Browsing by Author "Hathorn, Mieke"

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    Constructing Kaaps in Son : an analysis of discursive practices, readership perception, and newspaper texts
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Hathorn, Mieke; Oostendorp, Marcelyn; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There are often negative views about tabloids and their journalistic practices. This study investigated the language use, discursive practices of journalists, and perceptions of readers of one South African tabloid, Son. Data was collected using purposive sampling of readers of Son who speak Kaaps and journalists who currently work for Son. A corpus of Son was analysed in conjunction with the data of the interviews. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Language Ideologies were used as the theoretical framework. CDA attempts to “make the implicit explicit”, mainly regarding the implicit relationship between discourse, power, and ideology while “challenging surface meanings, and not taking anything for granted” (Wodak, 2014, p. 304). Language ideologies refers to “beliefs, feelings, and conceptions about language that are socially shared and relate language and society in a dialectical fashion” (Piller, 2015, p.4). Through the use of these two frameworks, it was aimed to make beliefs about the language use of tabloids explicit. The majority of the journalists identify with the language use in Son. The readers also feel represented in Son as they find the language simple and easy to read, and a representation of their ways of speaking. The corpus of Son shows that Kaaps is mostly used in the entertainment sections, the columns, the jokes and the short stories. Sport and news, on the other hand, are mostly in Standard Afrikaans. The findings give more evidence that tabloids can create an alternative public sphere and give voice to those who were previously not represented in the mainstream media (Örnebring & Jönsson, 2004, p. 287). However, this representation is confined to only certain genres. As tabloids move to the digital sphere more research is needed on how this shift will affect production patterns, discursive practices, and consumption thereof.