Diagrama GANTT

It has emerged that the use of local languages in formal or official domains as in extract 17 contextualizes the situation in particular ways, namely, breaking down the monotony created by the nature of a formal context thereby providing some form of relaxation and humour to participants (cf. Higgins 2009; Pennycook 2010; Aarons 2012). For example, in turn 7 of extract 17, M3 draws on urban Bemba or Nyanja yapasa 'it has gone through', a form highly associated with informal contexts of language use, to simultaneously acknowledge his colleague’s recommendation for promotion and in this way he manages to break the monotony created by the formal environment. Note also that the phrase yapasa is essentially an English phonologized phrase 'to pass' which in this case refers to the recommendation of the candidate for promotion.

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In turn 8, M4 draws on a phrase from urban Nyanja ndimwe ba chairman? ‘are you the chairman?’ in which he politely challenges M3's supposedly 'hijacked' role structure in turn 7 (last part)…you can call him back, in which M3 disregards his subordinate position to perform a role associated with the Chairperson (cf. Banda 2005). In as much as M4's comment may be seen as a point of order challenging M3's statement, his comment ndimwe ba chairman is not only seen as an act of humour but also serves as a face saving strategy since ‘are you the Chairman’ would be face threatening to the addressee, while the Nyanja version ndimwe ba chairman is not (see Merkin 2006; Oetzel & Ting-Toomey 2003; Brown & Levinson 1978). This is clearly seen in M3’s sharing in the laughter in turn 12. Moreover, the comment is seen as humorous not only because it has been said in another language but the tone of voice used suggested so.

Furthermore, it can be noticed from extract 17 that, being the second time M3 is requested to perform some form of duty by the Chair which is clearly based on his subordinate position, he jokingly protests against the request by drawing on Nyanja in turn 11: inga mwalimbikila bwanji

ine 'how come you keep picking on me?' which again is not only meant to act as a form of

humour but also to act as a face saving strategy in that the English version 'how come you keep picking on me?' would be more face threatening or impolite than the Nyanja version (cf. Merkin 2006; Brown & Levinson 1978). In addition, in order to acknowledge his subordinate position, M3 obliges to the request. This, apparently, makes his comment be understood as an act of humour and not defiance (see Aarons 2012). This is evident when M3 obliges to the Chair's request and the rest of the house including him, break into laughter.

Besides, to show that M3's comment is indeed a mere joke, in turn 13, the Chair also reciprocates by drawing upon a Nyanja phrase cifukwa ndiwe mfana 'because you are the youngest' which is equally a face saving act in that the English version 'because you are the youngest' would be more inappropriate and face threatening than the localized version (see Ting-Toomey 2005; Merkin 2006). Thus, the chair manages to perform his superordinate role and signal his status but in a less threatening way. This too is also taken as a form of humour as age in this kind of social context would not matter considering that the person the Chair was requesting has the same

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status with most of the other members. However, in as far as the entire exchange is taken as an act of humour; the Chair appears to evoke some form of cultural injunction which defines role structure and statuses based on age and social positions among interlocutors (see Banda 2005). In this way, the Chair is incorporating the African traditional cultural aspects in what is supposed to be an official Westernized type of context.

Consider also the following extract taken from president Michael Sata (MS) of Zambia while he was answering questions from members of the audience comprising Zambians living in the United Kingdom:

Extract 18 Line speaker

MS: 1. …so you find that at the moment we need people who can work hard, we need people

XXX [like] the Chinese, they are very different from us, you can send them to rural areas, they are going to stay like people in rural areas.

MS: 2…But for XXX Zambians if you send a Mr. Banda to Kawambwa he will say kuno

ukwabula amalaiti twalaikala shani. [Laughter in the audience]…But I understand your concerns….

