Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The focus of the thesis is conceptually-based and problematizes the notion of a transformed society while addressing and evaluating its meaning in the multicultural post-apartheid neighbourhood of Observatory, Cape Town. Confluent concepts such as ‘multilingualism’, ‘hybridity’ and ‘community’ are discussed within the historical and contemporary context of a newly established democratic South Africa. Through a poststructuralist discourse analysis, the study endeavours to explore discourses of language and identity in the previously predominantly English-speaking community of Observatory. It is hoped that this research will build upon knowledge of inter alia social interaction, translocations and community membership, identity, language and integration in Observatory. Focus therefore rest on issues such as hybridity, identity options, translocal and transnational cultural flows, localization and globalization. All these issues fall under the broader theme of discourse of transformation and integration in multilingual spaces. The study strictly works within the framework of a qualitative approach with the focus resting on a discourse analysis of generated narratives supplied by informants during interviews and temporal and spatial descriptions of research sites. Arising from this study it is hoped that a deeper understanding of migration, transnational and transcultural flows, hybridity and identity will be reached. Critically, this study delves into two ‘new’ areas which subsume sociolinguistics, specifically semiotic landscape and place branding. Exploration into the appropriation of space by ‘newcomers’ and the subsequent reimaginings of space into place are of keen interest here. In this respect, this study aims at shedding light on recurrent, contesting and and new imaginings of diversity in post-apartheid living.

Magister Artium - MA (Linguistics, Language and Communication) / Street harassment refers to the unsolicited verbal remarks and nonverbal gestures that women are subjected to by men when moving through (public) spaces. The dominant discourse sees this phenomenon as firstly a gendered interaction. In this sense, men are construed as initiators and women as recipients, although this is not always the case. Secondly, the remarks are often viewed as solely sexualized in nature. Lastly, public spaces are seen as male realms in which the actions of males are context specific, whereby the public nature of space sees it as conducive for inevitable street harassing events. This study seeks to understand how street harassment unfolds in the South African (post-apartheid) context. Drawing on Phenomenological Discourse Analysis approach, the study focuses on interview accounts of six participants from across the demographics whose experiences represent a microcosm of harassed female skinscapes in and around Cape Town. Phenomenology is a useful entry point to understanding emotive recounts of traumatic events in the lives of the participants, specifically street harassment. Public space is approached through the lens of Linguistic Landscapes (LL) which focuses on language and linguistic artefacts as they are arranged or located in space. For this study, the perception of and bodies in space comes to the fore. Hence, it is the interplay between space, body and the phenomenological account of the body as a corporeal 'site' of harassment which is a focal point.

This thesis explores the ongoing regeneration of Raploch council housing estate, in Stirling, focusing on the lived experiences of the established residents who reside in the pre-regeneration council housing estate, or had family or historical links with the area, as well as new residents, who have moved into the new owner occupied houses that were built in the regeneration. Key informants who have worked in a professional capacity in the area were also consulted to broaden the perspective. The regeneration was a response to a long history of deprivation, segregation and stigmatisation, which led to the demolition of council housing on one side of a main road within the area. The demolition site was redeveloped by a partnership of private developers and a social housing provider. As a consequence of the regeneration there were various physical and social changes in the area, caused by the construction of new homes, as well as other changes to the built environment, and the influx of owner occupiers into the new housing. A visual research method, 'auto-driven photo elicitation', was utilised, which allowed an insight into these changes from a unique perspective. Participants made photos of the area, of places they wanted to discuss, which became the starting point of a subsequent interview process; allowing participants to focus on issues relevant to them. The findings showed that the participants attached a great importance to the history of this specific place, but also that there was segregation between the new residents and the established community. Further fragmentations, religious and historic territorial divisions, within the communities were visually reinforced by the regeneration process. The participants also attached great significance to the linguistic and semiotic landscape, which they interpreted in the context of this place.