Department of General Linguistics

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Browsing Department of General Linguistics by Author "Bates, Tracey"

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    Linguistic diversity in a rural Northern Cape municipality : a sociolinguistic investigation of Gamagara local municipality
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Vollmer, Tracey; Bates, Tracey; Oostendorp, Marcelyn; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Linguistic landscapes (LLs) have primarily been investigated within urban areas. This thesis focuses on the diverse rural communities of the Gamagara Municipal area, located within the Northern Cape where the primary means of employment is mining. Large mines have contributed to the population growth in the area and currently people from all over South Africa and neighbouring countries call this municipal area their home. In this study, I investigate the public signage of four towns within Gamagara whilst also investigating the linguistic repertoires found within the area. The study puts the data gathered from the public space in conversation with data from people’s personal reflections on language, in order to gain a better understanding of diversity and of language ideologies. Data collection for the study included two steps: the first involved taking photographs of public signs along the physical space of Olifantshoek, Kathu, Siyatemba and Sishen mine, all situated in Gamagara. The second step involved gathering data on people’s linguistic repertoires residing in the area and working at Sishen mine by means of narrated language portraits (Busch 2010, 2012) and biographical information questionnaires. The study is predominantly qualitative and aims to discover how language use in the LL reflects (or not) diversity implied by language profiles and how these expose language ideologies. Through a thematic analysis (Miles and Huberman 1984), I found that the LL reveals a predominance of English in the physical space of Gamagara Municipality that contrasts with the actual language practices of most residents in the area. Furthermore, the findings indicate linguistic repertoires that are very diverse, and shaped and constrained by a number of factors. This thesis ultimately shows the contribution that an approach to linguistic diversity which includes more than one form of data collection can make. It also points out that language ideologies exhibited in public spaces do not necessarily conform to language ideologies in private spaces. It is suggested that more research needs to be done on rural settings, and between the interplay of public and private.