Higher Education

This article pertains to Afrikaans-speaking expatriates generally, or Afrikaans speakers who have emigrated globally, and the phenomenon of language shift and language maintenance subsequently experienced by them. Owing to the context of emigration, expatriates may be subjected to factors such as language maintenance, language loss, and language shift or language revitalisation. Language shift and language maintenance are explored in this study within the theoretical framework known as family language planning, which can be described as language planning actions through the influencing of language behaviour within the context of the family. A point of departure is the disparity, revealed by earlier studies in the context of family language planning in immigrant settings, between the attempts by parents to maintain their language on the one hand, and those of children to adapt to the language requirements of a host country.

Key factors in this article are the concepts of language maintenance, language loss, language shift and language revitalisation. For the purposes of this article, language maintenance refers to the preservation of a language within a family or community through continued use of the language. In contrast, language shift can occur where, over a span of two to three generations, a mother tongue of an immigrant family is replaced by a language with a higher status or desirability. Language loss can also take place where an individual or community completely loses a language over a number of generations. Language revitalisation, on the other hand, can take place by means of conscious efforts, as a result of which an original mother tongue is reintroduced and used within a particular community.

A number of studies have been done to date regarding Afrikaans-speaking (or South African in general) expatriates in mainly New Zealand, Australia and the UK. However, no other study has focused on such a wide geographical spread of respondents as that employed in this study, to wit a total of 1 362 individuals from 55 different countries. From the literature it is also evident that numbers of Afrikaans speakers have emigrated since before 1994. A first diaspora of Afrikaans-speaking people started as early as 1901, while a second diaspora is associated with political changes in the country after 1994, as identified in the literature. This article attempts to provide a clearer picture of language maintenance and shift within this second so-called diaspora.

For the purpose of collecting both quantitative and qualitative data, an online questionnaire as well as responses captured from a Facebook group created for the purposes of this research were used. Quantitative data from certain parts of the questionnaire were analysed by means of SPSS, while the qualitative data was analysed by means of Atlas.ti.

From the research it was clear that there are various reasons why Afrikaans speakers emigrate from Southern Africa (note: not only South Africans, but also Afrikaans-speaking people from Namibia and other Southern African countries). Most of these expatriates indicated that they did not intend to return to Southern Africa. Especially the respondents from English-speaking countries, in comparison with those from other countries, intimated that their move would be permanent. The permanency of the migration by Afrikaans speakers is reinforced by the fact that Anglophone countries prove to be a popular destination for this language group, because they tend to be proficient in English as a result of a bilingual background in their country of origin.

The majority of the respondents indicated that they still regard Afrikaans culture and language as an important asset. The language is often an important link to Southern Africa, in particular because of continued family ties. Some respondents emphasised their pride in their language and culture, and the fact that they live outside Southern Africa reinforces the importance of Afrikaans to them. Language maintenance is evident from the data, as the majority of respondents continue using Afrikaans with partners and children. About half of the respondents believe that bilingualism will improve the development and achievement of their children. The circumstances in other countries generally accommodate the development of bi- and multilingualism among expatriates.

There is, however, also some evidence of language shift among Afrikaans-speaking expatriates. Especially families who have been living outside of Southern Africa for more than twenty years report a decline in the use of Afrikaans. A number of expatriates indicated that they consciously decided no longer to use Afrikaans, and that the family’s language had shifted to that of their host country. This shift also often takes place if there is little contact with Afrikaans outside of the home and family, or if one of the parents speaks a language other than Afrikaans. Respondents noted that Afrikaans proficiency among their children was being negatively affected. Code-switching is commonly used in expatriate families, as Afrikaans words sometimes have to be explained to children in English. In some instances children still understand Afrikaans, but prefer to answer in a language of their new host country. Respondents who believe that their children do not have a future in South Africa tend to speak less Afrikaans to their children. The maintenance of a mother tongue other than the language of learning and teaching used at school is sometimes blamed as the reason for poor academic performance. However, respondents did note that some schools in their host countries did encourage the use of mother tongues at home.

For expatriates living in the Netherlands and Belgium, Dutch, which is closely related linguistically and historically to Afrikaans, seems to be a viable replacement language. In general, respondents from the two countries mentioned tend to use a language other than Afrikaans or English, presumably Dutch, in their families. The respondents indicated that maintaining Afrikaans made the acquisition of Dutch difficult for their children.

A culture shift as a result or symptom of the language shift is also apparent from the responses. Despite the fact that some respondents indicated that an Afrikaans culture is important to them, negativity towards Afrikaans culture was also clear. Some respondents indicated that they do no longer want to associate themselves with the Afrikaans language or culture. The history of the country, and even racism associated with the language and culture, are presented as reasons for this negativity. Furthermore, some respondents indicated that they had already moved on to being assimilated into the cultures of their host countries.

It can be concluded that Afrikaans is generally maintained among Afrikaans-speaking expatriates. However, certain contextual factors, such as the length of time spent outside Southern Africa, opportunities to use Afrikaans, one of the parents not speaking Afrikaans as a mother tongue, as well as being in a country with a language similar to the emigrant’s mother tongue, contribute to language shift.