LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
Language A i udes in a Lingua F anca: The Case o Black Sou h A ican College
S uden s
Ped o Ál a ez-Mosque a1,2 and Alejand o Ma ín-Gu ié ez3
1 Depa men o English Philology, Uni e si y o Salamanca
2 Depa men o Linguis ics and Mode n Languages, Uni e si y o Sou h A ica
3 Depa men o Basic Psychology, Psychobiology and Me hodology o Beha io al Sciences,
Uni e si y o Salamanca
Au ho No e
Ped o Ál a ez-Mosque a h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0003-1753-9267
Alejand o Ma ín-Gu ié ez h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-2114-7736
This esea ch was unded by he Jose Cas illejo g an (CAS16/00071), Spanish
Minis y o Educa ion, Cul u e and Spo . I would like o acknowledge P o R. Mes h ie’s
esea ch chai in Mig a ion, Language and Social Change, ia he NRF’s Sou h A ican
Resea ch Chai s Ini ia i e (g an no. 64805) o hos ing me a he Uni e si y o Cape Town.
Ál a ez-Mosque a, Ped o and Alejand o Ma ín-Gu ié ez (2021). Language A i udes in a
Lingua F anca: The Case o Black Sou h A ican College S uden s. Jou nal o Language and
Social Psychology, 40(3): 378-397.
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
2
Co espondence conce ning his a icle should be add essed o Ped o Ál a ez-
Mosque a, Depa men o English Philology, Uni e si y o Salamanca, Placen inos, 18, CP
37008 Salamanca, Spain. Email: [email p o ec ed]
Language a i udes in a lingua anca: he case o black Sou h A ican college s uden s
Language can play an impo an ole in he social ca ego iza ion p ocess. Linguis ic ea u es
a e seen o become associa ed wi h social alues and meanings due o hei indexicali y, ha
is, he idea ha language a ie ies cons i u e a “meaning-making esou ce ha may be d awn
on in in e ac ion wi h o he s” (Swann, 2009, p. 146). This indexical capaci y o language
p esen s impo an social implica ions. Resea ch shows ha indi iduals’ language biases s a
om an ea ly age as pa o hei socializa ion p ocess (Kinzle e al., 2007), and can in e e e
in he de elopmen o in e g oup ela ions. This applies no only di e en languages bu also
accen s since hey can also be a g ea p edic o o g oup membe ship and e en o e ide o he
social ca ego ies such as ace in de e mining ou social p e e ences (I o & U land, 2003;
Kinzle e al., 2010; Paladino & Mazzu ega, 2020).
Due o a wide ange o sociohis o ical and con ex ual ac o s, and as a esul o socializa ion
p ac ices, language a ie ies do no no mally ha e he same social alue. A basic dis inc ion is
he case o s anda d and non-s anda d a ie ies as hese elici di e en e alua i e eac ions
along s a us and solida i y dimensions (D agoje ic, 2018; Giles & Ma low, 2011). Mo e
speci ically, s anda d a ie ies a e o en associa ed wi h dominan socioeconomic g oups; non-
s anda d ones a e mo e p one o index in-g oup loyal y and lowe social s a us. Howe e , i is
impo an o no e ha speake s’ language p e e ences a e dynamic. This may be due o pe sonal
expe iences, he in luence o educa ion, media, and o he social ac o s (Bangeni & Kapp,
2007; D agoje ic, 2018).
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
3
To ad ance he unde s anding o his mul i ace ed socio-cogni i e p ocess, his s udy ocuses
on a highly mul ilingual and e hnically di e se coun y: Sou h A ica
1
. In his coun y, language
has long ac ed as a signi ican ma ke o di e ence and domina ion. The legacy o colonialism
and apa heid, in pa icula , has la gely esul ed in he social de alua ion o indigenous
languages “ o he poin whe e nega i e ideas abou hei na u e and u ili y become a pe asi e
ideology and become in e nalized by i s speake s” (Pain e & Dixon, 2013, p. 108; see Coe zee-
Van Rooy & Van Rooy, 2005). Sou h A ican indigenous language (SAIL) speake s end o
conside English as a symbol o educa ion, cul u e, and mode niza ion, as well as a signi ican
ad an age o job oppo uni ies (Bangeni & Kapp, 2007). Unlike A ikaans, which is o en
associa ed wi h he old egime, English is widely ega ded as a de ac o lingua anca wi h a
p e alen use in pa liamen , highe educa ion, and public adminis a ion, among o he na ional
ins i u ions (Mes h ie, 2006).
