Identities in extended Afrikaans speech communities

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Periodical article

Title:	Identities in extended Afrikaans speech communities
Authors:	Beukes, Anne-Marie Pienaar, Marné
Year:	2014
Periodical:	Nordic Journal of African Studies (ISSN 1459-9465)
Volume:	23
Issue:	3
Pages:	120-139
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	Afrikaans language Afrikaners Black people identity self-concept
External link:	https://njas.fi/njas/article/view/141/134
Abstract:	This study investigates the link between language and identity in a few enclaved Afrikaans speaking communities where ascribed identities, i.e. the role of 'self' as opposed to 'the other', are particularly salient. Given the role of both 'self-identification' and the perceptions and attitudes of 'others' in the construction of (ethnic) identity, the aim of this study is to understand the processes of identity construction and negotiation that resulted in these communities that either distance themselves from their black heritage or view themselves as 'Black Afrikaners'. Four such communities are investigated, namely the Buys family, representing a group that rejects their black heritage, and the Van der Merwe family, the people of Thlabane and the black Afrikaners of Onverwacht who represent the latter grouping. The authors draw on work of Neville Alexander, in which he argues that identity politics in South Africa is often cladded in ornamental rainbow imagery leaving many communities in a crisis of identity. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]