Recruiting a nonlocal language for performing local identity: indexical appropriations of Lingala in the Congolese border town Goma
- Author
- Karen Büscher (UGent) , Sigurd D'hondt (UGent) and Michael Meeuwis (UGent)
- Organization
- Abstract
- This article describes discursive processes by which inhabitants of the Congolese border town Goma attribute new indexical values to Lingala, a language exogenous to the area of which most Goma inhabitants only possess limited knowledge. This creative reconfiguration of indexicalities results in the emergence of three "indexicalities of the second order": the indexing of (i) being a true Congolese, (ii) toughness (based on Lingala's association with the military), and (iii) urban sophistication (based on its association with the capital Kinshasa). While the last two second-order reinterpretations are also widespread in other parts of the Congolese territory, the first one, resulting in the emergence of a Lingala as an "indexical icon" of a corresponding "language community," deeply reflects local circumstances and concerns, in particular the sociopolitical volatility of the Rwandan-Congolese borderland that renders publicly affirming one's status as an "autochthonous" Congolese pivotal for assuring a livelihood and at times even personal security. (Lingala, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Goma, orders of indexicality, language community, autochthony, Kiswahili)*
- Keywords
- AFRICA, HISTORY, SWAHILI
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-4162028
- MLA
- Büscher, Karen, et al. “Recruiting a Nonlocal Language for Performing Local Identity: Indexical Appropriations of Lingala in the Congolese Border Town Goma.” LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY, vol. 42, no. 5, 2013, pp. 527–56, doi:10.1017/S0047404513000651.
- APA
- Büscher, K., D’hondt, S., & Meeuwis, M. (2013). Recruiting a nonlocal language for performing local identity: indexical appropriations of Lingala in the Congolese border town Goma. LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY, 42(5), 527–556. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404513000651
- Chicago author-date
- Büscher, Karen, Sigurd D’hondt, and Michael Meeuwis. 2013. “Recruiting a Nonlocal Language for Performing Local Identity: Indexical Appropriations of Lingala in the Congolese Border Town Goma.” LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY 42 (5): 527–56. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404513000651.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Büscher, Karen, Sigurd D’hondt, and Michael Meeuwis. 2013. “Recruiting a Nonlocal Language for Performing Local Identity: Indexical Appropriations of Lingala in the Congolese Border Town Goma.” LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY 42 (5): 527–556. doi:10.1017/S0047404513000651.
- Vancouver
- 1.Büscher K, D’hondt S, Meeuwis M. Recruiting a nonlocal language for performing local identity: indexical appropriations of Lingala in the Congolese border town Goma. LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY. 2013;42(5):527–56.
- IEEE
- [1]K. Büscher, S. D’hondt, and M. Meeuwis, “Recruiting a nonlocal language for performing local identity: indexical appropriations of Lingala in the Congolese border town Goma,” LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY, vol. 42, no. 5, pp. 527–556, 2013.
@article{4162028,
abstract = {{This article describes discursive processes by which inhabitants of the Congolese border town Goma attribute new indexical values to Lingala, a language exogenous to the area of which most Goma inhabitants only possess limited knowledge. This creative reconfiguration of indexicalities results in the emergence of three "indexicalities of the second order": the indexing of (i) being a true Congolese, (ii) toughness (based on Lingala's association with the military), and (iii) urban sophistication (based on its association with the capital Kinshasa). While the last two second-order reinterpretations are also widespread in other parts of the Congolese territory, the first one, resulting in the emergence of a Lingala as an "indexical icon" of a corresponding "language community," deeply reflects local circumstances and concerns, in particular the sociopolitical volatility of the Rwandan-Congolese borderland that renders publicly affirming one's status as an "autochthonous" Congolese pivotal for assuring a livelihood and at times even personal security. (Lingala, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Goma, orders of indexicality, language community, autochthony, Kiswahili)*}},
author = {{Büscher, Karen and D'hondt, Sigurd and Meeuwis, Michael}},
issn = {{0047-4045}},
journal = {{LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY}},
keywords = {{AFRICA,HISTORY,SWAHILI}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{5}},
pages = {{527--556}},
title = {{Recruiting a nonlocal language for performing local identity: indexical appropriations of Lingala in the Congolese border town Goma}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404513000651}},
volume = {{42}},
year = {{2013}},
}
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