C i ical oices agains he p edominance o English ha e been aising conce ns o e he cu en
linguis ic si ua ion in he coun y. Language igh s ac i is s lamen ha SAIL speake s
commonly p e e o pe pe ua e he use o English han o demand g ea e use o hei languages
in socially and cul u ally ele an domains (Pa megiani, 2008). C i icism also encompasses he
no ion o S anda d Sou h A ican English which p i ileges mos ly (whi e) na i e speake s o
his language, u ning o he a ie ies as de ian (De Kle k, 1999). These include Black Sou h
A ican English o black accen ed English
2
, ha is, he a ie y o English commonly used by
1
Wi h mo e han 50 million ci izens, his coun y’s mul ie hnic and plu alis ic na u e is e lec ed in he
cons i u ion's ecogni ion o 11 o icial languages, wo o which a e o Eu opean o igin: English and A ikaans.
The emaining nine o icial languages a e he mo he ongue o app oxima ely 75% o he o al popula ion (Census
2011) and hey a e dis ibu ed as ollows: Sepedi, Seso ho and Se swana (So ho-Tswana amily); siSwa i,
isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu (Nguni amily); Tshi enda and Xi songa.
2
Labels a e pa icula ly p oblema ic in he Sou h A ican con ex (Mes h ie, 2020). The e ms Black English,
Black Sou h A ican English o black accen ed English a e o en used o e e o he English a ie y spoken mos ly
by SAIL speake s in his coun y. Wi hin his g oup, sociolinguis s speak o a con inuum anging om basilec
( he oldes , mos L1-o ien ed a ie y) o mesolec (in e media e s a us) o ac olec (a mo e p es igious and less
L1-o ien ed one) o L2 English (Van Rooy, 2004).
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
4
mo he - ongue speake s o SAILs; he la ges g oup in he coun y. In his ein, expe s wa n
ha disc imina ion based on language can be a p oxy o ace in oday’s Sou h A ica
(Pa megiani, 2008; E ans, 2015). Issues wi h language pe o mance in academic and
p o essional domains o en unde line he necessi y o good language skills. Pa adoxically,
being a black Sou h A ican wi h a p ominen command o s anda d-like English comes wi h
a social cos . The e m coconu is ypically used as a acial slu meaning hese speake s a e
pe cei ed o be aking a whi e iden i y o ac ing whi e (Pa megiani, 2008; Wilmo , 2014).
Wi h his in mind, he s udy o language a i udes owa ds S anda d Sou h A ican English and
black accen ed English, in pa icula , appea s o be o special ele ance o he Sou h A ican
popula ion. Howe e , he e emains a pauci y o e idence in his a ea (Bekke , 2004; Pain e
& Dixon, 2013). Wi h ega ds o he speci ic case o Black Sou h A ican English, De Kle k
(1999) obse ed ha his a ie y p esen ed ce ain signs o ha ing mo e posi i e alue since
i s s igma was dissipa ing as a esul o i s wide public use in pos -apa heid Sou h A ica (see
Coe zee-Van Rooy & Van Rooy, 2005). Howe e , she also acknowledged ha he e was no
gua an ee ha i would become “a means o access o powe and sel -imp o emen which will
au oma ically be accompanied by a ange o social and educa ional bene i s” (p. 173). Smi and
Ve hoe (2003) in es iga ed black eache s’ a i udes owa ds black a ie ies o English in
Sou h A ican class ooms bu hei indings we e inconclusi e.
Me hodologically speaking, mos s udies elied p edominan ly on quali a i e app oaches
including ques ionnai es (Pa megiani, 2008), in e iews (Bangeni & Kapp, 2007), ocus
g oups (E ans, 2015) o e en combina ions o hem (Bekke , 2004) in o de o explo e
language a i udes owa ds di e en speaking communi ies in he coun y. Ma ched-guise
s udies ha e also been limi ed and agmen ed, gene a ing mo e ques ions han answe s
(Bekke , 2005; Coe zee-Van Rooy & Van Rooy, 2005). In con as , calls o he design and
implemen a ion o new measu emen ins umen s adjus ed o he Sou h A ican con ex
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
5
(Bekke , 2004), and o he inc ease o language a i ude s udies owa ds local a ie ies and
accen s ha e been o en epo ed (Pain e & Dixon, 2013).
