An Analysis of the Effects of Space and Territoriality on Language Use

The study was carried out in the wider and interdisciplinary field of applied linguistics with focus on the specific domain of sociolinguistics. I have collected data through interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation and used qualitative methods for interpretation of data guided by the concepts of space and territoriality as has been propounded by Vigouroux (2005). Finally, I consider the influence of space and territory on the language choice and above all, I show that the decision to use one language instead of the other in any given territory or space is never a neutral one. I argue that the Cameroonian immigrants still use language in the same way, as they would do if they were in Cameroon. That is, the Cameroonian migrants would speak Cameroon Pidgin English (CPE) amongst themselves at home, in school, church, at their jobsites, social gatherings and so on and continue to code switch between English, French, CPE and their vernaculars, although I show that they tend to use more English, and less French in Cape Town. I maintain that the immigrants still treat CPE with as much disdain, as they would do in Cameroon.

Autorentext

Dr Mai holds a bachelor degree in bilingual letters, (English and French) from the University of Dschang, an Honours, MA and a Doctorate degree all from the University of the Western Cape (UWC). She currently occupies the position of an academic coordinator at the Department for Postgraduate Studies (DfPS) in UWC.