A visual and linguistic comparison of features of Durban and Cape Town tsotsitaal

Abstract

Tsotsitaal is a South African language phenomenon spoken in urban centres around South Africa which involves the use of a range of linguistic and semiotic resources as part of a process of styling an urban identity. The tsotsitaal phenomenon originated in the urban context of Johannesburg's racially mixed townships in the 1940s and it can now be found in all provinces. Although there are calls to recognise it as a ‘national language’, it is not clear what features the different regional varieties share. This article considers two regional examples of tsotsitaal – from Durban and Cape Town – to unpack their common features.