The e o e, a a ime when he e a e social and poli ical mo es o change language policies in
e ia y educa ion (see Con ex ualiza ion o he S udy), i seems i ing o in es iga e he
implici language a i udes
3
o young L1 SAIL speake s owa ds S anda d Sou h A ican
English (Whi e SA English) and black accen ed English (Black SA English) in a uni e si y
con ex . Despi e he e idence o eme ging posi i e a i udes owa ds he la e , we pos ula e
ha posi i e bias owa ds he s anda d a ie y will pe sis among membe s o his g oup
(hypo hesis 1). In addi ion, con ex - ele an sociolinguis ic a iables conside ed in his s udy
(see me hodology) will con ibu e o explain he de ec ed biases (hypo hesis 2).
F om a me hodological iewpoin , his s udy also seeks o ad ance in he in es iga ion o
language a i udes in Sou h A ica by mo ing away om di ec elici a ion o language a i udes
(Fo manowicz & Sui ne , 2020; Paladino & Mazzu ega, 2020; Rosseel e al., 2019). Mo e
p ecisely, we will use an audio Implici Associa ion Tes (IAT), ha is, an adap ed e sion o
IAT (G eenwald e al., 1998) ha inco po a es clips u e ed in he selec ed language a ie ies
o measu e pa icipan s’ implici bias owa ds hem (hypo hesis 1). By means o his con ex -
ele an e sion o he IAT in combina ion wi h a pos -IAT su ey ha in es iga es he
in e ela ion be ween pa icipan s’ language bias and hei sociolinguis ic backg ound
(hypo hesis 2), we seek o make an ele an con ibu ion o an impo an esea ch lacuna in he
Sou h A ican con ex .
Con ex ualiza ion o he S udy
In 2015 and 2016, he #RhodesMus Fall and #FeesMus Fall mo emen s became he
la ges s uden social p o es s since he beginning o Sou h A ica’s democ acy in 1994
3
Implici a i udes can be de ined as “in ospec i ely uniden i ied (o inaccu a ely iden i ied) aces o pas
expe ience ha media e a o able o un a o able eeling, hough , o ac ion owa d social objec s” (G eenwald &
Banaji, 1995; see Pe kins e al., 2008). In he case o language implici a i udes, hese unconscious, au oma ic o
implici media ing p ocesses apply o language a ie ies.

LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
6
(Habib, 2016). These collec i e ac ions sough o add ess a a ie y o issues anging om
ins i u ional acism o access o educa ion. While a numbe o s eps ha e been aken by many
Sou h A ican uni e si ies o e e se acial aliena ion and gua an ee access o a o dable
highe educa ion o socially and economically disad an aged s uden s, he p ocess o
decoloniza ion
4
in he con ex o highe educa ion is s ill un olding. In his ongoing p ocess
o ans o ma ion, he ole o languages in he academic en i onmen and in socie y a la ge is
no a mino issue (Mes h ie, 2020). English con inues o ha e a dominan posi ion in he
educa ional a ena and he p esence o indigenous languages a his le el is almos anecdo ic
(N ombela, 2016), despi e he ac ha mos s uden s a e L2 English speake s.
5
This linguis ic asymme y implies ha he a e age ci izen (and s uden ) has a
ela i ely la ge exposu e o accen ed a ie ies o English (lingua anca) especially in u ban
a eas, bu also by means o he na ional TV, he in e ne and social media elsewhe e. While in
ecen yea s, social mobili y, educa ion, and in e g oup con ac has led o an eme ging de-
acializa ion o English (Mes h ie, 2010; Wilmo , 2014), S anda d Sou h A ican English is
s ill widely associa ed wi h he whi e g oup (Bangeni & Kapp, 2007; Lass, 2002). Thus,
gi en he cu en con ex o ans o ma ion and he p edominance o English in he
educa ional con ex , he selec ion o a young L1 SAIL speake s a ending a mul i-e hnic
Sou h A ican uni e si y was an op imal op ion o es ou hypo heses.
