Fieldwork in Zimbabwe April 2022

As I came to know this is one of the most frequent greetings among young people in Bulawayo. After having focused on Harare and chiShona language practices among youth and in music practices during my previous visits, this research trip was all about isiNdebele youth language practices and ‘slang’, as most people refer to it. Although I had been in Zim several times for research purposes and to visit friends and family, this was the first time for me to spend a longer period of time in Bulawayo. With the support of great people, especially Jerome Nyoni, Helen Kauma and Keith Moyo, I managed to talk to and interview a lot of great people and gained many insights into young people’s ways of speaking. While Bulawayo is a city with a laid-back and calm vibe (as compared to Harare), there is a vibrant youth culture scene and young(ish) people get together in many different contexts and location throughout the city and its outskirts sharing their creative ways with language. After this fruitful trip I am now, together with my research assistant Keith Moyo, working on transcribing and understanding the research data… watch this space for updates 🙂