Language Learning, Power, Race and Identity: White Men, Black Language

by Liz Johanson Botha

Overview

This book investigates the strategies and identities of colonials who have learned the languages of colonised people, using the context of isiXhosa in South Africa. While power in language learning research has traditionally focused on the powerful native speaker and the relatively disempowered learner, this book studies the inverse, where elites are the language learners. The author analyses the life histories of four white South Africans who acquired isiXhosa during the apartheid years. The book offers insights into relationships between language, power, race, identity and change in their stories and in the broader context of apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa, with its conflicted history and disparities. This book should appeal to researchers interested in studies of language acquisition, narrative and identity, as well as those more broadly interested in South African history, multilingualism and race studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783093854
Publisher:	Channel View Publications
Publication date:	07/02/2015
Series:	Encounters , #4
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.85(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.85(d)

About the Author

Liz Johanson Botha has taught languages since 1968 and held a faculty post at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa from 1998 to 2012. More recently, she has worked as a Research Associate to the Faculty of Education at Rhodes University, South Africa. Her interests include language learning, identity and teacher education.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Preface: Autobiographical Origins of This Book xi

Introduction xvii

What is This Book About? xvii

Who Might be Interested in Reading The Book? xix

What Contribution is Made by This Book? xix

How is The Book Organised? xxiv

Part 1 Background

Chapter 1 The Eastern Cape, Then and Now 3

Indigenous People and Early Settlers 4

Struggles for Power and Territory 9

Farm Labour, White-Owned Agricultural Land and Segregation 12

Language Issues and Multilingualism 18

Prominent White Eastern Cape Multilinguals in History and Literature 20

Black Children's Lives 25

Introduction to the Four Participants 27

Chapter 2 Life History, Identity and Language Acquisition 37

Narrative Research and Life History Methodology 37

Post-Structuralist Theory: Power, Discourse and Identity 44

Race, Whiteness and Identity 48

Identity in Time and Space 52

Language Learning as Participation 55

Part 2 The Life Histories

Chapter 3 Childhood: Intimacy and Separation 67

IsiXhosa-Speaking Caregivers 70

IsiXhosa-Speaking Peers and Other Adults 74

The Move to School 91

Conclusion 100

Chapter 4 Rites of Passage: Paths Diverge 102

The Circumcision Ritual 103

University 109

Military Service 113

Conclusion 121

Chapter 5 Adult Life and Work: Language and Power 123

Riaan: 'Consequent but respectful' (Ri.68) 124

George: 'Fishing, hunting, (…) outdoors' (G3.83) 134

Brendon: Closing the 'circle' (B1.30) 140

Ernie: 'A white Madiba' (E2.44) 148

Conclusion 152

Chapter 6 Identity Across Spaces: White Discourse and Hybrid Space 155

Boundaries 157

Polarised Space 166

Hybrid Space 182

Conclusion 187

Chapter 7 Conclusion 190

Postscript 201

Appendices 205

Appendix 1 Timeline of Events in the Eastern Cape (and South Africa) 205

Appendix 2 Historical Events and the Lives of the Participants 209

Appendix 3 Interview Schedules (Initial Plan) 220

Interview 2 with the four participants 221

Interview 3 with the four participants 230

Appendix 4 Stages in Data Analysis 233

Appendix 5 Military Service in South Africa, 1957-1994 238

Appendix 6 Some Background on Firearms in South Africa 239

References 241

Index 253

What People are Saying About This

Gary Barkhuizen

The stories in this book — stories of multilingualism, race, identity and power — are vividly retold, sensitively interpreted, and are framed by relevant theory. The outcome is an immensely readable and informative work, unique in that it tells readers about the experiences of elites learning an indigenous language in a rigidly divided socio-political context. These stories certainly hit home.

Editorial Reviews

The stories in this book – stories of multilingualism, race, identity and power – are vividly retold, sensitively interpreted, and are framed by relevant theory. The outcome is an immensely readable and informative work, unique in that it tells readers about the experiences of elites learning an indigenous language in a rigidly divided socio-political context. These stories certainly hit home.

Gary Barkhuizen