Resea ch Si e
This s udy was conduc ed du ing he i s semes e o 2018 a he Uni e si y o Cape
Town (UCT). Fo me ly an o e whelmingly whi e-only ins i u ion, he uni e si y has now a
4
In he con ex o highe educa ion in Sou h A ica, decoloniza ion o en ep esen s he idea o
disman ling Eu o/Wes e n-cen ed ins i u ions, s anda ds and symbolism wi hin hei educa ion sys em. In
p ac ical e ms i also means making educa ion mo e inclusi e h ough he educ ion o emo al o ees; e hinking
o he cu iculum o gi e cen e s age o A ican knowledges, his o ies, and languages and e en inc easing he
numbe s o black s uden s and eaching s a ; among o he p io i ies (Habib, 2016; Ndlo u-Ga sheni & Zondi,
2016).
5
Acco ding o he Census (2011), only 9.6 % o he popula ion has English as hei L1.
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
7
much mo e mul i-e hnic s uden body, and English con inues o be he main language o
ins uc ion. Acco ding o he la es a ailable da a (2015), black s uden s comp ise a leas
24% o he uni e si y popula ion, howe e he ac ual igu e is di icul o calcula e as sel -
disclosu e o ace is olun a y a UCT (Cen e o Highe Educa ion T us , n.d.).
Rele an o ou app oach, wo yea s a e he peak o he s uden p o es s which pa ed
he way o a numbe o changes in his ins i u ion, he discou se o ace, ans o ma ion, and
belonging a e s ill un olding. No ably, while conduc ing his s udy, he UCT Language Policy
Commi ee launched a ilm A e you judging? in esponse o “many o ms o disc imina ion
based on language and accen s expe ienced ac oss he ins i u ion”(Madiba, 2018). Accen s on
campus do no only a y because o he s uden s’ di e se places o o igin and linguis ic
backg ounds bu also as a esul o he di e en schooling op ions in he coun y: go e nmen
(public) schools, ex-Model C schools and p i a e (independen ) schools. Pa icula ly, he as
majo i y o public schools in Sou h A ica depend la gely on he go e nmen o unding and
supplies. Thei common esou ce-cons ain s and ela i ely lowe s anda ds o educa ion may
conside ably impac s uden s’ de elopmen o English language skills (Smi & Ve hoe ,
2003).
Me hodology
The me hodological app oach aken in his s udy combines da a based on IAT and a
pos -IAT sociolinguis ic su ey.
The Implici Associa ion Tes (IAT)
The Implici Associa ion Tes (G eenwald e al., 1998), a widely used implici
measu e o a i udes o iginally de eloped in Social Psychology, has been inc easingly used in
he ield o linguis ics o e he las decade. Based on he pionee ing wo k o a numbe o
schola s who began o use IAT o di e en sociolinguis ic pu poses (Campbell-Kible , 2012;
Pan os & Pe kins, 2013) and mo e ecen esea ch wi h a simila me hodological app oach
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
8
(McKenzie & Ca ie, 2018), we ha e adap ed his ool o he Sou h A ican con ex . As
an icipa ed abo e, a con ex - ele an audio IAT e sion was speci ically designed o
in es iga e he implici language a i udes o L1 SAIL speake s owa ds S anda d Sou h
A ican English and black accen ed English in a uni e si y con ex . Conduc ed by he
esea che in pe son, IAT sessions we e indi idually adminis e ed o keep a eco d o he
pa icipan s’ eac ion imes (RT) owa ds he p o ided s imuli (see de ails below). Mo e
speci ically, RTs we e eco ded when pa icipan s we e eques ed o so s imuli (accen s and
ai s) in o concep ca ego ies and make immedia e associa ions in IAT, a oiding bo h he
issue o awa eness and he isk o in en ional esponding (B unel e al., 2004). This way, IAT
cap u ed esponden ’s unconscious, au oma ic, implici esponses o he a ge English
a ie ies esul ing om hei expe iences, exposu e, and knowledge abou hese speaking
g oups (Wi enb ink & Schwa z, 2007; see Bekke & Le on, 2017; Paladino & Mazzu ega,
2020).
