Reflections on Ethiopian youths and Yarada K’wank’wa: Language practices and ideologies

Authors

  • Andrea Hollington Global South Studies Center, University of Cologne, Germany Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.v10i1-2.27928

Keywords:

ideologies, practices, community of practice, distinctiveness, identity, mimesis, repertoire, globalization, Yarada K’wank’wa, Ethiopia

Abstract

This paper seeks to investigate the role of language ideologies in relation to the Ethiopian youth language Yarada K’wank’wa. The study of African youth languages, which has increased in popularity over the past two decades, has concentrated mainly on strategies of language manipulation and the varieties’ functions of marking identity, which have both been identi?ed as important aspects of these language practices (cf. Kießling and Mous, 2004; Nassenstein and Hollington, 2015). Both of these issues are very much informed and shaped by underlying language ideologies. Irvine and Gal (2000) focus on the recognition and representation of linguistic differences in language ideologies. Linguistic differentiation is at the core of language ideologies and practices of speakers of (African) youth languages; de?ning one’s identity in opposition to some (imagined) ‘other’ is often re?ected in linguistic images and practices (ibid.). This paper seeks to shed light on the ideologies of speakers of Yarada K’wank’wa, a youth language of Ethiopia, and looks at ideologies which rely on the concepts of association (solidarity) and dissociation (differentiation). These ideologies shape the (linguistic) practices of the speakers; they can display, for instance, linguistic differentiation in terms of manipulative strategies. However, ideologies do not always match practices and linguistic realities. Discussing the case of Yarada K’wank’wa in this regard clari?es the complex relationship between language ideologies and practices. This paper will do so by drawing on new empirical data, emphasizing the role of language ideologies and linguistic practices in Yarada K’wank’wa and its broader social context. This discussion may have implications for the understanding of other (African) youth languages.

Author Biography

  • Andrea Hollington, Global South Studies Center, University of Cologne, Germany
    Andrea Hollington is a post-doctoral researcher at the Global South Studies Center, University of Cologne. Her research interests include sociolinguistics, anthropological linguistics, semiotics, contact languages and youth languages with a focus on Africa and the African Diaspora. She recently published the monograph Traveling Conceptualizations (John Benjamins, 2015,) and co-edited the volume Youth Languages in Africa (and beyond) (Mouton de Gruyter, 2015).

Published

2016-06-04

How to Cite

Hollington, A. (2016). Reflections on Ethiopian youths and Yarada K’wank’wa: Language practices and ideologies. Sociolinguistic Studies, 10(1-2), 135-132. https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.v10i1-2.27928