Janine Wiggill( Student No:30147794)
Unit 1: Language as a process
Assignment 02 Observe & Interview / Exploring language diversity where you live Task 1: Observe your community I live on a farm in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands. I spent three mornings on a building site observing three builders from the local community at work. (please refer to Image 1 below)
IMAGE 1 “SPARAK , HAMILTON AND SIMPHIWE ON A BUILDING SITE IN LIDGETTON, KZN MIDLANDS Prior to spending time observing the men, I approached them and introduced myself to them. I greeted them in isiZulu and I asked if they understood English. One of the three men confirmed that he could communicate in English, and he offered to translate my request to the other two men who were unable to communicate in English.
APYL1501 ASSIGNMENT TWO STUDENT NO: 30147794
P age |2
The three men were introduced to me via Hamilton (see Image 1 above). Hamilton was an isiZulu speaking man in his forties. (He was one of the three men I was planning on observing and interviewing). Hamilton was the only one able to communicate in English. I was introduced to the other two builders, both of whom were from Lesotho. Their names were Sparak and Simphiwe and their mother tongue was Sesotho. I informed them that I was studying different African Languages and I asked their permission to observe them for three mornings. They agreed to my request and they were happy for me to take photographs of them. I decided to spend a short period of time observing on the first day, as I did not want to intimidate the men by “lurking” around for hours. I sat a short distance away from the men and I made sure I could observe their behaviour and actions. I did not want to hear what they were saying to each other. I wanted to record my “visual” impression first, as I was keen to see if I would be able to pick up any change in behaviour and approach amongst the men as they interacted with each other. On day two I stayed and observed for a longer