IAT Design
In ega d o he ac ual design o his expe imen , bo h ex and audio s imuli we e
p esen ed using E-p ime 2.0.10 (build 353). E-P ime ensu es high iming p ecision, which
allows he audio and w i en inpu s o be p esen ed o he same amoun o ime wi h
consis en in e -s imuli in e als as well as eco ding pa icipan s’ esponses and RTs. As in
p e ious models (Ál a ez-Mosque a, 2017b; Ál a ez-Mosque a & Ma ín-Gu ié ez, 2018),
we used a o al o 14 audio eco dings con aining he same se en p e- es ed neu al
sen ences
6
in each o he selec ed English accen s. These se en sen ences we e p onounced
by wo emales om a simila age g oup, compa able (educa ed) social backg ound, and wi h
a pe cep ible accen o hei mo he ongue (English and isiXhosa espec i ely). The selec ion
6
Audio s imuli (sho sen ences) we e p e- es ed o neu ali y o seman ic alence o ensu e ha
pa icipan s would no eac s ongly o hei con en (see Ál a ez-Mosque a, 2017b).
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
9
o clea ep esen a i e accen s o bo h a ie ies was cen al o ou app oach. Fo he pu pose
o his s udy, a ep esen a i e accen is one whose linguis ics no ms a e un ema kable wi hin
he communi ies o o igin. Thus, he S anda d Sou h A ican English
7
accen in his a icle
can be desc ibed as wha Lass (2002) calls he local s anda d (ea lie e m: Respec able
SAE). This a ie y ( o me ly associa ed wi h whi es mainly) di e s om he exocen ic
BBC-o ien ed English. Fo he black accen ed a ie y, wi hin he linguis ic con inuum
anging om basilec o mesolec o ac olec (see oo no e 2), he accen used alls in o he
ca ego y o an educa ed ac olec al second language English speake .
Unlike he audio inpu s, social ai s we e p esen ed as wo ds ( ex ual inpu ) ins ead.
These e ms, mos ly epo ed by young Sou h A ican pa icipan s in a p e ious s udy on
in e g oup ca ego iza ion bu also widely discussed wi h leading Sou h A ican schola s in
closely- ela ed ields (see Ál a ez-Mosque a, 2017a; Ál a ez-Mosque a, 2017b), p esen ed
eigh clea ly posi i e social ai s (e.g. lo ing, iendly, educa ed, e c.) and eigh clea ly
nega i e ones (e.g. ude, acis , un us wo hy, e c.). The IAT model e en ually associa ed
each o he accen s wi h bo h ypes o social ai s so as o de e mine pa icipan s’ implici
bias. In line wi h hypo hesis 1, we e e ed o he associa ion o S anda d Sou h A ican
English wi h posi i e social ai s and he black accen ed English wi h nega i e ones as he
cong uen condi ion, while he e e sed associa ion was conside ed as he incong uen
condi ion.
Da a Collec ion P ocedu e
E-p ime was ins alled on a nea ly new compu e o esea ch-only pu poses wi h a
compa ible ope a ing sys em a he Linguis ics Sec ion (UCT). Loca ed in an o ice a he
cen al pa o UCT’s uppe campus, only he main esea che had access o he oom. The
7
This label is no unp oblema ic as ecen esea ch shows ha ea u es o SAE ha e been adop ed o
di e en ex en s by middle-class speake s om o he e hnic g oups in wha can be de ined as a p ocess o
linguis ic de- acializa ion (Mes h ie, 2010; Wilmo , 2014).
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
16
Pa icipan s), 63.7% o ou sample epo ed English as one o he languages egula ly used a
home and 72.5% s a ed English was he only language o ins uc ion in high school. In line
wi h he idea ha black accen ed English is conque ing new social spaces (De Kle k, 1999;
Coe zee-Van Rooy & Van Rooy, 2005), i is qui e likely ha pa icipan s’ la ge exposu e o
his language g oup has de e mined, o a ce ain deg ee, he socio-cul u al load a ached o he
speake s o his a ie y. Cogni i ely speaking, his exposu e o a la ge numbe o speake s o
black accen ed English migh ha e led o he eme gence o posi i e e e en s which dis ance
his a ie y om i s social s igma iza ion (Hews one e al., 2002; Seu loali, 2015). Simila ly,
he ac ha mos pa icipan s epo ed low social dis ance le els wi h hei own e hnic g oup
(93.75%) in he pos -IAT su ey migh also explain why an conside able numbe o hem
ha e a posi i e bias o his a ie y (mo e po en ial exposu e). Howe e , he eason why his
endency is nei he highe no s a is ically signi ican emains unclea . Socio-psychologis s
o en unde lined he idea ha ce ain social condi ions ha e o be me o an indi idual o
de elop an in-g oup o ou -g oup bias (C isp & Beck, 2005; Hews one e al., 2002).
