grateful of the apostrophe to indicate the that Afrikaans has an orthography that omission of a sound, is characteristic correlates with its pronunciation. At of Trantraal’s phonetically written the same time, we should approach the text: ‘Moenie act soes jou ma en pa, principle that we write the way we speak wie nie wiet Facebook issie die hys ’ie, in a sober and practical manner.’ jy kannie net maak en doen soes jy Further studies about columnists’ wil ’ie. En ek sê it’ie genoegie, maa approaches to the orthography of ek dinkie alle wit mense is racist ’ie’ Kaaps can shed light on how ‘sober’ and [Do not behave like your mother ‘practical’ their writing principles are. and father who do not know that However, the differences regarding the Facebook isn’t home, you can’t make orthographic reproduction of Kaaps is and break as you see fit. And I don’t not the main issue. In my opinion the say it enough but I do not think all importance of their work lies in the white people are racist] (Trantraal concrete proof they offer that Kaaps, just 2016a). like the standard variety of Afrikaans, can be convincingly used as a vehicle for These differences result from the deep philosophical thought and socio- fact that written Kaaps, especially the political commentary. Above all, they tradition to write phonetically, has yet are written confirmation that Kaaps can to be regularised for greater uniformity. function as a vital, ‘valid communication Writers who use Kaaps are still code’ (Hendricks 2012b:111) in any and (thankfully?) obliged to use their own all Afrikaans newspapers. discretion and creativity.

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