Assignment 1

CM Kgatla

65267664

Where do you come from? Did the places you come from and places you moved to have an
influence on your language identity?

I was born and bred in Soshanguve, a township north of Tshwane or as previously known Pretoria,
the name Soshanguve when broken down means the languages spoken in the township, So – Sotho
(including Sepedi and Tswana), Sha – Shangan/Tsonga, Ngu – Nguni (including Zulu, Ndebele and
Xhosa) and lastly Ve – Venda, the township is rich in linguistics and culture.

Growing in Soshanguve definitely had an impact in my language identity and enabled me to interact
with a lot of people from different cultures and learning their language and to a certain extent their
cultural norms as well, the language culture in the township has evolved through the years with the
introduction of ‘’slang’’ language amongst the community, this language has enabled people from
different townships to communicate and to be able to identify who comes from which township by
just listening to the articulation of speech.

As a child, what was your mother tongue? As a young adult, which language/s did you speak and
which languages were you exposed to?

As a child my mother tongue was Sepedi which I took from my mother’s side of the family and not
Ndebele from my father’s side as tradition would dictate that children take up the father’s home
language. I was exposed to Sepedi for the majority of my childhood until my early schooling years
when I got exposure to English and Afrikaans at a multiracial school which opened up my vocabulary
extensively. In my young adult days, I predominantly spoke Sepedi followed by English, I was
fortunate enough to be exposed to and learned Xitsonga from my childhood friends while we were
growing up, I also got exposed to IsiZulu and Tswana from interacting with schoolmates.

Who exposed you to these languages and do you feel the people in your life during your formative
years influenced your language identity?

My family played a pivotal role in building the foundation of my mother tongue and identity, they
ensured that I know my roots and what it means to be Pedi in a township of diverse cultures, in
doing so they didn’t restrict or limit me from learning and speaking other languages which was quite
interesting for me to be able to engage with my community in different languages.

My childhood friends, in our mischievous endeavours didn’t miss the opportunity to teach me their
mother tongue-Xitsonga every single day, it is because of them that I am fluent in Xitsonga to a point
that surprised my family and everyone else, being able to learn another language made it easier to
absorb other languages in the community.

Elaborate by giving examples.

My grandfather taught me our family clan name and how to recite it as well teaching me the
prominent idioms of our culture and what they mean. My friends would translate the everyday
objects we encounter to Xitsonga as a way of teaching me.
What is your understanding of language identity, idiolect and ecolect? Correct referencing and
citation is required if you are using any outside sources.

Language identity is as unique to any individual as their DNA or fingerprints, each person learns a
different language as they grow up and interact with people from different cultures, no two people
can learn a language in exactly the same way, each person is unique in the way they articulate their
words and with that that’s how people’s language identity is shaped. South Africa’s apartheid history
is of significant importance when it comes to language identity, in the apartheid era one language
was deemed superior than the indigenous languages spoken by the black Africans in South Africa,
this meant that for a black person to be included or considered in the apartheid regime they were
forced to learn a language which was totally foreign to them and in doing so they were altering their
language identity and in some instances leaving cultures and customs they grew up with. In as much
as language identity is as unique as DNA, it is not acquired as instantaneous as DNA, it takes years to
develop and it as always evolving with influences from daily experiences people encounter.

In my understanding idiolect and ecolect form part of language identity, Idiolect refers how an
individual uses language aspects which are distinct to that individual such grammar, pronunciation
and vocabulary. Idiolect is developed through experiences an individual encounters through the
years, it could be from watching television or reading books. Ecolect on the other hand refers to
unique language aspects that are specific to a household, this phenomenon occurs as a result of
individuals living in close proximity to each other like in a household, those individuals’ idiolect
through constant communication develops an ecosystem of words, vocabulary and pronunciation
which is specific to those individuals living together.

Based on the article 1.1, is your ecolect different to your community’s idiolect? Elaborate and give
examples.

Yes, my ecolect is different from my community’s idiolect because of my life experiences and
interactions with other people outside the community, unfortunately not a lot of people living in
townships get the opportunity to explore other places outside the townships which ends up limiting
their idiolect.

An easy example is how younger adults interact with elders, in the suburbs or more affluent areas it
is easy to talk to elders and have engaged discussions with almost any topic no matter how taboo it
may sound, unfortunately this is not the case in townships because such discussions may be
regarded as being disrespectful.

Have these factors had a negative or positive impact on you and your language identity?

These factors have had a positive impact on me especially in the workplace where I encounter
different people of different age groups, I am able to have conversations and voice my opinions

with either of them without feeling inferior or sounding disrespectful which would be the case if I
was in my community

On the basis of the example given in the article, “How we see each other – Language Diversity”, of
Rosie Roberts, how has media impacted Rosie?

The media plays a significant role in our daily lives, in the case of Rosie it has opened up another
culture to her which she didn’t really know and this sparked interest in her, by taking up interest in
the Indian culture she’s managed to even become friends with her Indian neighbour because she has
a bit of understanding about the culture so she relates better with her neighbour.
How would you describe the impact of Television and Social Media on you and your language and
cultural identity?

Television for me particularly had the most impact on me and my language identity apart from
teaching English and other educational material it introduced the western and eastern cultures to
me, it enabled me to realize the diversity that exists outside my community which later made it easy
for to socialize and interact with people from European and Indian descent.

Do you feel that the language and linguistic identity that you possess is one that you will want to
leave as a legacy for your future generations? Elaborate.

Definitely yes! Apart from being able to speak multiple languages my identity has tapped into also
learning and understanding other cultures in South Africa which I think is the most important aspect
of living in a country as diverse as ours, learning other people’s culture doesn’t mean you are
neglecting yours, it means you’ll be in a position to understand other people better and respect
them, so this is something that I would want generations coming after me to possess.

Has your language and cultural identity changed and/or evolved due to exposure to other
languages and cultures?

Yes, it has, my motto is with every new culture I encounter I at least need to learn one new thing
from them and so far, I’ve encountered a lot of cultures and went so far as to learning to cook their
dishes. Being exposed to different people somehow makes one more understanding of our
differences in cultures and how we do things and I think the more people grasp this, the more we
can better co-exist.

Does the language that you currently use reveal who you are and where you come from?

No not quite, English is a universal language and from just using language one cannot tell who I am
and where I am from, however the accent to the language might give hints as to where I am from
but not necessarily who I am, it is when I communicate with Sepedi that I can truly express who I am
and where I am from.

When you reflect on your original language identity, what feelings and thoughts are invoked in
you? How does it make you feel?

My original language identity was the very foundation of my current identity it feels good to know
that from a young age I was already developing a diverse language identity which made it easier for
me as an adult to develop it further, it is really a good feeling to have such an identity that taps into
almost all cultures of South Africa, makes me proud to be a South African!

Reference

Daniela Kröner (Author), 2007, Language and identity in South Africa, Munich, GRIN Verlag,
https://www.grin.com/document/78869

Nordquist, Richard. "Idiolect (Language)." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/idiolect-

language-term-1691143.