South Africa 42

Listen to South Africa 42, a 52-year-old woman from Wynberg, Cape Town, South Africa. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 52

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 01/04/1965

PLACE OF BIRTH: Wynberg, Cape Town

GENDER: female

ETHNICITY: (Cape) Malay/Syrian/British

OCCUPATION: substitute teacher/teaching assistant

EDUCATION: grade 8

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS: N/A

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH: N/A

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Nadia Barnard

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 22/11/2017

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

I was born in Wynberg. At that time the people had babies in the houses. My mommy’s mom lived in the road Karima lives in, and I was born in their house in Kent Road. I was ten days old when my dad bought the house in Bat Road. But they stayed with our uncle in Berry Road; he was a fisherman. But my forefathers — my daddy’s daddy — they come from Syria. They, my grandpa, he, he was, er, busy with fruit and veg, but he was also the imam in Constantia. And my mother and them: They — I think my grandpa and them — they are from Cape Town, but the granny — my mommy’s mom — and my daddy’s mom were sisters. And their father and them come from — they are British again. But then, you know the whites couldn’t say, er, “Radcliffe,” and then they named them “Ryklief.” And then they had to leave it like that, you know? But, um, I don’t know; I don’t know [subject laughs] if I’m talking the right things here? …

I went to Grade 8, and I said to my daddy — that time there were the boycotts and stuff — man, I said to my daddy I’m not going back to school, because the people, the police ran after the kids, past our house; and my daddy would tell them, “Come into our place.” If the police come in, he would just say, “It’s all right; they must phone their parents to fetch them there by us.” That time it was most the Apartheid era, and then you had to struggle. My mommy work — didn’t work. And my mommy had eight children [subject laughs], which four’s only alive now. Five! Five is only alive.

He asked me if I will sleep in the house when they are not here. I said, no, nooit, I’m too scared to stay alone! I’m not going to, but thereby we stay — you can’t walk at night. Either they hurt you or they take your things. And I said no, no, no, five, six o’clock is the latest that I go to Pick and Pay around the corner, and then I’m inside. …

As you go to Mitchell’s Plain — you know how to go to Mitchell’s Plain? Strandfontein Road? That road straight down. I didn’t like it at first, but now I’m so used to it, you know? It’s more sandy, and, ja, where you must sweep the whole day. It’s nice; the owners are very nice people. …

I went to Mohammadia Primary; it’s just down the road; it’s a family s- family school, actually. Our great, great uncle — it was his house. And he dona- he donated his house as a, a schoo-, a Muslim school. And it started from one to two classes up ’til where it is at the moment, and the neighbors — they would let us play in their yard, because the playground wasn’t big.
She speaks very ugly to the children, and when the parents don’t pay on time, then she would tell them, “Your parents must pay your school fees, your par- yo! Your fees is behind!” I said to her you mustn’t talk like that to them. …

On a Monday, my mommy would make the best food. I never liked sago, but, then, you can’t say you don’t like it; you must eat it! Here, you can go sleep with a empty tummy! …

No, my daddy didn’t believe in birthdays; he said don’t come talk nonsense to me. I don- I’m not — hoo! “Ek verjaar nie meer nie!” [Afrikaans for “I don’t have birthdays anymore”] I said, “What is wrong with this guy?” But my birthday is on the first of April; my daddy is on Guy Fawkes’ — you know the 5th of November; my mommy is on Christmas, and you can never forget. And then he would say, “Every time you talk nonsense about birthdays, what is — why you want to have a birthday every time?” And I’m also telling, because I’m 21! They said, seker 61 [Afrikaans for “Surely 61”]. I said “I’ll klap [Afrikaans for hit/slap] you”!

Oh, but every time a new movie came or the family from India came, they would bring me magazines and CDs. But I wonder which actor will come to, to South Africa now, within — they said the, the singer will come now! They must take me, I will tell him, he — I must remind him, kom [Afrikaans for “come”], you owe me! [Subject laughs] …

TRANSCRIBED BY: Nadia Barnard

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 04/12/2017

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY: N/A

COMMENTARY BY: N/A

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

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