Gendered Dichotomies in African Youth Language and Language Practices: Urban and Rural Spaces, Virtual and Real-Life Gendered Discourses

This book explores gender dynamics and gendered usage in African youth languages and practices, highlighting the need for more attention to this area. It examines data from various parts of Africa using sociolinguistic and anthropological instruments and engages with literature and debate on language, youth, and gendering dynamics.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 12 September 2022
Publisher: ibidem-Verlag, Jessica Haunschild u Christian Schon

Youth language data offers insightful insights into gender dynamics and gendered usage within society. Regrettably, the gender perspective has received inadequate attention in youth language studies in Africa. This is partly due to the prevailing notion that youth languages and traditional youth language practices, such as slang and anti-language, are predominantly male-oriented. This comprehensive volume aims to shed light on gender dynamics and gendered usage in African youth languages and youth language practices, considering the urban and rural contexts. The contributions in the volume come from diverse regions across Africa, examining various youth usage in diverse contexts and domains. While avoiding strict binarizations and potentially flawed dichotomies, the contributing scholars explore some of the motivations behind different gender performatives and how these manifest in various language forms and through predominant categories of use. Data for this volume were collected through a range of sociolinguistic and anthropological instruments, including questionnaires, structured interviews, street-based observations, and corpus analyses. Overall, the volume engages with the literature and ongoing debates on language, youth, and particularly gendering dynamics in African youth language practices.

Weight: 45g
Dimension: 21 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783838217246