Uncovering the relationship among body placements, colour and linguistic associations

Abstract

This article employs the language portrait method to investigate the relationship among body placements, colour and linguistic associations. Participants were provided with a plain language portrait and markers (of different colours) to colour in their linguistic practices and behaviour. The heteroglossia practices and linguistic repertoires of the participants were coded and analysed as data, using qualitative content analysis and narrative analysis. The findings of this study reveal both the significance of colour choices and body placements: bright colours (yellow, red, blue and green) were used to reveal positive attitudes towards Afrikaans (they were associated with love, promotion, functionality, kindness, land, food and farming), while darker colours, particularly black, were symbolically used to show backwardness and past bad experiences. Thus, the Afrikaans cultural symbolism has had a profound effect on participants’ attitudes towards Afrikaans use as a communicative tool and its perceived role in society.