The Linguistic Landscape of Post-Apartheid South Africa

Politics and Discourse

By (author) Dr. Liesel Hibbert

Publication date:

24 June 2016

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781783095803

The appointment of Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa in 1994 signalled the end of apartheid and transition to a new democratic constitution. This book studies discursive trends during the first twenty years of the new democracy, outlining the highlights and challenges of transforming policy, practice and discursive formations. The book analyses a range of discourses which signal how and by what processes the linguistic landscape and identities of South Africa’s inhabitants have changed in this time, finding that struggles in South African politics go hand in hand with shifts in the linguistic landscape. In a country now characterised by multilingualism, heteroglossia, polyphony and translanguaging, the author debates where the discourse practices of those born post-1994 may lead.

Introduction

1 The Release of Nelson Mandela as the Advent of Democracy

2 Shifts in the Politico-Linguistic Landscape, Post 1994

3 Linguistic Changes in Parliament 1994-1998 – Paving the Way for Linguistic Democracy

4 Reconfigured Features of the African Oral Tradition

5 Recontextualised Residues of Rhetoric from the Previous Era

6 Historical Explanations for Literacy Backlogs in South Africa

7 Black South African English versus Other African Englishes In The 90s

8 The Rhetoric of Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance

9 The Debate around African Identity in South Africa

10 Expressions of Neo-Traditional Patriarchy in the Speeches of President Zuma

11 Return to Self-Censorship in Political Journalism – Echoes of the 50s And 60s

12 Localisation Initiatives

13 The Position of African Languages

14 Superdiversity and Translanguaging - A New Discursive Order?

References

Index

The linguistic landscape of post-apartheid South Africa is of a bewildering complexity. Liesel Hibbert's study admirably aims to paint a picture that does justice to the different voices and viewpoints in this constellation. Her book is essential reading not only for those wishing to learn more about the sociolinguistics of contemporary South Africa, but also for readers with a more theoretical interest in linguistic pluralism in a conflict-ridden postcolonial setting.