1 - Global and Local Hybridity in African Youth Language Practices
Corresponding Author(s) : Fridah Kanana Erastus
Africa Development,
Vol. 45 No. 3 (2020): Africa Development: Special Issue on African Youth and Globalisation
Abstract
This article investigates and describes youth language practices in Africa in the era of globalisation. It opens up debate over the impacts of globalisation on youth linguistic identities in Africa. Further, it suggests some aspects of youth participation in linguistic change in Africa and provides some examples of how youth linguistic cultures are practised in everyday interactions. The authors show the intersection of cultures in everyday discourse and in youth language vocabulary, and the incorporation of global (popular) culture in African youth language practices through bricolage to achieve hybridity. The ways in which the global intersects with the local and how the youth in Africa recontextualise the global and create local traditions of youth culture and identity are discussed and exemplified. The article concludes by arguing that, while global brands impact on youth language and practices, they are interpreted and applied locally; youth culture in Africa is enriched by global symbols and cultural artefacts and figures, not impoverished by them; the global does not displace the local, but rather complements it. The youth in Africa, in their spaces, are therefore active creators and contributors towards linguistic and cultural change and through this change they are agents of Africa’s globalisation.
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- Bogopa, D., 1996, 'The Language and culture of the Youth in the “Nicaragua” Section of Tsakane in Gauteng', Unpublished MA thesis, University of Durban-Westville.
- Boutin, A. and Dodo, J-C., 2018, ‘View on the Updating of Nouchi Lexicon and Expressions’, in E. Hurst-Harosh and F. Kanana Erastus, eds, African Youth Languages: New Media, Performing Arts and Sociolinguistic Development, London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 53–74.
- Castells, M., 1996, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Oxford: Blackwell.
- Deumert, A., 2015, ‘Linguistics and Social Media’, in K. Allan, ed., Routledge Handbook of Linguistics, London: Routledge. pp. 561–74.
- Eckert, P., 2000, Linguistic Variation as Social Practice, Oxford: Blackwell.
- Gadelii, K.E., 2004, Annotated Statistics on Linguistic Policies and Practices in Africa, Available online at http://www.sprak.gu.se/digitalAssets/1310/1310354_ annotated-statistics.pdf.
- Gondola, D., 2009, ‘Tropical Cowboys: Westerns, Violence, and Masculinity Among the Young Bills of Kinshasa’, Afrique & Histoire, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 75–98.
- Guthrie, M., 1970, Comparative Bantu: An introduction to the Comparative Linguistics and Prehistory of the Bantu Languages, 4 vols, Farnborough: Gregg International Publishing.
- Hurst, E., 2008, 'Style, Structure and Function in Cape Town Tsotsitaal', Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Cape Town.
- Hurst, E., 2009, ‘Tsotsitaal, Global Culture and Local Style: Identity and Recontextualisation in Twenty-First Century South African Townships’, Social Dynamics, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 244–57.
- Hurst, E., 2015, ‘Overview of the Tsotsitaals of South Africa: Their Different Base Languages and Common Core Lexical Items’, in N. Nassenstein and A. Hollington, eds, Youth Language Practices in Africa and Beyond, Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
- Hurst-Harosh, E., 2020, Tsotsitaal in South Africa: Style and Metaphor in Youth Language Practices, Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
- Hurst-Harosh, E., and Kanana Erastus, F., eds, 2018, African Youth Languages: New Media, Performing Arts and Sociolinguistic Development, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Hurst-Harosh, E., and Kanana Erastus, F., 2020, ‘Metaphors and Their Link to Generational Peer Groups and Popular Culture in African Youth Languages’, Linguistics Vanguard, Vol. 6, Issue s4, 20200069. Available online at https://www.degruyter.com/view/journals/lingvan/6/s4/article 20200069.xml.
- Kanana Erastus, F., and Hurst-Harosh, E., 2019, ‘Rural and Urban Metaphors in Sheng (Kenya) and Tsotsitaal (South Africa)’, in J. Schmied and T. Oloruntoba- Oju, eds, African Urban and Youth Languages: The Rural-Urban Divide,Gottingen: Cuvillier Verlag.
- Kiessling, R. and Mous, M., 2004, ‘Urban Youth Languages in Africa’, Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 303–41.
- Kouassi, R., and Hurst-Harosh, E., 2018, ‘Social Media as an Extension of, and Negotiation Space for, a Community of Practice: A Comparison of Nouchi and Tsotsitaal’, in E. Hurst-Harosh and F. Kanana Erastus, eds, African Youth Languages: New Media, Performing Arts and Sociolinguistic Development. London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 75–102.
