What is in a language: Essentialism in macro-sociolinguistic research on Afrikaans

Johanita Kirsten

doi:10.1515/ijsl-2017-0035

Article

What is in a language: Essentialism in macro-sociolinguistic research on Afrikaans

Johanita Kirsten

Published/Copyright: August 17, 2017

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From the journal International Journal of the Sociology of Language Volume 2017 Issue 248

Abstract

Essentialist conceptions about language, and the relationship between language and other things, are still fairly common in society, and to some extent in linguistics. It is of particular relevance when working with specific (named or unnamed) languages in multilingual environments, or with one specific (named or unnamed) variety of a language among many. This article investigates how essentialism manifests in a collection of macro-sociolinguistic research articles on Afrikaans in contemporary, multilingual South Africa through critical discourse analysis. The findings indicate that subtle and covert indications of an extent of essentialism are quite common in the data, and even explicitly essentialist statements and claims are not completely absent. Some counter-examples of and challenges to essentialism in the data are also explored, although they are found to be less common than covert instances of essentialism. Suggestions regarding a few essentialism-related problems that arise from the data are discussed briefly.

Keywords: essentialism; reification; multilingualism; language shift; macro-sociolinguistics

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my colleague, Susan Coetzee-Van Rooy, for having found the time to read a much earlier version of this article, and providing very helpful comments and recommendations. I would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for helpful and instructive comments.

Appendix: Articles in the collection

Year		Journal	Author(s)	Title (* translated to English)
2006	1	Acta Academica {AA} Supplementum 2	P. Duvenage	Multilingualism, Afrikaans and normative political theory
	2	Journal for Language Teaching 40(1)	W. A. M. Carstens	Practical multilingualism in SA – fact or fiction?*
	3	Literator 27(2)	E. Truter	Media coverage in the SA printed media about language related subjects, particularly language rights and policy issues*
	4	Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics {SPiL} Plus 34	H. J. Lubbe	Afrikaans mother-tongue education under siege*
	5	Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe {TGW} Supplement [Journal for Humanities]	W. A. M. Carstens	The broad debate (1994–2005) on the future of Afrikaans: A few themes and initiatives*
	6	TGW Supplement	T. du Plessis	Bilingual higher education for SA? Language policy development at Historically Afrikaans-medium Universities as case study*
	7	TGW Supplement	H. Giliomee & L. Schlemmer	Afrikaans in education: Results of an investigation into the attitudes of parents*
	8	TGW Supplement	H. J. Lubbe	“Is it our earnestness?” Language rights issues in education is subordinate to peripheral language issues*
	9	TGW Supplement	P. Plüddemann	Mother-tongue education and multilingualism: Practical solutions for Afrikaans and other African languages*
	10	TGW 46(4)	L. Scholtz	The importance of Afrikaans education for the survival of the language*
2007	11	Literator 28(2)	T. du Plessis	The language or the cheetah? Perspectives on the importance of language visibility on the new Free State number plate as public sign*
2007	12	Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies {SALALS} 25(4)	H. J. Lubbe & E. Truter	Cases of positive language planning as reported in print media*
2008	13	SPiL 38	C. Dyers	Language shift or maintenance? Factors determining the use of Afrikaans among some township youth in South Africa
	14	SPiL 38	M. Pienaar	A decline in language rights violation complaints received by PanSALB – The case of Afrikaans
	15	SPiL Plus 36	H. J. Lubbe	Language rights and the law*
	16	TGW 48(3)	L. Scholtz & I. Scholtz	The debate about the position of Afrikaans at the University of Stellenbosch: An analysis*
2009	17	AA 41(2)	J. Moll	Free State fight against monolingual naming*
	18	Language Matters {LM} 40(2)	N. Nyika	Language complaints as an instrument of language rights activism: The case of PanSALB as a guardian of the right to mother-tongue education
	19	LM 40(2)	V. Webb	Multilingualism in South Africa: The challenge to below
2010	20	AA 42(1)	J. Slippers, A. Grobler & N. van Heerden	Afrikaans’s unique position and challenges in a multilingual South Africa*
	21	LM 41(2)	M. Kriel	Towards an alternative take on language activism: A South African case study
	22	SALALS 28(1)	N. Nyika	Media coverage as an instrument of language rights activism: The case of Hoërskool Ermelo
	23	TGW 50(2)	K. Malan	The Constitution, education officials and the road ahead for Afrikaans schools*
2011	24	Litnet 8(3)	J. Steyn & A. Duvenhage	Language shift and language maintenance in the Afrikaans community: Trends and future perspectives*
2011	25	SPiL 40	A. M. Thutloa & K. Huddlestone	Afrikaans as an index of identity among Western Cape Coloured communities
	26	TGW 51(4)	M. le Cordeur	The varieties of Afrikaans as carriers of identity: A sociocultural perspective*
2012	27	LM 43(2)	T. du Plessis	The role of language policy in linguistic landscape changes in a rural area of the Free State Province of South Africa
2012	28	LM 43(2)	V. Webb	Managing multilingualism in higher education in post-1994 South Africa
2013	29	LM 44(2)	M. Shaikjee & T. Milani	‘It’s time for Afrikaans to go’ … or not? Language ideologies and (ir)rationality in the blogosphere
	30	Litnet 10(1)	W. A. M. Carstens	On the way from a divided to a shared future in the Afrikaans community: The role of the Afrikaans Language Board in the process of reconciliation*
	31	TGW 53(3)	E. Bornman, P. H. Potgieter, J. C. Pauw	Language choices and opinions of Afrikaans-speaking students at Unisa*
	32	Tydskrif vir Nederlands en Afrikaans {TNA} 20(1) [Journal for Dutch and Afrikaans]	W. A. M. Carstens	The story of Afrikaans: Perspectives on the past, present and future*
2014	33	TGW 54(4)	H. Giliomee	The cloudy future of the Afrikaners and Afrikaans*
	34	TGW 54(4)	E. Kotzé	Afrikaans as possession, and the question of restandardisation*
	35	TGW 54(4)	G. Odendaal	Should Afrikaans be restandardised?*
	36	TGW 54(4)	J. Olivier	Come and join the PUK: The use of English in honours programmes on an Afrikaans campus of the NWU*
	37	TGW 54(4)	E. Bornman, J. C. Pauw, P. H. Potgieter	Attitudes and opinions about mother-tongue education and the choice of a university: Afrikaans-speaking students at Unisa*
	38	TGW 54(4)	R. van Oort & W. A. M. Carstens	The teaching of Afrikaans lexicon and varieties from an inclusive language-historical perspective*
	39	TNA 21(2)	W. Martin	The status of Afrikaans in South Africa and in the Dutch-speaking countries*
2015	40	TGW 55(4)	M. le Cordeur	The issue of Kaaps: Afrikaans teaching in schools needs a more inclusive approach*

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Published Online: 2017-8-17

Published in Print: 2017-9-26

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https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl-2017-0035

Keywords for this article

essentialism; reification; multilingualism; language shift; macro-sociolinguistics