Style, repertoire, and identities in Zambian multilingual discourses

Abstract

The paper explores the socially transforming multilingual discourses which draw on rural and urban indigenous Zambian languages, (Zambian) English, and mixed codes. Using illustrations from a Zambian website and related studies on multilingual discourse practices in Zambia, the paper shows how local and diasporic Zambians enact role structures and identities in multilingual discourses. We focus on localized stylization of Zambian discourses, in which the multilingual code repertoire is used as resource for voice and agency as well as to enact relevant roles and identities. We show that Zambians use multilingualism to affiliate to traditional, modern, rural, urban, and hybrid identities, thus demonstrating the creative agency of non-western interactants to construct their own ‘grammars’ and cultures. Finally, we argue that multilingualism has become the means for trans-tribal, trans-regional, and transnational mobility for Zambians.

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