Die praktiese manifestasie van taalverhoudings in die mashoof van die eerste koloniale koerant in Suid-Afrika (1800–1829)
Date
2021
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
LitNet
Abstract
Hierdie artikel ondersoek die praktiese manifestasie van Nederlandse en Engelse taalverhoudings
in die veranderende mashoof van die eerste koloniale koerant, die Kaapsche Stads Courant, en
Afrikaansche Berigter / The Cape Town Gazette, and African Advertiser (voortaan KSC/CTG),
wat in 1800 in die Kaapkolonie gepubliseer is. Die fokus op KSC/CTG is geinspireer deur
die feit dat die koerant – wat gewoonlik vinnig as “staatskoerant” geklassifiseer en afgemaak
word – meer aandag van mediahistorici verdien.
Hoewel die staat, onder die Britse en Nederlandse bedelings, aanspraak gemaak het op ruimte
vir sy amptelike proklamasies, het die koerant terselfdertyd ’n ekonomiese, sosiale en kulturele
rol gespeel in die afwesigheid van enige ander gereelde populere publikasies in die eerste kwart
van die 19de eeu. In sy taalaanbieding, van meet af aan in Nederlands en Engels, het die koerant
die verhoudings tussen twee mededingende Europese lande en verskillende koloniale belangegroepe beliggaam. Die koerant se oorspronklike mashoof, en die talle veranderinge daaraan in
die daaropvolgende kwarteeu, verskaf insig in hierdie 19de-eeuse taalverhoudings aan die Kaap.
’n Literatuurstudie bied eerstens ’n oorsig van die ontstaansgeskiedenis en ontwikkeling van
KSC/CTG. Dit word opgevolg met ’n kwalitatiewe inhoudsbeskrywing van veranderinge aan
die mashoof van die koerant oor vier geidentifiseerde tydperke, naamlik die semi-onafhanklike
stigtingstydperk (1800–1801), die eerste Britse tydperk (1801–1803), die Nederlandse tydperk
(1803–1806) en laastens die tweede Britse tydperk (1806–1829). ’n Twaalftal uitgesoekte
voorblaaie van die koerant word ter illustrasie ingesluit. Die argument berus op die
veronderstelling dat ’n koerant se mashoof tradisioneel doelbewus gekies en slegs met goeie
rede verander word. Die artikel toon dat Engels vinnig veld kon wen as koeranttaal in die Kaapkolonie ondanks die
dominante rol wat Nederlands in die samelewing gespeel het. Dit word toegeskryf aan die
samewerking tussen die staat en private ondernemers, ’n tendens wat in die Suid-Afrikaanse
geskiedenis ook sigbaar is.
Die slotsom is dat ’n meer inklusiewe benadering tot die ontstaansgeskiedenis van die eerste
koloniale koerante, wat die Nederlandse en Engelse invloede gesamentlik eerder as apart beskryf,
huidige eensydige beskouings van die 19de-eeuse stryd om die vryheid van die pers verder sal
belig.
