The heritage of a language: discourses of purism in Afrikaans historical linguistics

Abstract

In this article, we provide a systematic study of the extent and influence of the ideology of purism in Afrikaans historical linguistics. The study takes the form of a critical discourse analysis that indicates how the nationalistic, puristic ideologies of Apartheid were transferred - implicitly and explicitly - to linguistic descriptions of the history of Afrikaans. We firstly engage in a discussion of purism - specifically genetic and sanitary purism - and the role of nationalism in linguistic purism. We then divide the historical linguists of Afrikaans into three categories that do not correspond to certain periods very strictly, but follow a chronological order to some extent: the pre-philological, philological, and alternative schools of thought. Finally, we trace how Afrikaans historical linguistics practiced significant erasure in the name of purism at first, transferring certain aspects of nationalism and purism to scientific inquiry, to then become less puristic and more inclusive with time, as is especially the case with the alternative school of thought.