PROEFSKRIF VOORGELe TER VERVULLING
VAN DIE VEREISTES VIR DIE
GRAAD PHlLOSOPHIAE DOCTOR
IN AFRIKAANS EN NEDERLANDS IN DIE FAKULTEIT
VAN LETTERE AAN DIE UNlVERSITEIT VAN DIE WlTWATERSRAND / The aim of this study is to investigate marked linguistic phenomena in the spoken language of a
group of (elderly) white Afrikaans-speaking men and women who were economically active in
Johannesburg and surrounding areas between 1920 and 1940.
For this purpose, tape recordings of twelve male railway workers and twelve female factory
workers who fall into a lower socio-economic group were transcribed and analysed as faithfully
as possible. Tape recordings of five white male and five white female Afrikaans-speaking
teachers of more or less the same age as the first group, but belonging to a higher socio-economic
category, were also analysed and transcribed as a basis for comparison. Distinct phonological,
syntactical and lexical phenomena indicating signs of language contact were observed in the
language of the speakers in the various groups under investigation. Significant differences may
also be observed in the language of the men and women in the different socio-economic groups,
with the language of the men and women in the lower socio-economic group and that of those in
the higher socio-economic group clearly exhibiting gradual differences.
Contrary to what was initially expected, men do not necessarily adhere more strictly to
standardised language in speech than do women, and few significant characteristics typify the
language of men and women in this period.
The original expectation of finding relics of spoken Afrikaans from the pre-standardisation phase
amongst the speakers selected was not fulfilled since the linguistic phenomena recorded are
generally still heard in colloquial Afrikaans today. Furthermore, no traces of Dutchification were
to be found in the case of the speakers selected. Dutchification apparently did not take place at
lower socio-economic levels.
From this study it is clear that the interaction between social stratification and language variation
plays an important role, as do the problems surrounding language norms and social norms. In
this study of variation, attention is also paid to language normalisation and standardisation, and to
language variation and social stratification prior to a discussion of the language of men and
women. / Andrew Chakane 2018
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/25858 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Jooste, Gerrit Hendrik |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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