The Place of English in Expanding Repertoires of Linguistic Code, Identification and Aspiration Among Recent High School Graduates in Limpopo Province, South Africa
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THE PLACE OF ENGLISH IN EXPANDING REPERTOIRES OF LINGUISTIC CODE, IDENTIFICATION AND ASPIRATION AMONG RECENT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES IN LIMPOPO PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA by Andrew N. Babson A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Educational Studies) in The University of Michigan 2011 Doctoral Committee: Professor Elizabeth B. Moje, Chair Professor Judith T. Irvine Professor Jay L. Lemke Assistant Professor Lori D. Hill Professor Daniel A. Wagner, University of Pennsylvania ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank first and foremost my friends and family for their support in making this dissertation a reality. My parents Harold and Patricia Babson, my sister Liz and my brothers Chris and James have provided me with all of the love and support I could ask for. Many friends have walked together with me during my time at Michigan, but special thanks to Brian Drabant, Martin Heggestad, Ben Kelcey, Israel Kibirige, Tumi Mabaso, Philip Magkobe, Motlatjo Maruma Stella Resko, Jenny Smith, Carlos Souffront, Mike Taylor, Viticia Thames, Charlie Vanover, Lincoln Vaughan and Emily Wood, whose loving and lighthearted support, editorial and moral, made the difference down the home stretch. To my friends and South African “family”, those named above and those studying at “Turf”, participating in my research, providing their friendship, their knowledge, their time, and patience with my curiosity and curiosities: it has been my great privilege and honor to conduct this research in your home, to learn and share so much about our commonalities and differences, to have fun and to make bonds of friendship lasting for the rest of my life. I will be back soon. My doctoral committee members have been all played important roles in my development as a scholar and in my preparation for continuing my research after the ii Ph.D. Lori Hill provided invaluable perspective as a scholar of South African education, spending many of her office hours hashing out the finer details of my work and providing fresh and illuminating analyses. Judy Irvine, a fellow lover of West African music, has been instrumental in introducing me to American linguistic anthropology, and providing incisive, witty and challenging insights and critiques that have left an indelible mark on this work. Jay Lemke served as my doctoral advisor and believed in me as a scholar when I needed it most, providing unfailingly brilliant analytical reflections and caring advice on all matters personal and academic, without which I would not have completed this work. On that note, Elizabeth Moje, the chair of my committee, provided strong scholarly guidance and leadership, setting rigorous standards and constantly pushing me to do my best work; special thanks to her. Dan Wagner provided my first opportunities for working in Limpopo Province, for which I am deeply indebted, and along the way has held my work to high standards, while being a supportive mentor and senior colleague at Penn and UNESCO. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. ii LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................v LIST OF MAPS ................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF APPENDICES................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1. Why Study English, Code Choice, Identification and Aspiration among Educated Limpopo Youth? An Introduction ................................................................................1 2. Literature Review.........................................................................................................23 3. Methods and Analysis..................................................................................................58 4. Contexts of Linguistic Code Choice..........................................................................102 5. Factors in the “Balancing” of Linguistic Code Choice..............................................139 6. Volition, Agency, and Responsibility in Linguistic Code Choice.............................236 7. Conclusions and Findings..........................................................................................320 8. Implications and Discussion ......................................................................................349 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................362 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................383 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Research sites.................................................................................................63 Table 2. Activities 1-3 participants..............................................................................67 Table 3. Focus Group (activity 4) participants ............................................................68 Table 4. Interview (activity 5) participants..................................................................69 Table 5. Other interview (activity 5) participants, completing some activities...........69 Table 6. Other interviews, not included in general sample..........................................70 Table 7. Transcribed discourse data.............................................................................86 v LIST OF MAPS Map 1: South Africa and Limpopo Province (red shaded area) ..................................61 Map 2: Mankweng area ...............................................................................................62 vi LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: Ethics and IRB Approval ....................................................................362 Appendix B: Recruitment Flyer.................................................................................363 Appendix C: Maps of the Region and Area “Language map” of Limpopo ..............................................................................364 Missionary and Anthropologist Maps of the Ga-Mamobolo/Mphome Area Berthoud, 1886.........................................................................................365 Merensky, 1900........................................................................................365 Du Plessis, 191.........................................................................................366 Van Warmelo, 1935.................................................................................366 Krige, 1937 ..............................................................................................367 Van Warmelo, 1952.................................................................................367 Former homelands map (SA Census, 1980) ........................................................368 Appendix D: Data Forms and Tabulations 1. Questionnaire .......................................................................................................369 2. BALLI..................................................................................................................374 3. Free Association...................................................................................................377 Appendix E: Commencement Address of O.R. Tiro .................................................379 vii ABSTRACT This dissertation investigates the comparatively high use of English among 48 high school graduates aged 18-25 living in the semi-rural Mankweng area of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study focuses on the interaction between the participants’ increased use of English and their processes of individual and social identification. Discourse analyses of focus group and individual interviews, triangulated with descriptive data from two questionnaires about educational experiences, media usage and language attitudes, suggest that the participants recognize both the potential consequences for identification that linguistic code choices carry, and the desirability of equitably managing—or as some call, “balancing”—these choices and consequences. Participants’ discourse indicates two factors shaping how they “balance.” One is their physical and social location. Post-apartheid freedoms of mobility and media engagement are positioning youth to tinker with historically persistent ideologies of languages as “traditional” or “modern”, “white” or “black,” “urban” or “rural”. Amidst these changes, the participants evaluate their own and others’ abilities to “balance” based on where one lives and works. A second “balancing” factor is the perceived strength of one’s sense of “African” group belonging, or “roots.” Most participants consider family viii or village ties as the basis for strong “roots”; certain others consider their ethnolinguistic backgrounds equally integral. In any case, one must avoid the perception of one’s roots being too “strong” or “weak,” as this can threaten “balancing.” A second finding is that, as a “balancing” strategy, participants claim that using African codes is “necessary” in oral conversation with elders at home, and that using English is “necessary” for both written language practices (especially cell phone messaging) and as a linking language in multilingual