Linguis ically speaking, he ac ha he s anda d a ie y has a highe social s a us migh be
only one o he possible easons ha explain he o e all esul s in his s udy. The e o e, i was
ou in en ion o p o ide addi ional insigh based on he analysis o o he con ex - ele an
sociolinguis ic a iables ha can con ibu e o explain he de ec ed bias.
Con inuing wi h he second hypo hesis, he co ela ion analysis ound a s a is ically
signi ican ela ionship be ween IAT e ec and he pa icipan s’ language o ins uc ion.
Figu e 3 shows ha hose pa icipan s who ha e a posi i e bias owa ds Whi e SA English (o
S anda d English) p ima ily a ended high schools whe e English was he only medium o
ins uc ion. While 72.5% o ou pa icipan s ook pa in his ype o high school, hose who
a ended ins i u ions whe e English was eplaced by an indigenous A ican language o used
in combina ion wi h one o hem, clea ly e e sed his endency (especially in he second

LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
17
case). Assuming ha mos eache s om hese school whe e he ole o English is no
p edominan (in e ms o ins uc ion) would be L1 na i e speake s o SAILs, i seems
easonable o a gue ha he p esence o educa ed / p o essional indi iduals wi h a pe cep ible
black accen could also s eng hen he pa icipan s’ posi i e bias owa ds his speci ic a ie y.
In con as , besides he ob ious a gumen ha he s anda d a ie y has highe social p es ige,
he e is no an easy o singula explana ion o jus i y why pa icipan s who a ended English-
only ins i u ions mos ly de eloped a posi i e bias owa ds i . No ably, he ype o school –
Go e nmen (public) school; ex-Model C o P i a e school – does no explain his e ec , as
he compa a i e analysis showed a lack o s a is ically signi ican esul s. This has somehow
ele an educa ional implica ions, as Go e nmen (public) schools ( he as majo i y o
schools in he coun y) end o depend on he go e nmen o unding and supplies and hey
a e commonly pe cei ed as ins i u ions wi h low s anda ds o educa ion as a esul o
unquali ied eache s o insu icien equipmen , among o he easons (De Kle k, 1999; Smi &
Ve hoe , 2003). Howe e , since mos o ou pa icipan s came om his school backg ound –
51.25% e sus hose who a ended Ex-Model C high schools (26.25%) and p i a e ones
(22.5%) – he schooling op ions hemsel es do no explain his inding. In o he wo ds,
s uden s de eloped simila a i udes owa ds he wo a ie ies, ega dless o he ype o
ins i u ion hey a ended.
To isualize he social and p o essional implica ions o his las esea ch ou pu o L1
SAIL speake s, we need o ake a b oade iewpoin . I he e con inues o be a p og essi e
inc ease in he numbe o schools (and uni e si ies) ha only p o ide English as he language
o ins uc ion, he e migh be a pa allel inc ease in gene al posi i e bias owa ds hose
indi iduals whose speech sounds mo e s anda d e en wi hin he black g oup. As we ha e
seen, only hose who a ended ins i u ions whe e English was eplaced by a SAIL o used in
combina ion wi h one o hem showed a s a is ically signi ican posi i e bias o he black
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
18
accen ed e sion. The e o e, in his con ex o ans o ma ion whe e English con inues o be a
p ominen lingua anca, he ole o educa ion in he de elopmen o language a i udes
appea s o be cen al o o e coming he cu en language challenges ha L1 na i e speake s
o SAILs a e acing (Kessi & Co nell, 2015). This is e en mo e p essing i we ake in o
conside a ion ha he e is a co ela ion be ween highe English language p o iciency and
highe ea nings in oday’s Sou h A ica (Casale & Posel, 2011) and, as G een ield (2010)
ound, s uden s end o show a sense o na ional p ide in hei use o English as i s ands “as a
ma ke o equal oppo uni y and he ad ancemen o a coun y” (p. 525).
