1. BORN A CRIME
Shamsa, Antonio & Asri
“I didn't look like you, but if I spoke like
you, I was you” - Trevor Noah
2. Introduction: Who is
Trevor Noah?
● Noah was born into this world in 1984. His
father was a white man of Dutch descent, and
his mother was a Black woman of the Xhosa
tribe.
● Noah may have been considered “coloured,”
or a mix of black and white, but he thought of
himself as black. He spoke several African
languages and grew up among African
relatives
● He released a memoir titled Born A Crime on
November 15, 2016. It is a book that addresses
many of his life's greatest lessons, mainly, due
to being born during Apartheid Trevor Noah
a South African comedian, television
host, actor, and political commentator
3. Colonialism and Apartheid in Relation to
Language, Race and Ethnicity
Linguistic Imperialism
● Languages in South Africa
& their roles
● The deterioration of the
mother tongue
Identity(ies)
● Dual Identity
● How certain factors collectively
influence identities
White Supremacy & Racism
● Aparthied, Segregation and how
language is mobilized to
overcome discrimination
5. Languages in South Africa
● One of the main characteristics of ethnicity is language. In South Africa, there are more than
ten languages. Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, Venda, Ndebele, Tsonga, Pedi, Sotho, Nguni and so
on.
● Language has the power to change people’s perspective and becauses Noah saved
his own life while walking down the street.
● Language has been used to determine our social status, occupation, education, and even
Level of intelligence.
“English is the one thing that can give
you a leg up. English is the language
of money. English comprehension is
equated with intelligence”
“If you're looking for a job, English is the
difference between getting the job or staying
unemployed; English is the difference between
getting off with a fine or going to prison”
6. History: Race & Ethnicity in South Africa
1. Prior
Colonialism
2. During
Apartheid
Concept of ethnicity was rooted
in the ideas of bonds in kinship,
biology & ancestry. Division into
different tribes that corresponded
with the different languages
Legislative basis for segregation &
racial classification implemented to
divide the population into three main
racial groups. Mixed marriages and
relations were prohibited and were
considered a criminal offense. Power
dynamics were different between the
racial groups
7. The Role of Language On the Natives’ Fate
in South Africa
“I quickly learned that the quickest
way to bridge a race gap was
through language”
“I saw how she used language to
cross boundaries, handle situations,
navigate the world”
● Assimilating to a dominant
language imposed by white
colonizers can likely reduce the
subjection to racial discrimination.
● Analogizing language to a bridge to
show how ‘easy’ and ‘quick’ it is to
avoid the consequences of the race
gap by simply speaking the
imposed language.
● Displays how the sense of
belonging is achieved through
speaking the language, no matter
the race.
“Because of my color, they thought
I was a colored person, but
speaking the same languages meant
that I belong to their tribe”
9. Identity
● South Africa’s division into tribes that speak different languages and identify themselves
with them is an example of inter-speaker variation, determined via ethnicity.
● Trevor’s ability to switch between Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, and so forth for his social
belonging is an example of intra-speaker variation: code-switching to adapt to different
people and, in some cases literally, negotiate his identity as a Black person.
● His description of the fact that he would be considered Black once he spoke a Black
person’s language is an example of metalinguistic conversation, representing how his
identity is discriminated through language.
“Some colored people hated me
because of my blackness. My hair was
curly and I was proud of my Afro. I
spoke African languages and I loved
speaking them.”
“Other colored people hated me because of my
whiteness. I could speak perfect English, and I
barely spoke Afrikaans, the language colored
people are supposed to speak. So colored people
thought that I thought I was better than them.”
10. “I didn't look like
you, but if I spoke
like you, I was you”
- Trevor Noah
Editor's Notes
Good Morning, so for our presentation we are going to be looking at the memoir born a crime by Trevor Noah
So from his memoir, we have identified three main issues that is related to the class. These are
So For race and language we have identified this two extracst to analyze in the following slides.
Language has the power to change people’s perspective and causes Noah to save his own life while walking down the street. Black people initially see him as more white and white people see him as more black. While Noah innocently walks down the street he hears behind him, “Asibambe le autie yomlungu. Phuma ngapha mina ngizoqhamuka ngemuva kwakhe” (Noah 55). Which translates to, “Let’s get this white guy. You go to his left, and I’ll come up behind him. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t run, so I just spun around and said, ‘Kodwa bafwethu yingani singavele sibambe umuntu inkunzi? Asenzeni. Mina ngikulindele. ‘Yo guys, who don’t we just mug someone together? I’m ready. Let’s do it” (Noah 55). Noah connects with the other guys by speaking in their native language. The words Noah uses conveys a nervous and irritated tone. He is in shock and his first instinct is to use language to help him. Noah uses multilingualism to his benefit to alter the perspective of others.
Im gonna go briefly on the history of race and ethnicity in South Africa
Whites, Natives (Blacks), Colored people. Mixed marriages and relations were prohibited and were considered a criminal offense, thus why Trevor was born a ‘crime’.
Power dynamics were different between the racial groups. Whites had the right to vote, access state security and protection. In addition, they had access to more skilled jobs and productive land
So we picked out a couple of quotes from the initial proposed extract to analyze, starting with the first one … this can also be related to the standard language ideology
The chapter’s name, Chameleon, represents how he could change one’s perception of his color through language in order to fit in. It shows how the way one speaks can affect others’ perception of one’s identity; the Zulu men identified him as Zulu because he spoke in perfect Zulu, and the store owners identified Trevor’s mother as someone “safe” because she spoke perfect Afrikaans.
