Between Languages: Athol Fugard and/in Afrikaans

Summary

A study of dramatic language in a playwright's oeuvre should, according to Vimala Herman (1995), not only focus on the interactive and interactional uses of dialogue, but should also include a discussion of the wider cultural context in which these plays are situated. In this article I use the above viewpoint as an approach to study dramatic language in Fugard's oeuvre. A short analysis is firstly given of how the “mechanics” of everyday conversation is demonstrated in a particular scene in Fugard's Boesman and Lena (1978). The main focus of the article is, however, a discussion of a broader issue, namely the socio-political context of Fugard's use of Afrikaans in a large section of his English plays; his own relationship with Afrikaans, and the ironic reversal of how Afrikaans and English audiences perceive his plays today.

Opsomming

Volgens Vimala Herman (1995) behoort enige studie van dramatiese taalgebruik in 'n dramaturg se oeuvre nie net te fokus op die wisselwerking en interaktiewe gebruike van dialoog nie. So 'n studie behoort ook die wyer konteks van kultuur waarin hierdie dramas geplaas is, te betrek. Eerstens word 'n kort bespreking gegee van hoe die “meganika” van alledaagse gesprekvoering gedemonstreer word in 'n bepaalde toneel in Fugard se Boesman and Lena (1978). Die grootste gedeelte van die artikel handel egter oor 'n breër saak, naamlik die sosio-politiese konteks van Fugard se gebruik van Afrikaans in 'n groot gedeelte van sy Engelse dramas, sy eie verhouding met Afrikaans, en die ironiese ommekeer wat plaasgevind het in hoe Afrikaanse en Engelse gehore sy dramas vandag ervaar.