Multilingualism and socioeconomic status shape the identity of Cape Town teenagers

What is it about?

South Africa is a country of astounding richness of languages and cultures and of mind-boggling socioeconomic inequalities. It is the second most officially multilingual and the most socioeconomically unequal country in the world (OECD, 2023). Set in this fascinating and bewildering context, our study explored how these linguistic and socioeconomic experiences shape the identities of South African teenagers. Our study shows that in the low SES strata, teenagers are coping with enormous toxic stress affecting how well they can communicate in their many languages, what social groups they gravitate to, and whether they believe they can carve out a better future for themselves. Importantly, however, our study provides evidence that small differences even in dire socioeconomic circumstances may lead to significantly different outcomes. Our participants of slightly better (but still low) SES perceived their language skills as significantly better, reported more appreciation for diversity and cultures, and held more intentional and optimistic ideas about what they could do to beat the odds and escape the traps of poverty. Understanding how teenagers attempt to forge their identity under such enormous constraints sheds light on the struggles of the South African people to build a society in which to find joy in diversity and comfort in equality.

Featured Image

Photo by Marlin Clark on Unsplash

Photo by Marlin Clark on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study helps us realize how complex and multi-faceted the concept of socioeconomic status is. All our participants fall into the low socioeconomic strata of the population which involves both extreme levels of existential stress as well as a lack of resources, which have differential effects on their linguistic, social and future identities.