Tsotsitaal

language
name=Tsotsitaal
familycolor=Creole
states=South Africa
speakers=
fam1=Creole language
fam2=Afrikaans Creole
iso1=
iso2=
iso3=fly
lc1=
ld1=
notice=nonotice

Tsotsitaal, or isiCamtho, is a variety of languages mainly spoken in the townships of Gauteng province in South Africa, such as Soweto. It is a pidgin, or rather a diverse combination of several South African languages, such as Zulu, Sesotho, Tswana and Afrikaans. Tsotsitaal is also influenced by the English and some of the other languages spoken in the multilingual country (such as Italian, Swahili, etc.). Widely spoken in urban areas, it emerged as a language, some would argue, that helped to facilitate communication between speakers of different languages. Although originally associated with the criminal subculture ("tsotsi" refers to an urban thug), its recognition has spread with the popularity of kwaito music. [The Languages of South Africa http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:Yq_LFuXrlk0J:www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/demographics/language.htm+tsotsi+taal&hl=es&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us ]

"Tsotsi" is a Sesotho slang word for a "thug" or "robber" (possibly from the verb "ho tsotsa" "to sharpen" — whose meaning has been modified in modern times to include "to con") and "taal" is the Afrikaans word for "language". The alternative name, "isiCamtho", comes from Zulu and is a combination of the class 7 prefix isi- (here representing language — see grammatical gender and Sesotho nouns) with a derivation of "ukucamtha", which means "to chat".

In music

After the abolition of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, Kwaito, already a popular music form in South Africa, and its artists came to embrace the use of Tsotsitaal in its lyrical content. Because of its reputation as associated with urban thugs and the criminal subculture, Tsotsitaal, or isiCamtho is seen by many as a South African form of gangsta slang. [Mhlambi, T. "Kwaitofabulous: The Study of a South African Urban Genre". Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa Vol 1 (2004): 116-127 ] With the advent of rising middle-class and elite Blacks in South Africa after apartheid and the significance of gold to the South African history and culture, the attitudes prevalent in Kwaito music appropriate gold to notions of success and wealth. Because of its urban nature and form, Tsotsitaal came to be emblematic of the attitudes of post-Apartheid South African black poor youth that were largely apolitical, concerned mainly with a representation of success and wealth. [Steingo, G. "South African Music After Apartheid: The "Party Politic" and the Appropriation of Gold as a Sign of Success". Popular Music and Society, July 2005. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2822/is_3_28/ai_n15648564 ]

Township Culture

Tsostitaal is arguably the most mutual form of communicaton amongst South African youths. Tsotsitaal is wide spread around the country has made it easy for youths, from different townships of the country to be able to communicate as it is a common spoken language in all 9 provencies of the country for example the word "hola," derived from the the Spanish greeting, is a common greeting word around the country.

ee also

*"Tsotsi", winner of the 2005 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

ources

External links

* [http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/artsmediaculture/arts/performance/music/kwaito.htm Kwaito, an isiCamtho song style]
* [http://www.english.und.ac.za/English%202B/SPOKEN%20WORD%20POETRY%20-%202005.htm some isiCamtho poetry]
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=fly Ethnologue report on Tsotsitaal]
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=cmt Ethnologue report on (isi)Camtho, Iscamtho]