Cross-cultural communication in the Eastern Cape with particular reference to law courts

Abstract

Cross-cultural communication is dealt with and more specifically, problems experienced by lawyers when dealing with Xhosa speakers via interpreters, with reference to the case of Kewana versus Santam Insurance Company (Transkei Supreme Court 1992), are explored. Interviews have also been conducted with thirty lawyers and eight interpreters. The status and role of interpreters as language practitioners in South African courts are explored. Kewana's case (where the author sat as an assessor) dealt with the question of adoption, and whether such a concept was reflected in the Xhosa language, and by implication, Xhosa culture. Problems experienced by English-speaking farmers and their workers in the Eastern Cape, when speaking in Xhosa, are commented on. Interviews have also been conducted with fifteen farmers and their workers. A broad sociolinguistic framework drawing on both ethnographic and ethnomethodological principles is used; problems caused by cross-cultural differences which are reflected in language, and which may lead to possible communication breakdown, are identified.