A Language in Decline? a Contrastive Study of the Use
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A language in decline? A contrastive study of the use of, and motivation and de-motivation for, learning Afrikaans among two groups of learners at an English medium high school in Cape Town, South Africa MANISHA GOVENDER Student No: 2538369 A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (full thesis) in the Department of Linguistics, University of the Western Cape. Supervisor: Prof. Charlyn Dyers May 2010 1 Abstract The Dutch occupied the Cape during 1652-1795 and 1803-1806 and their language soon became the dominant language in the Cape in South Africa. It is believed that Afrikaans developed as a creolised form of the Dutch language to serve as a lingua franca between the multilingual inhabitants of the Cape at that time – the original inhabitants, the Khoi and San, the slaves brought by the Dutch from various parts of Asia and Africa, and the Dutch colonists. The slave community along with the indigenous South African groups gradually replaced their native languages with Afrikaans (Mesthrie, 2002). Afrikaans in practice replaced Dutch and became one of South Africa's official languages (along with English) from 1925. It reached the apex of its development and influence during the years of Nationalist party rule and the apartheid regime as a language of officialdom, of the judiciary and education. However, in 1994 nine African languages were afforded official status along with English and Afrikaans in South Africa. Presently, Afrikaans is still taught in the majority of schools in the Western Cape as either a first or second language. This thesis compares and contrasts the language attitudes and motivation towards Afrikaans in two groups of secondary school learners - grade eight and grade eleven learners - at the same school, viz. the Settlers’ High School in Parow, a northern suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. At this English medium school, Afrikaans as a second language is a compulsory subject. The thesis also examines the dominant ideologies held towards Afrikaans by the learners and by the school in question which contributes towards shaping their attitudes and motivations for learning the language as well as their actual use of the language. The study finds a correlation between the learners’ attitudes towards Afrikaans and their actual patterns of use of the language, which indicates that the use of Afrikaans may be in decline among especially the younger, grade eight, learners. 2 A language in decline? A contrastive study of the use of, and motivation and de-motivation for, learning Afrikaans among two groups of learners at an English medium high school in Cape Town, South Africa Keywords: Grade 8 and 11 learners, The Settlers’ High School Cape Town, Language attitudes Language ideology Motivations De motivations Language use Language shift Language decline May 2010 3 Declaration I declare that “A language in decline? A contrastive study of the use of, and motivation and de-motivation for learning Afrikaans among two groups of learners at an English medium high school in Cape Town, South Africa” is my own work, that it has not been submitted for any other degree or examination in any other university, and that all the sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by complete references. Manisha Govender May 2010 SIGNED: ……………………… 4 Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................................…...2 Keywords………………………………………………………………………………….......................3 Declaration………………………………………………………………………………....................…4 Table of contents………………………………………………………………………….......................5 Chapter One: Introduction and Background to the Study........................................................….....10 1.0 Introduction............................................................................................................................…....10 1.1 The study…………........................................................................................................................11 1.2 research questions..............................................................................................................…........12 1.3 Objective of the study…................................................................................................................12 1.4 Research assumptions…................................................................................................................13 1.5 The research site: The Settler’s High School……………………………………….....................13 1.6 Historical information of Afrikaans ………………………………………………......................16 1.6.1 Afrikaans post apartheid………………………………………………………….....................20 1.6.2 The rise of English..................................................................................................................…21 1.7 A survey of studies on attitudes to Afrikaans in South Africa………………….….....................22 1.8 Chapter outlines………………………….…………………………………….……...................25 1.9 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….....................26 Chapter Two: Literature Review ………………………………………………………………………………………………..................27 2.0 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...................27 2.1 Language ideologies………………………………………………………………….................28 2.2 Language attitudes……………………………………………………………………................30 2.3 Motivations and de motivation in language learning…………………………...........................33 5 2.4 Language power relations……………………………………………………………...............37 2.5 Cultural and educational context of motivation…………………………………….................39 2.6 Language maintenance and language shift………………………………………….................43 2.7 Code-switching……………………………………………………………………...................45 2.9 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..................50 Chapter Three: Research Methodology ...........................................................................................51 3.0 Introduction…............................................................................................................................51 3.1 Research Methodology…...........................................................................................................51 3.2 Research population…...............................................................................................................52 3.3 Instruments used….....................................................................................................................53 3.3.1 Questionnaires….....................................................................................................................53 3.3.2 Observations.........................................................................................................…...............55 3.3.2.1 Participant observation on the school playground......................................…......................56 3.3.2.2 Classroom observations…....................................................................................................56 3.3.2.3 School observations…..........................................................................................................57 3.4. Data analysis…..........................................................................................................................57 3.4.1 Analysis of grade eight and grade eleven data.................................................…..................57 3.4.2 Analysis of the ideologies…..................................................................................................59 3.4.3 Analysis of the correlation between language attitudes and the learners self Rated Patterns of language use…………………………………………………..................60 3.5 Ethical procedures followed…..............................................................................................60 3.6 Limitation of the research………………………………………………………..................60 3.7 Conclusion…...........................................................................................................................61 6 Chapter Four: Presentation and analysis of the schools ideology and grade eight data ..................................................................................................................................................…............62 4.0 Introduction…............................................................................................................................62 4.1 Section A- Ideologies of the Settlers High School……………………………….…................63 4.1.1 Language ideologies of the Settlers High School…………………………….……...............63 4.2 Section B- Questionnaire analysis……………………………….…………….………............65 4.2.1 The grade eight learners demographic………………………….………….………...............65 4. 2.2 the learners attitude towards Afrikaans …..............................................................................67 4.2.3 The motivation and de motivations for language learning Afrikaans…..................................78 4.2.4 The grade eight learners self reported patterns of language use..……………………............80 4.3 Section C: Observations….......................................................................................................82 4.3.1 Language use on the school playground…..............................................................................82 4.3.2 Actual language use in the grade eight classrooms…..............................................................84