Speaking for themselves

Speaking for themselves

Kaaps is a language widely spoken in the bleak townships of Cape Town, South Africa. It’s often denigrated as a lesser form of Afrikaans – the language that was used as a tool of white supremacy during the apartheid era. Spoken predominately by working class people on the Cape Flats, Kaaps is associated with negative stereotypes – its speakers denigrated as uneducated, "ghetto" layabouts involved in gang culture.

But a new, burgeoning movement led by hip-hop artists, academics, writers and film makers is actively changing that perception. They want to reclaim Afrikaaps to restore the linguistic, cultural and racial dignity of a formerly disenfranchised people. The writer Lindsay Johns travels to Cape Town to meet the activists determined to assert the worth and pride of the people who speak Afrikaaps.

Presenter: Lindsay Johns Producers: Audrey Brown and Tim Mansel Mixed by Neil Churchill Production coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross Series Editor: Penny Murphy

(Image: Children in Lavender Hill, a township on the Cape Flats in Cape Town, South Africa. Credit: Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

Avsnitt(2000)

The Black Book

The Black Book

As the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union swept over vast areas of Ukraine and Belorussia from the summer of 1941, over three million Jews were deliberately targeted for annihilation. Shot, hung, butch...

21 Jan 202350min

Yiddish glory: Jewish refugees in Central Asia

Yiddish glory: Jewish refugees in Central Asia

During World War Two, approximately 1.6 million Soviet, Polish and Romanian Jews survived by escaping to Soviet Central Asia and Siberia, avoiding imminent death in ghettos, firing squads and killing ...

21 Jan 202350min

Afghan women

Afghan women

Since the Taliban returned to power some 18 months ago, women in Afghanistan have been removed from nearly all areas of public life. They are barred from secondary schools, universities and most workp...

21 Jan 202324min

A return to Paradise

A return to Paradise

In 2018 the town of Paradise in hills of northern California was wiped out by one of the worst wildfires in California's history. The disaster made headlines around the world - regarded as a symbol of...

19 Jan 202326min

What do you think you are? Part two

What do you think you are? Part two

There’s growing scientific evidence that many animals are not only conscious but they possess a more profound sense of self. They can learn by experience and make decisions that depend on a sense of t...

17 Jan 202329min

The price of citizenship

The price of citizenship

What does it mean to be a citizen? Is it about belonging, or about convenience? Katy Long examines two trends which offer stark alternatives: countries which remove citizenship (or want to), and those...

14 Jan 202350min

Covid in China

Covid in China

When it came to tackling Covid, China has been among the strictest on the planet. There have been almost three years of travel restrictions, testing and lockdowns. Host James Reynolds also chats with ...

14 Jan 202324min

Saving children from the mafia

Saving children from the mafia

Southern Italy is home to some of Europe's most powerful criminal organisations; the Sicilian Mafia, the Camorra in Naples and the Ndrangheta based in Calabria. For many, crime is a family business. S...

12 Jan 202326min

Populärt inom Samhälle & Kultur

podme-dokumentar
en-mork-historia
mardromsgasten
aftonbladet-krim
p3-dokumentar
badfluence
creepypodden-med-jack-werner
nemo-moter-en-van
skaringer-nessvold
hor-har
killradet
rattsfallen
flashback-forever
spar
svenska-fall
vad-blir-det-for-mord
aftonbladet-daily
rss-mer-an-bara-morsa
historiska-brott
sanna-berattelser