Afrikaanse transtalig en taaloorgang: die napraat van Tsotsitaal en Swartafrikaans

Abstract

This article explores Swartafrikaans and Tsotsitaal as alternative non-standard codes of Afrikaans in two poems. The concept of standardised Afrikaans is well documented in the subject literature, but proves problematic in a context where language borders are dynamic. To this end the concept of translanguaging is useful to represent the negotiation between languages by bi- and multilinguals. Another important aspect is the use of language crossing through which languages are imitated. Swartafrikaans refers to a variety of Afrikaans historically used by non-Afrikaans speakers of African languages in South Africa. Furthermore, Tsotsitaal refers to an informal slang based on Afrikaans. The use of Tsotsitaal in ‘Last Night’ by Frans van Rensburg and Swartafrikaans in ‘Die Djêrrê en die dooiwêl’ by R.K. Belcher were explored in this article. It was found that rather than using Tsotsitaal and Swartafrikaans respectively these two poets employed a language-crossing strategy through which translanguaging takes place.