Abstract

VAN DER WALT, Amanda  and  VAN ROOY, Bertus. Taboo language use as a key element in the construction of a zef identity. Tydskr. geesteswet. [online]. 2020, vol.60, n.3, pp.814-832. ISSN 2224-7912.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2224-7912/2020/v60n3a15.

Masculinity (Benwell 2004; Connell 2016; Connell & Messerschmidt 2005; Kiesling 1996; Messerschmidt 2019), including Afrikaner masculinity (Du Pisani 2001, 2004, 2013; Swart 1998) has been thoroughly researched across the social sciences. Male identity, as it manifests itself in the South African zef subculture, has also come under investigation (Du Preez 2011; Krueger 2012), however, the role of language use in the creation ofsuch a zef identity has not yet been researched. This article investigates how protest masculinity is projected and maintained on the WatKykJy?-blog, a satiric online environment, through language use, and more pointedly, the use of taboo words. This projected masculinity also relates closely to what is perceived as important in the identity of a zef male, which in itself is a reaction to traditional Afrikaner identity and the negative associations it acquired in the post-apartheid years. The WKJ?-corpus is used to conduct the analysis. The corpus consists of 1,4 million words and has been divided into one-year periods, starting at the year 2000 and ending in 2017. A total of 50 texts have been selected randomly and analysed by hand in order to find and expand the taboo domains set out by Stapleton (2010) and van Huyssteen (1996). Apart from the scatological, blasphemous and sexual domains identified in previous research, two more domains (weather and plant domains) have been identified from the corpus. The weather domain is mainly employed to refer to violent behaviour, although it is occasionally used to express surprise. The plant domain is more frequently associated with the use of sexual metaphors. The analysis indicates that WKJ?-readers and -authors frequently use taboo language on the blog. A total of 29 389 taboo words are identified, which translates into a relative frequency of 20 taboo words per 1 000 words. Individual lexical items with the highestfrequency are fok 'fuck' (1709) and its derived form fokken 'fucking' (5631), as well as kak 'shit' (3162), poes 'pussy'(1249) andmoerse 'huge'(literally 'mothers') (1128). The semantic domain that is the most productive taboo domain is the sexual domain, where taboo words with a strong sexual connotation are used quite liberally, alongside words that are metaphorically invoked to convey sexual meanings as well, such as names of animals, e.g. haas 'hare', teef 'bitch', kat 'cat', and goose for females and slang 'snake', bastard or voël 'bird'for males. Women and/or their genitals are also portrayed as edible objects, such as vy 'fig', cherry or koek 'cake', while men are represented as the active eaters thereof. Sexual acts are metaphorically represented as if they inflict pain on women, e.g. brand 'burn', or saag 'saw'. The second most frequent domain is the scatological, where euphemisms and dysphemisms are encountered, such as the euphemism modderotter uitrol (literally "rolling out the mud beaver") for bowel movement, and the dysphemism kakhuis (literally "shit house") for toilet. The third domain of taboo words draws on weather, especially stormy weather, and is often used to refer to people (die dom donner, "the stupid thunder") or to fighting (ek fokken bliksem julle almal "Ifucking thunder (verb) you all"). These words have moderate taboo value in Afrikaans, but form a template for extension to sexual terms with a meaning in the fighting domain, with much higher taboo value, such as voordat ek iemand gaan poes "before I go and pussy (verb) somebody". The fourth domain, the final one with non-negligible frequency, is the domain of blasphemous word use, including the plain forms Jesus and Here 'Lord', but also euphemistic spelling variants such as Jissis 'Jesus' and Jirre 'Lord', which are typically employed as interjections at clause boundaries. Taboo language is used purposefully and deliberately to undermine the puritan values that are part of the traditional hegemonic Afrikaner masculinity, and also expose the duplicity and contradictions thereof. The protest masculinity that is offered instead emphasises physicality, but shares the homophobic and hierarchical gender role components of hegemonic masculinity. The male participants on the website are constructing and projecting a zef identity, for the purpose of creating a post-apartheid identity that denounces any political alliances but rejects the hegemonic masculinity of the traditional Afrikaner male associated with the apartheid era. Yet, the persistent use of irony makes it ambiguous whether the alternative zef masculinity is really held up as new model.

Keywords : zef identity; masculinity; zef; hegemonic masculinity; language use; lexicon; corpus; taboo words; taboo domains; sexual metaphors; vulgar language.

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