This article investigates the practical manifestation of Dutch and English language relations in the changing masthead of the first colonial newspaper, Kaapsche Stads Courant, en Afrikaansche Berigter / The Cape Town Gazette, and African Advertiser (henceforth KSC/CTG), which was published in 1800 in the Cape Colony. The focus on KSC/CTG was inspired by the fact that the newspaper, which is often quickly classified and dismissed as “government gazette”, deserves more attention from media historians. Although the state, during both the British and English dispensations, claimed editorial space for its official proclamations, the newspaper also played an economic, social and cultural role in the absence of any other regular popular publication in the first quarter of the 19th century. In its language offering, from the start in Dutch and English, the newspaper displayed the relations between two competing European countries and different colonial interest groups. The newspaper’s original masthead, and several changes to it in the following quarter of a century, provide insight into 19th century language relations at the Cape. A literature study firstly provides an overview of the founding history and development of KSC/CTG. Then follows a qualitative content description of changes to the masthead of the newspaper over four identified periods, namely the semi-independent founding period (1800−1801), the first British period (1801−1803), the Dutch period (1803−1806) and lastly the second British period (1806−1829). Twelve selected front pages are presented as illustration. The argument rests on the assumption that a newspaper’s masthead is traditionally selected with purpose and is only changed with good reason. When KSC/CTG received permission in 1800 to appear, it was planned as a bilingual newspaper. This decision was influenced by realism on the one hand, and idealism on the other. Dutch was in the Cape colonial society and neither the private owners of the press and newspaper nor the British authorities could ignore it, for political and commercial reasons. The new British government was also keen to communicate with its officials and soldiers, and to promote English in the colony. The accepted view of some historians that the British government wanted to promote English in the Cape Colony only after the second occupation in 1806, should therefore be reconsidered. The history of KSC/CTG shows that as far as the press was concerned, English was already introduced on the same level as Dutch shortly after the first occupation in 1800, when the latter was the dominant established language among the broad colonial population. The role of the private owners of the first newspaper – English traders – should not be underestimated. This is what happens when historians place the emphasis on KSC/CTG as “government gazette”, without addressing its hybrid founding and development history. Although the private ownership of the newspaper was short lived (1800−1801), the influence of the format endured in the developing colonial newspaper industry long after the government takeover and manifested in the first independent newspapers that were established from 1824 onwards. During the Dutch period (1803−1806), Dutch was presented as the only newspaper language and English removed. The effort did not last long, but the hybrid nature of government and public newspaper in one format was maintained. A more thorough content analysis could perhaps bring differences in the respective ideological positioning of the two European rulers to light. What is clear, however, is that the Cape newspaper history would have developed along a very different trajectory, and probably only in Dutch, if the occupation by the Netherlands had lasted longer. The constant appearance of the newspaper over the four identified periods is also significant. In general, there were few production disruptions in the quarter of a century under review, although the newspaper changed hands three times – first from private owners to the British colonial government, then from the British to the Dutch, and finally back to the British. Only with the first transition a production break (of two weeks) occurred. With the other two, the newspaper appeared as usual the following Saturday, even though the masthead changed from one week to the next. This shows continuity and/or cooperation between successive editorial teams, a topic which probably deserves more research because very little could be found in the published literature about the editorial setup of the first newspaper. Although this article does not focus in depth on the news content of the newspaper, several trends were observed. News reports dealt with a variety of topics, and for international news European newspapers were often the source. Local news often concentrated on Cape Town and surrounds, including the movement of ships and reports of marriages, baptisms, and deaths. Theatre performances were advertised, and the results of horse races published. Over time the outlying districts received more attention. The continuing conflict with Xhosas on the eastern frontier was reported, as well as the arrival of the British settlers in 1820 and unrest among the farmers of Swellendam and Graaff-Reinet. The newspaper was apparently so well established among the Dutch colonists that one entrepreneur continued with its name and format in Dutch after the British colonial government decided in 1826 to change the name and publish it predominately in English and more exclusively as a government gazette. The British policy direction to promote English at the expense of Dutch, which according to historians gained momentum from 1814, interestingly enough did not manifest in KSC/CTG immediately. This article shows that the bilingual masthead was maintained until 1826, and even after it disappeared, some Dutch content was still included until at least 1829. At that stage the rise of independent newspapers in Dutch started filling the gap and tried to prevent anglicisation. Although this article does not investigate the important struggle for press freedom between 1824 and 1829, it is touched on because it overlaps with the end of KSC/CTG. On the one hand the history of KSC/CTG shows that Dutch was probably more established as a newspaper language and played a bigger part in the struggle for press freedom than some observers are prepared to acknowledge. On the other hand, it shows that English could gain ground relatively quickly despite the initial Dutch dominance. This must be attributed to the cooperation between the state and private entrepreneurs, a tendency which repeated itself later in South African history. In the case of Afrikaans in the 20th century this partnership led to a boom, but in the post-apartheid era English has become the lingua franca in the public domain, while Afrikaans is kept alive through popular use and private initiatives. The history of the first colonial newspapers shows that the founding of the printing press was an important element in the anglicisation policy of the new British rulers. They could however not ignore established Dutch interests and had to allow more freedom, including the publication of independent newspapers and magazines. At the same time there were individuals and groups, like journalists, on both sides of the language divide, who sought and promoted reconciliation by presenting their newspapers in bilingual rather than monolingual format. As manifested in its masthead, KSC/CTG was an example and trail blazer whose influence would only disappear slowly in the 19th century, along with the rise of Afrikaans language nationalism. The closing argument which arises from this article is that a more inclusive approach to the founding history of colonial newspapers, which considers the Dutch and English influences together instead of separately, would bring new insight to current one-sided accounts of the struggle for colonial press freedom. While acknowledging that it has focused only on the European contribution to the multilingual South African newspaper history, this article makes a humble contribution.
