This study investigates the intercultural discourse between the Igbo and the Sesotho
people residing in Bloemfontein. The study is motivated by the way in which the Igbo
in Bloemfontein switch from one language into another, which is based on who their
addressee is. The study assesses the backgrounds of the two countries (Nigeria and
South Africa) where these ethnic groups emerged, including their languages. The
backgrounds help in the assessment of the attitudes, feelings and opinions of the
two groups under study in the way they relate with one another when they are in
intercultural communication.
Related literature was reviewed on different aspects of intercultural discourse and
intercultural communication (Chapter 3), with focus on: different views on
discourse/discourse analysis; discourse, racism and discrimination; differences in
maleâs and femaleâs speeches. The review also covers language, migration and
loyalty; language contact; intercultural discourse/communication; conversation
analysis, as well as conversational features: turn-taking, interruption/overlapping,
and code-switching/code-mixing. The review describes the field of discourse analysis
and situates the current study within this field of research. The study further explored
language stereotypes and xenophobic sentiments which help in identifying the power
of dominant group over minority groups and foreigners, as well as the power of press
in dissemination of information in the society.
Given the complexity of the research, the study employed different research
instruments: questionnaire, interviews and audio-recordings of natural interactions in
different contexts (shop, hospital, church, home and among friends) in collecting
data. The data were analysed using qualitative and quantitative (tables and bar
graphs) research methods. Intercultural interaction/communication/discourse
between the Igbo and the Sesotho shows that the attitudes and feelings of the two
groups are positive, as they are comfortable, not afraid, confident, not nervous and
relaxed when interacting with each other. The study reveals that the two groups often (81% Igbo and 92% Sesotho) switch
from one language to another during intercultural communication. However, the kind
of switch the study records is word/phrase switches, mostly the words/phrases of the
dominant language (Sesotho). The reasons for their switches vary: to emphasis a
word or an expression, to be more polite in greeting and appreciation, to show
respect, as well as to identity with the addressee. The study records four sentences
switching which only occurred among the children at home context. However, the
results from the study show that during the intercultural communication between the
Igbo and the Sesotho, turn-taking, interruptions and discourse dominance are
determined by some factors, such as; age, educational background, gender, the
relationships between the interactants, and the context of the interaction.
The freedom with which women speak during interaction is also assessed. The study
reveals that although women speak freely, they do not speak more freely than their
male counterparts, in mixed-gender interactions. In addition, the results reveal that
there are no restrictions on the speech of Igbo women. However, Sesotho shows
some restrictions on the language of their married women, âhlomphaâ (a language of
respect), where a married women are bound by tradition not to pronounce any word
relating to the name of her in-laws. The study establishes that there are derogatory
words to refer to both women and men in both groups. For example, in Igbo
ânwoke/nwaay-agaâ and in Sesotho ânyopaâ are used to refer to barren woman with
no counterparts for men. The study in addition investigates the words used to refer to
foreigners and whether such words provide evidence for xenophobic sentiments in
South Africa. The study identifies both positive and negative words used by the Igbo
and the Sesotho to refer to foreigners. According to the majority of the respondents
(79.5%), such words do not contribute to xenophobic sentiments in South Africa
generally or Bloemfontein specifically.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-06072011-144912 |
| Date | 07 June 2011 |
| Creators | Ideh, Amaka Edith |
| Contributors | Dr H Igboanusi, Prof JA Naudé |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-06072011-144912/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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