In the extract, MS uses Standard English with a few bits of Bemba to address his audience. In line 1, he uses Standard English only but later combines it with Bemba in line 2. Like in extract 17, the purpose for which he draws on Bemba is not only to emphasize meaning but more importantly to perform an act of humour as in: but for…Zambians if you send a Mr. Banda to

Kawambwa he will say: kuno ukwabula amalaiti twalaikala shani 'this place has no electricity,

how are we going to live here'. In this statement, the humour is carried by the Bemba phrase:

kuno ukwabula amalaiti twalaikala shani which is reminiscent of discourses of urban dwellers

that reject rural life and see it as backward. The fact that it is said by MS and in a formal setting, the statement is seen as humorous although understanding its real effect requires a shared social experience.

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The data also shows that aspects of traditional cultural identity are still retained in form of a hybrid even if participants find themselves in a formal Western type of context. For example in extract 18, we notice that MS brings to the fore the ‘tribal cousinship’ affair that is enjoyed between people from different ethnic groups in Zambia. This 'tribal cousinship’ has historical roots from the pre-colonial times when ethnic groups fought against each other for power and dominance. However, during the colonial times, such wars came to an end and this was followed by reconciliation in which groups that once fought each other, became 'tribal cousins' popularly known in Bemba as icimbuya or umbuya in Nyanja to mean 'tribal cousinship'. Therefore, ethnic groups involved in this kind of 'cousinship' tease or mock each other in a friendly and none offending way.

However, if one does not understand this cultural background, he or she may interpret it as offensive (cf. Merkin 2006; Brown & Levinson 1978). It is from such historical cultural background that MS draws from. The commonest 'tribal cousinship' in Zambia is that between the Bemba of Northern Zambia and the Ngoni/Chewa group of Eastern Zambia. Therefore, MS himself being a member of the Bemba group, chooses to pick on the name Banda since it is closely associated with some members of the Ngoni/Chewa group, effectively making one who bears it a ‘tribal cousin’ to MS, as 'one who could resist rural life'. iven the background, the MS' statement is seen as a form of humour. However, notice that MS attributes the Bemba words to a Mr. Banda instead of Nyanja which would easily be associated to Ngoni/Chewa. Nevertheless, he does this in order to show how urbanized a Mr. Banda would be since Bemba has historically been highly associated with urbanity even if Nyanja is equally one (see Kashoki 2009; Spitulnik 1999;Ohannessian & Kashoki 1978). Moreover, what is clear in this extract is that by drawing on such traditional cultural phenomenon as a resource for humour, MS is also projecting his collective identity as a member of the Bemba group and imposing one on a Mr. Banda (see Pavlenko & Blackledge 2004). He is depicting a more collective Zambian identity in which ethnic groups which were once enemies are now living as one united people, a

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characteristic that partially describes Zambian people, particularly embedded in Kenneth Kaunda's ideology of one Zambia one Nation.

The data further shows that traditional wisdom found in proverbs and which is commonly part of rural discourses and heritage of most Zambians can also be used in a Western type of formal domain to simultaneously elicit humour and impart knowledge. Consider the extract below.

Extract 19

3…if you want dual nationality, I am not ready to grant it to you, XXX you can't have it both

ways…the choice is yours XXX we have people from everywhere…West Africa, Indians, and so on where I come from they say mumbwe ayitile impashi shaisa shamububa 'a hyena invited the red ants to crowd it' [laughter in the audience].

In the extract, MS draws on a proverb in Bemba: mumbwe ayitile impashi shaisa shamububa 'a hyena invited red ants to crowd it'. Even if the proverb has a moral teaching, in that it refers to the fact that a lonely parent or King would chose who to stay with when his or her own people (children) abandon him, even if it means the invited ones are bad people, the proverb has humour in it since a hyena traditionally has never been portrayed in good light and secondly, the fact the red ants are known for their bitter stings, and thus, the trouble that the hyena would find itself in, makes the proverb humorous. The humour embedded in the proverb is clearly seen when it triggers laughter among the audience.

Consequently, what is emerging from the study is that the incorporation of rural and informal cultural aspects appears to be part of the entire urban linguistic repertoire from which speakers are selecting linguistic resources to form their discourses without being tied to the domain of language use. In the following sections I consolidate this claim.

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7.1.2. Integrating cultural address forms and African sayings in formal domains