- Kraidy, M., 2005, Hybridity: Or the Cultural Logic of Globalization, Philadelphia, PA: Temple.
- Lave, J., and Wenger, E., 1991, Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- McLaughlin, F., 2009, The Languages of Urban Africa, London: Continuum.
- Mesthrie, R., and Hurst, E., 2013, ‘Slang Registers, Code-switching and Restructured Urban Varieties in South Africa: An Analytic Overview ofTsotsitaals with Special Reference to the Cape Town Variety’, Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 103–30.
- Molamu, L., 2003, Tsotsi-taal: A Dictionary of the Language of Sophiatown, 1st ed., Pretoria: University of South Africa.
- Namyalo, S., 2017, ‘The Sociolinguistic Profile and Functions of Luyaaye Within its Community of Practice’, in A. Ebonguè and E. Hurst, eds, Sociolinguistics in African Contexts: Perspectives and Challenges, New York: Springer. pp. 225–46.
- Nassenstein, N., 2016, ‘The New Urban Youth Language Yabacrane in Goma (DR Congo)’, Socio linguistic Studies, Vol. 10, Nos 1–2, pp. 235–60.
- Nassenstein, N., forthcoming, ‘DR Congo: Lingala Ya Bayankee/ Yanké’, in P. Kerswill and H. Wiese, eds, Urban Contact Dialects.
- Ndlovu, S., 2018, A Comparative Analysis of Metaphorical Expressions used by Rural and Urban Ndebele Speakers: The Contribution of S’ncamtho. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Cape Town.
- Nissanke, M. and Thorbecke, E., 2007, ‘Globalization, Growth, and Poverty in Africa’, United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research Blog. Available online at https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/ globalization-growth-and-poverty-africa.
- Oloruntoba-Oju, T., 2018. ‘Contestant Hybridities: African (Urban) Youth Language in Nigerian Music and Social Media’, in E. Hurst-Harosh and F. Kanana Erastus, eds, African Youth Languages: New Media, Performing Arts and Sociolinguistic Development, London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 181–204.
- Pieterse, J. N., 2004, Globalization and Culture: Global Mélange. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.
- Silver, L. and Johnson, C., 2018, ‘Internet Connectivity Seen as Having Positive Impact on Life in Sub-Saharan Africa but Digital Divides Persist’, Pew Research Center Global Attitudes &Trends. Available online at https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2018/10/09/internet-connectivity-seenas-having-positive-impact-on-life-in-sub-saharan-africa/.
- Waliaula, S., 2018,‘Language, European Football Fandomand Social Identification Amongthe Youth in Eldoret, Kenya’, The Mouth: CriticalYouth Language Studies, No. 3, pp. 155–72.
- Williams, Q.,2017, Remix Multilingualism: Hip Hop, Ethnography and Performing Marginalized Voices, Bloomsbury: London.
References
Bogopa, D., 1996, 'The Language and culture of the Youth in the “Nicaragua” Section of Tsakane in Gauteng', Unpublished MA thesis, University of Durban-Westville.
Boutin, A. and Dodo, J-C., 2018, ‘View on the Updating of Nouchi Lexicon and Expressions’, in E. Hurst-Harosh and F. Kanana Erastus, eds, African Youth Languages: New Media, Performing Arts and Sociolinguistic Development, London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 53–74.
Castells, M., 1996, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Oxford: Blackwell.
Deumert, A., 2015, ‘Linguistics and Social Media’, in K. Allan, ed., Routledge Handbook of Linguistics, London: Routledge. pp. 561–74.
Eckert, P., 2000, Linguistic Variation as Social Practice, Oxford: Blackwell.
Gadelii, K.E., 2004, Annotated Statistics on Linguistic Policies and Practices in Africa, Available online at http://www.sprak.gu.se/digitalAssets/1310/1310354_ annotated-statistics.pdf.
Gondola, D., 2009, ‘Tropical Cowboys: Westerns, Violence, and Masculinity Among the Young Bills of Kinshasa’, Afrique & Histoire, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 75–98.
Guthrie, M., 1970, Comparative Bantu: An introduction to the Comparative Linguistics and Prehistory of the Bantu Languages, 4 vols, Farnborough: Gregg International Publishing.
Hurst, E., 2008, 'Style, Structure and Function in Cape Town Tsotsitaal', Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Cape Town.
Hurst, E., 2009, ‘Tsotsitaal, Global Culture and Local Style: Identity and Recontextualisation in Twenty-First Century South African Townships’, Social Dynamics, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 244–57.
