Hip hop identity in a township reality. - Poppunt

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all of our interviewees comply with the characteristics of typical code-switch users and speakers that Franceschini provides (Franceschini: 53): - being of a young age - a member of a minority group - lower class - strong ‘ethnic’ group identity - multilingual social background Of course there are also a lot of code-switch speakers that deviate from these characteristics. Those are called ‘unexpected code-switchers’ (Franceschini: 53). The last feature (having grown up in a multilingual environment) is an absolute prerequisite though. Code-switching arises in groups who share a common identity. It does not develop throughout time in one single place but it develops simultaneously in different places amongst multilinguals who live in equal social circumstances, i.e. a multilingual context, a great importance of group consciousness and a permeation of cultural and linguistic norms. In contrast with the acquirement of a language, code-switching can be easily picked up at a mature age. Adults can adopt this style of speech from young people, which is the reversed case of what you would expect (with language acquisition it is vice versa). As already pointed out, competence in the languages you code-switch in is not a prerequisite. Code-switching can be acquired immediately, without any base competence. Speakers who acquire their code-switching competence without speaking all varieties separately are a minority though. Functions of code-switching First it needs to be said that not every switch has to have a functional explanation. It can be a mere cause of linguistic preference and/or proficiency of the speaker. Let us take a bilingual person as an example. The occurring shift of languages the speaker makes is unmarked and unconscious. Therefore, the switch itself does not have a real meaning. It is only a matter of routine and this kind of code-switching happens when people grew up in a multilingual environment where the use of additional languages is an unmarked necessity. Code-switching is then one of the options people can choose from to adapt to situations where language contact occurs (other possibilities are the creation of pidgin, creole and interlanguages). Note that for this kind of code-switching it is a necessity to be fully proficient in the
used codes (in contradistinction to other kinds of code-switching). Auer (1990), cited in Rampton (1998a: 268), names this sort of code-switching ‘participantrelated code-alternation’ (the term ‘alternation’ has the same meaning as ‘switching’). Switching can take the function of a contextualisation cue. Here, the contrast that is created is used to give linguistic cues to the participants of a conversation via code-switching. You can change your code to emphasise an utterance, to mark a new topic, to make a switch concerning the interlocutor etc. Like this, you give out a warning to the recipients so they know they have to be attentive. It prevents the opportunity for confusion to arise. So, code-switching can be used to create clarity in a conversation to make sure social contacts can occur fluently. For this type of code-switching, Auer uses the term ‘discourse-related code-alternation’ in his functional division of code-switching. We already mentioned the identity function of code-switching in the first part of this chapter where some researchers stated that defining or redefining identity is the sole or most important function of code-switching. It is a fact that this is one of the functions, but not the sole one. Not every code-switch situation needs to be seen as an identity negotiation. The means are wider than that. When a speaker wants to define or redefine his identity, a language or a code is a good instrument to do so. Language as such serves to distinguish a speaker from other people by marking the group membership of that person. By utilising a specific style of speech and/or a specific vocabulary, people can mould a part of their own identity or put themselves in a specific role that goes together with that specific moment. Our South African interviewees make frequent use of this function in order to ‘prove’ their identity of being a real hip hopper. When one makes right use of the right jargon in his utterances, that person states himself as someone with knowledge about that subject. Whether that person is bluffing or not about his membership of that specific group is something we will discuss in ‘crossing’, the next part of this chapter. It is important to know that a person can have more than one identity. Somebody can play different roles according to the situation he is in. Speakers have the option to move themselves through a whole set of repertoires. One repertoire corresponds with one code. The amount of repertoires a person has depends on the competence of the speaker. The choice of a repertoire and a code is determined by factors like the interlocutor, the goal of the conversation, the speaker’s biography and tradition (Franceschini: 61).
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Universiteit Gent Faculteit Lettere
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3. Conclusion 52 4. GANGSTA RAP (KD
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music they make). The concept of id
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the Hoofweg Primary School in Wesba
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There is no further message in the
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adopted it for the name of their gr
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songs, he will perform his own acts
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where the many townships arose. The
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were forced to move during this per
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protests; many people were killed c
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The unemployment rate is very high,
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Page 53 and 54: “More and more of the kids are re
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Page 59 and 60: will try to reach the same luxury,
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Page 67 and 68: Our interviewees do see a bigger pi
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Hip hop identity in a township reality. - Poppunt

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