Finally, o u he explo e possible aspec s ha migh play a ole in he de elopmen
o he pa icipan s’ implici a i udes o he wo accen s, we also conside ed he co ela ions
be ween sociolinguis ic a iables. In his ega d, Figu e 4 (A) unde lines he p edominance o
English as a language o ins uc ion ega dless o he main language spoken in he
communi y whe e ou pa icipan s came om. Rele an ly, only pa icipan s om a eas whe e
Xhosa and Zulu – he wo indigenous languages wi h he mos numbe o speake s (Census,
2011) – a e p edominan p esen ed o he op ions o languages o ins uc ion. In line wi h
his, Figu e 4 (B) clea ly shows ha , while English con inues o be he mos common
language o ins uc ion, ai ly mul ilingual a eas, and a eas whe e SAILs a e dominan ,
concen a e mos o he al e na i e eaching op ions. In such en i onmen s, he combina ion
o English and ano he A ican language is he mos equen al e na i e. Figu e 4 (C),
ins ead, shows ha mos pa icipan s epo ed mid-high social dis ance le els wi h he whi e
g oup. In e es ingly, hose wi h he lowes le els o social dis ance a ended high schools
whe e English was he only language o ins uc ion, while hose who wen o schools whe e
English was compe ing wi h ano he SAIL in eaching ended o p esen mid-high o high
social dis ance le els wi h he whi e g oup.
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
19
Once again, he co ela ions be ween hese a iables highligh he undamen al ole o
language in socie y. Wi h L1 SAIL speake s being he la ges g oup in Sou h A ica, hese
da a clea ly show he li le window hey ha e in he cu en educa ional Sou h A ican sys em
(Figu e 4 A and B), while English con inues o s eng hen i s social ele ance and s a us. As
he main lingua anca ac oss e hnic g oups, accen s in English become highly in o ma i e. In
his sense, Figu e 4 (C) sugges s English migh be playing a ole in es ablishing social
dis ance le els wi h he whi e g oup in pa icula . In he cu en con ex o ans o ma ion, i
appea s ha mo e acknowledgmen o he linguis ic di e si y in his coun y is desi able. This
is e en mo e impo an i we ake in o accoun ha , as Pain e and Dixon (2013) s a ed,
“ acial disc imina ion was no annulled by language accommoda ion bu ins ead ep oduced
in ine g ained o ms” (p. 109). The e o e, he e ec i e managemen o mul ilingualism in
he educa ional con ex can be one o he possible ways o ans o ming he social dynamics
o Sou h A ica. In such a case, moni o ing implici a i udes could be an e ec i e way o
keeping ack o u u e social changes.
Conclusion
In Sou h A ica language and e hnici y con inue o aise impo an social challenges.
In a con ex whe e English has p og essi ely become a lingua anca ac oss all e hnic g oups,
he majo i y o he black popula ion a e na i e speake s o he di e en a ie ies o he nine
indigenous o icial languages. Thus, despi e some eme ging cases o de- acializa ion o
English (Mes h ie, 2010), ha ing a pe cep ible black accen is de ini ely no uncommon. This
s udy has ocused on a g oup o 80 young L1 SAIL speake s in a pa icula ime o
ans o ma ion a highe educa ional le els in o de o in es iga e hei implici a i udes
owa ds he S anda d Sou h A ican English accen and black accen ed English.
The esul s o his in es iga ion e ealed ha he e is no a clea bias owa ds any o
he wo accen s, al hough a highe numbe o pa icipan s p esen ed a posi i e bias owa ds
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A LINGUA FRANCA
20
he s anda d a ie y. In conside ing con ex - ele an sociolinguis ic a iables ha could
explain his ou come, he no ion o in e sec ionali y a ose as a ele an ac o since emale
and male pa icipan s eac ed di e en ly o he s imuli. In addi ion o his, he ex en o which
English is he p edominan language o ins uc ion in high school appea ed o be a decisi e
ac o in de eloping posi i e o nega i e implici a i udes owa ds each accen . This ac ,
oge he wi h he co ela ions be ween he sociolinguis ic a iables ha sugges po en ial
de imen al social implica ions owa ds black accen ed speake s (e en wi hin hei own
g oup), highligh s he cen al ole o educa ion in he social ans o ma ion ha s uden s
demand.
Fu he esea ch should add ess he no ion o in e sec ionali y wi hin his pa icula
g oup by de eloping a new e sion o ou IAT model wi h male audios o compa a i e
pu poses. The social implica ions o his phenomenon need u he in es iga ion oo. Ano he
in e es ing al e na i e would be o es he implici a i udes owa ds S anda d Sou h A ican
English accen and black accen ed English wi hin he o he main e hnic g oups in he coun y.
Finally, de eloping a new sec ion on explici a i udes o compa a i e pu poses may allow us
o e ine some o he abo e obse a ions.
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