Hurst, E., 2015, ‘Overview of the Tsotsitaals of South Africa: Their Different Base Languages and Common Core Lexical Items’, in N. Nassenstein and A. Hollington, eds, Youth Language Practices in Africa and Beyond, Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Hurst-Harosh, E., 2020, Tsotsitaal in South Africa: Style and Metaphor in Youth Language Practices, Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
Hurst-Harosh, E., and Kanana Erastus, F., eds, 2018, African Youth Languages: New Media, Performing Arts and Sociolinguistic Development, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hurst-Harosh, E., and Kanana Erastus, F., 2020, ‘Metaphors and Their Link to Generational Peer Groups and Popular Culture in African Youth Languages’, Linguistics Vanguard, Vol. 6, Issue s4, 20200069. Available online at https://www.degruyter.com/view/journals/lingvan/6/s4/article 20200069.xml.
Kanana Erastus, F., and Hurst-Harosh, E., 2019, ‘Rural and Urban Metaphors in Sheng (Kenya) and Tsotsitaal (South Africa)’, in J. Schmied and T. Oloruntoba- Oju, eds, African Urban and Youth Languages: The Rural-Urban Divide,Gottingen: Cuvillier Verlag.
Kiessling, R. and Mous, M., 2004, ‘Urban Youth Languages in Africa’, Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 303–41.
Kouassi, R., and Hurst-Harosh, E., 2018, ‘Social Media as an Extension of, and Negotiation Space for, a Community of Practice: A Comparison of Nouchi and Tsotsitaal’, in E. Hurst-Harosh and F. Kanana Erastus, eds, African Youth Languages: New Media, Performing Arts and Sociolinguistic Development. London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 75–102.
Kraidy, M., 2005, Hybridity: Or the Cultural Logic of Globalization, Philadelphia, PA: Temple.
Lave, J., and Wenger, E., 1991, Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McLaughlin, F., 2009, The Languages of Urban Africa, London: Continuum.
Mesthrie, R., and Hurst, E., 2013, ‘Slang Registers, Code-switching and Restructured Urban Varieties in South Africa: An Analytic Overview ofTsotsitaals with Special Reference to the Cape Town Variety’, Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 103–30.
Molamu, L., 2003, Tsotsi-taal: A Dictionary of the Language of Sophiatown, 1st ed., Pretoria: University of South Africa.
Namyalo, S., 2017, ‘The Sociolinguistic Profile and Functions of Luyaaye Within its Community of Practice’, in A. Ebonguè and E. Hurst, eds, Sociolinguistics in African Contexts: Perspectives and Challenges, New York: Springer. pp. 225–46.
Nassenstein, N., 2016, ‘The New Urban Youth Language Yabacrane in Goma (DR Congo)’, Socio linguistic Studies, Vol. 10, Nos 1–2, pp. 235–60.
Nassenstein, N., forthcoming, ‘DR Congo: Lingala Ya Bayankee/ Yanké’, in P. Kerswill and H. Wiese, eds, Urban Contact Dialects.
Ndlovu, S., 2018, A Comparative Analysis of Metaphorical Expressions used by Rural and Urban Ndebele Speakers: The Contribution of S’ncamtho. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Cape Town.
Nissanke, M. and Thorbecke, E., 2007, ‘Globalization, Growth, and Poverty in Africa’, United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research Blog. Available online at https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/ globalization-growth-and-poverty-africa.
Oloruntoba-Oju, T., 2018. ‘Contestant Hybridities: African (Urban) Youth Language in Nigerian Music and Social Media’, in E. Hurst-Harosh and F. Kanana Erastus, eds, African Youth Languages: New Media, Performing Arts and Sociolinguistic Development, London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 181–204.
Pieterse, J. N., 2004, Globalization and Culture: Global Mélange. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.
Silver, L. and Johnson, C., 2018, ‘Internet Connectivity Seen as Having Positive Impact on Life in Sub-Saharan Africa but Digital Divides Persist’, Pew Research Center Global Attitudes &Trends. Available online at https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2018/10/09/internet-connectivity-seenas-having-positive-impact-on-life-in-sub-saharan-africa/.
Waliaula, S., 2018,‘Language, European Football Fandomand Social Identification Amongthe Youth in Eldoret, Kenya’, The Mouth: CriticalYouth Language Studies, No. 3, pp. 155–72.
Williams, Q.,2017, Remix Multilingualism: Hip Hop, Ethnography and Performing Marginalized Voices, Bloomsbury: London.