This article investigates the practical manifestation of Dutch and English language relations in the changing masthead of the first colonial newspaper, Kaapsche Stads Courant, en Afrikaansche Berigter / The Cape Town Gazette, and African Advertiser (henceforth KSC/CTG), which was published in 1800 in the Cape Colony. The focus on KSC/CTG was inspired by the fact that the newspaper, which is often quickly classified and dismissed as “government gazette”, deserves more attention from media historians. Although the state, during both the British and English dispensations, claimed editorial space for its official proclamations, the newspaper also played an economic, social and cultural role in the absence of any other regular popular publication in the first quarter of the 19th century. In its language offering, from the start in Dutch and English, the newspaper displayed the relations between two competing European countries and different colonial interest groups. The newspaper’s original masthead, and several changes to it in the following quarter of a century, provide insight into 19th century language relations at the Cape. A literature study firstly provides an overview of the founding history and development of KSC/CTG. Then follows a qualitative content description of changes to the masthead of the newspaper over four identified periods, namely the semi-independent founding period (1800−1801), the first British period (1801−1803), the Dutch period (1803−1806) and lastly the second British period (1806−1829). Twelve selected front pages are presented as illustration. The argument rests on the assumption that a newspaper’s masthead is traditionally selected with purpose and is only changed with good reason. When KSC/CTG received permission in 1800 to appear, it was planned as a bilingual newspaper. This decision was influenced by realism on the one hand, and idealism on the other. Dutch was in the Cape colonial society and neither the private owners of the press and newspaper nor the British authorities could ignore it, for political and commercial reasons. The new British government was also keen to communicate with its officials and soldiers, and to promote English in the colony. The accepted view of some historians that the British government wanted to promote English in the Cape Colony only after the second occupation in 1806, should therefore be reconsidered. The history of KSC/CTG shows that as far as the press was concerned, English was already introduced on the same level as Dutch shortly after the first occupation in 1800, when the latter was the dominant established language among the broad colonial population. The role of the private owners of the first newspaper – English traders – should not be underestimated. This is what happens when historians place the emphasis on KSC/CTG as “government gazette”, without addressing its hybrid founding and development history. Although the private ownership of the newspaper was short lived (1800−1801), the influence of the format endured in the developing colonial newspaper industry long after the government takeover and manifested in the first independent newspapers that were established from 1824 onwards. During the Dutch period (1803−1806), Dutch was presented as the only newspaper language and English removed. The effort did not last long, but the hybrid nature of government and public newspaper in one format was maintained. A more thorough content analysis could perhaps bring differences in the respective ideological positioning of the two European rulers to light. What is clear, however, is that the Cape newspaper history would have developed along a very different trajectory, and probably only in Dutch, if the occupation by the Netherlands had lasted longer. The constant appearance of the newspaper over the four identified periods is also significant. In general, there were few production disruptions in the quarter of a century under review, although the newspaper changed hands three times – first from private owners to the British colonial government, then from the British to the Dutch, and finally back to the British. Only with the first transition a production break (of two weeks) occurred. With the other two, the newspaper appeared as usual the following Saturday, even though the masthead changed from one week to the next. This shows continuity and/or cooperation between successive editorial teams, a topic which probably deserves more research because very little could be found in the published literature