An analysis of the lyrics of the top 10 African language pop songs on Umhlobo Wenene in 2016

In this dissertation I critically analyse the lyrics of the top 10 songs (sung in an indigenous African language) aired on uMhlobo weNene (the national broadcast station for the Xhosa language) during 2016. Before the analysis of the songs I discuss various academic works on pop lyrics generally – ranging from a discussion of the production of aesthetic difference, lyrics in global and local settings, the changing lexicon of pop lyrics over the years, the purpose of lyrics to teenagers and the issue of translation and code switching in the lyrics of bilingual popular songs. In the main body of the thesis I apply a thematic and detailed linguistic analysis of the top 10 songs after which I provide an analysis of interviews conducted with Xhosa-speaking teenagers with regard to their linguistic preferences as applicable to contemporary lyrics. The conclusion includes a summary of the dominant themes of the lyrics studied and a focus on what the grammar of the songs (e.g. the predominance of the first person pronoun in all of the lyrics) can tell us about the increasingly individualistic nature of contemporary lyrics sung in African languages.

Grantor

School of Languages and Literatures

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Gobodwana, Anele

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Dowling, Tessa
• Deyi, Somikazi

• African Languages and Literatures

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30525

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/30525