This study investigates the link between language and identity in a few enclaved Afrikaans
speaking communities where ascribed identities, i.e. the role of ‘self’ as opposed to ‘the other’,
is particularly salient. Given the role of both 'self-identification' and the perceptions and
attitudes of 'others' in the construction of (ethnic) identity the aim of this study is to understand
the processes of identity construction and negotiation that resulted in these communities either
distancing themselves from their black heritage or viewing themselves as ‘Black Afrikaners’.
Four such communities are investigated namely the Buys family, who represents a group
that rejects their black heritage and the Van der Merwe family, the people of Thlabane and the
black Afrikaners of Onverwacht who represent the latter grouping.
Neville Alexander’s work is drawn upon in which he argues that identity politics in South
Africa is often cladded in ornamental rainbow imagery leaving many communities in a crisis
of identity.