Language attitudes and identity - influences on language use among two Coloured communities in Kensington-Factreton

Abstract

An attitude study which made use of a cross-sectional survey design, and which obtained the responses of 60 coloured respondents living in the Kensington-Factreton area, Western Cape, is reported on. The probability stratified random sample was equally representative in terms of class (working- and middle class), home language (Afrikaans and English), and gender. The study attempted to record recent language attitudes towards the varieties of Afrikaans and English, plus Xhosa, the influence of societal changes on language attitudes and how they, in turn, influence the use and role of these languages. In addition, the significance of identity formation, home language, class, and gender was investigated. The contextual and theoretical background to this study include: (a) the presentation of the language situation in South Africa in general; that of the English and Afrikaans languages in particular; and the language situation in the Western Cape; (b) a review of previous language attitude studies conducted in the Western Cape; (c) the presentation of a social psychological framework which allows for the evaluation of language attitudes along the two dimensions of social status and group solidarity; and (d) an explanation of the formation of a coloured political identity by means of a theoretical framework which was combined with historical facts.