SOAS Research Online

A Free Database of the Latest Research by SOAS Academics and PhD Students

[skip to content]

Gibson, Hannah, Marten, Lutz and Ndlovu, Sambulo (2024) 'Encoding politeness in African urban youth languages: Evidence from Southern Africa.' Linguistics Vanguard. (Forthcoming)

[img]
Preview
Text - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0).

Download (376kB) | Preview

Abstract

African urban youth languages (AUYLs) often function as languages of resistance and “anti-languages”, establishing alternative semiotic spaces. In this paper, we analyse the encoding of politeness and respect in AUYLs, drawing on examples from Southern Africa, and show that they have complex systems of politeness marking, comparable to the matrix languages on which they draw. This includes different types of address forms, polite reference forms, and the use of avoidance language. There are lexical and morphological strategies to achieve politeness in AUYLs and these can be used to express both negative and positive politeness. The picture that emerges from this study is consistent with previous findings showing the structural complexity of AUYLs. However, the paper suggests that the presence of complex politeness marking in AUYLs may reflect the complex, and at times ambiguous, relation of AUYLs with established, mainstream norms.

Item Type: Journal Article
Keywords: politeness marking; African urban youth languages; language contact; Sheng; S’ncamtho; Tsotsitaal
SOAS Departments & Centres: Departments and Subunits > School of Languages, Cultures & Linguistics > Department of Linguistics
ISSN: 2199174X
DOI (Digital Object Identifier): https://doi.org/10.1515/lingvan-2022-0147
Date Deposited: 24 Feb 2024 10:52
URI: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/41481
Funders: Leverhulme Trust

Altmetric Data

Statistics

Download activity - last 12 monthsShow export options
Downloads since deposit
6 month trend
2Downloads
6 month trend
40Hits
Accesses by country - last 12 monthsShow export options
Accesses by referrer - last 12 monthsShow export options

Repository staff only

Edit Item Edit Item