about the editorial setup of the first newspaper. Although this article does not focus in depth on the news content of the newspaper, several trends were observed. News reports dealt with a variety of topics, and for international news European newspapers were often the source. Local news often concentrated on Cape Town and surrounds, including the movement of ships and reports of marriages, baptisms, and deaths. Theatre performances were advertised, and the results of horse races published. Over time the outlying districts received more attention. The continuing conflict with Xhosas on the eastern frontier was reported, as well as the arrival of the British settlers in 1820 and unrest among the farmers of Swellendam and Graaff-Reinet. The newspaper was apparently so well established among the Dutch colonists that one entrepreneur continued with its name and format in Dutch after the British colonial government decided in 1826 to change the name and publish it predominately in English and more exclusively as a government gazette. The British policy direction to promote English at the expense of Dutch, which according to historians gained momentum from 1814, interestingly enough did not manifest in KSC/CTG immediately. This article shows that the bilingual masthead was maintained until 1826, and even after it disappeared, some Dutch content was still included until at least 1829. At that stage the rise of independent newspapers in Dutch started filling the gap and tried to prevent anglicisation. Although this article does not investigate the important struggle for press freedom between 1824 and 1829, it is touched on because it overlaps with the end of KSC/CTG. On the one hand the history of KSC/CTG shows that Dutch was probably more established as a newspaper language and played a bigger part in the struggle for press freedom than some observers are prepared to acknowledge. On the other hand, it shows that English could gain ground relatively quickly despite the initial Dutch dominance. This must be attributed to the cooperation between the state and private entrepreneurs, a tendency which repeated itself later in South African history. In the case of Afrikaans in the 20th century this partnership led to a boom, but in the post-apartheid era English has become the lingua franca in the public domain, while Afrikaans is kept alive through popular use and private initiatives. The history of the first colonial newspapers shows that the founding of the printing press was an important element in the anglicisation policy of the new British rulers. They could however not ignore established Dutch interests and had to allow more freedom, including the publication of independent newspapers and magazines. At the same time there were individuals and groups, like journalists, on both sides of the language divide, who sought and promoted reconciliation by presenting their newspapers in bilingual rather than monolingual format. As manifested in its masthead, KSC/CTG was an example and trail blazer whose influence would only disappear slowly in the 19th century, along with the rise of Afrikaans language nationalism. The closing argument which arises from this article is that a more inclusive approach to the founding history of colonial newspapers, which considers the Dutch and English influences together instead of separately, would bring new insight to current one-sided accounts of the struggle for colonial press freedom. While acknowledging that it has focused only on the European contribution to the multilingual South African newspaper history, this article makes a humble contribution.
Description
CITATION: Botma, G. 2021. Die praktiese manifestasie van taalverhoudings in die mashoof van die eerste koloniale koerant in Suid-Afrika (1800–1829). LitNet Akademies, 18(3):79-100.
The original publication is available at https://www.litnet.co.za
The original publication is available at https://www.litnet.co.za
Keywords
South Africa -- History -- 19th century, Freedom of the press -- South Africa -- 19th century, Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) -- History - -1795-1872, Language and languages, Mass media and language, Gazettes, Cape Town (South Africa) -- Colonies -- Newspapers, Kaapsche Stads Courant, Afrikaansche Berigter, Cape Town Gazette, African Advertiser, Journalism, Bilingualism
Citation
Botma, G. 2021. Die praktiese manifestasie van taalverhoudings in die mashoof van die eerste koloniale koerant in Suid-Afrika (1800–1829). LitNet Akademies, 18(3):79-100.