LANGUAGE THROUGH AN AFRICAN LENS
ASSIGNMENT 2
Task 1: Observation
My observations were done at the OK store in Villiersdorp.
What do I see? People are interacting in both a business and social environment. The town
is small with only three grocery stores so many people know each other. The customer
demographics is probably 1:1:1 Coloured:White:Black, with the majority of coloured and
white people having Afrikaans as their home language and the majority of black people
having Xhosa as their home language. The majority of the staff are black Xhosa-speaking
people, with a few coloured and white staff members. Most customers and all staff
members can speak English, so this language is often used as transactional language.
Who is talking with whom? People who are friends hug each other or shake hands and talk
intimately, mostly in the same language. It can be Afrikaans (majority) or Xhosa or some
English. People who are acquaintances greet each other. They do not necessarily speak the
same language but will have something in common to talk about and they understand each
other. At the checkout point most cashiers and packers and supervisors speak Xhosa. Some
customers are excluded from these conversations, because they cannot understand the
language. Some customers can at least greet the cashier in Xhosa. The cashiers can all
understand either English, Afrikaans or both so the formal interaction between customer
and cashier is clear and both parties understand each other.
Why do they use the languages that they’re using? People use the language that they feel
comfortable in. That’s why friends mostly converse in the same language, because the circle
of friends is homogenous with similar background, culture and language. Friends can best
express themselves in their home language. When acquaintances speak, they understand
each other but one or both may speak a second language as to better interact with the
other person. Conversations are less relaxed and language use more formal. The
conversations between employees are mostly in the same language, which is different from
the home language of most customers.
Why are people acting the way they do? People are generally more comfortable with other
individuals from the same cultural and language group and therefore act naturally and with
less inhibition. People who don’t understand the language that two or more other people
are speaking feel excluded and therefore act less spontaneously.
1
ASSIGNMENT 2
Task 1: Observation
My observations were done at the OK store in Villiersdorp.
What do I see? People are interacting in both a business and social environment. The town
is small with only three grocery stores so many people know each other. The customer
demographics is probably 1:1:1 Coloured:White:Black, with the majority of coloured and
white people having Afrikaans as their home language and the majority of black people
having Xhosa as their home language. The majority of the staff are black Xhosa-speaking
people, with a few coloured and white staff members. Most customers and all staff
members can speak English, so this language is often used as transactional language.
Who is talking with whom? People who are friends hug each other or shake hands and talk
intimately, mostly in the same language. It can be Afrikaans (majority) or Xhosa or some
English. People who are acquaintances greet each other. They do not necessarily speak the
same language but will have something in common to talk about and they understand each
other. At the checkout point most cashiers and packers and supervisors speak Xhosa. Some
customers are excluded from these conversations, because they cannot understand the
language. Some customers can at least greet the cashier in Xhosa. The cashiers can all
understand either English, Afrikaans or both so the formal interaction between customer
and cashier is clear and both parties understand each other.
Why do they use the languages that they’re using? People use the language that they feel
comfortable in. That’s why friends mostly converse in the same language, because the circle
of friends is homogenous with similar background, culture and language. Friends can best
express themselves in their home language. When acquaintances speak, they understand
each other but one or both may speak a second language as to better interact with the
other person. Conversations are less relaxed and language use more formal. The
conversations between employees are mostly in the same language, which is different from
the home language of most customers.
Why are people acting the way they do? People are generally more comfortable with other
individuals from the same cultural and language group and therefore act naturally and with
less inhibition. People who don’t understand the language that two or more other people
are speaking feel excluded and therefore act less spontaneously.
1
