South Africa

A SHUFTI AT THE LINK OF MZANSI’S MAJOR COLLOQUIAL DIALECTS FROM THE EARLY 1800’s

Introduction 

It is known that language serves as the principal method of communication, and with that being said, often, the co-existence of language and culture is essential and inextricable for human communication.  The great Nelson Mandela once said: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” 

The Modification of Language and Culture   

Take a community or region built from the foundations of urbanization, rich with various cultures, social groups and backgrounds and gracefully watch it unify over the prime tool, communication, through inclusivity of all languages to give birth to a new dialect. Multilingualism and code-switching have modified the human experience since the beginning. From trading to everyday human interaction, people get together and find efficiencies in working better and dealing with interpretation better. 

Communicating with different ethnic groups can easily lead to misunderstandings. Therefore, the gangs in South African prisons, primarily the numbers gang developed the Sabela, consisting of words, symbols and colours categorizing each of them. These initiated a way of interaction between the different gangs and went to further indicated territories, authority durations, policies and protocols. 

The Shift of Substandard Languages in Mzansi in the 1800’s

As per the research of Nkonko M. Kamwangamalu, South Africa has eleven official languages. Correspondingly, they speak a mix of Afrikaans, English, Xhosa and Zulu, as these are amongst the most spoken languages in the country. Combined, these four languages are called “Fanigalore” and were developed in the early 1800s in the mines. A simplified version of the abovementioned languages enabled thorough communication eliminating the necessity for everyone to learn different languages yet achieving successful communication and comprehension between different individuals since Sabela was brought out to the public of South Africa by the number of gangs.

 

According to Nkonko M. Kamwangamalu, a linguistic professor, from early 1800, a language of contact was established in the diamond and gold mines in SA due to the rise in migrant labour and further communication with their European management. This resulted in mine workers comprising South Africans and other workers from neighbouring countries, including Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, etc. With the multitudes of ethnic backgrounds, Fanakalo was now a language spoken in the South African mining sector and still is. 

A bridge language in a simplified form of Zulu, English and Afrikaans. Fanakalo has since been viewed by many as an auxiliary and command language from management to their subordinates to give orders, hence the negative connotation of the slave-master relationship of this pidgin language.

Conclusion 

The purpose of language is to make sense of complex and abstract thought when executed correctly and gives us the platform to share our points of view, feelings and ideas with others. And the proximity of culture and language allows us to engage with each other. Diversity can spring unity and allow us to convey a dialect conventionally. Like the early miners and prisoners in South Africa, we know we gravitate to each other through shape-shifting our differences. And with that mentality arise vernaculars to simplify and unify our living.

Kamogelo Seete

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