This paper argues that processes of self-creation are significantly influenced by experiences of schooling, of which language forms a critical aspect. The school is a central site in which identities are contested, negotiated and affirmed, but it is also imbibed with a particular identity that, in the South African context, often remains expressly raced and classed. Existing research has pointed to the salience of language for questions of identity in education, and moreover the relationship between school cultures and the inculcation of particular norms and values. However, in the South African context research should also be focusing on the relationship between the major medium of instruction in schools, English, the values and behaviour encouraged at the school level, and how these influence learners’ linguistic and social identities. This paper engages with research conducted in three Cape Town schools and develops the idea of “narratives of social cohesion” to articulate the ways in which different school cultures influence learner-identity formation. It posits that the assumed neutrality of the primary medium of instruction, and its historic association with whiteness, represents a continued undervaluation of black learners’ linguistic and social experiences.

中文翻译：

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“社会凝聚力叙事”：架起学校文化，语言认同与英语之间的联系

本文认为，自我创造的过程会受到学校教育经历的显着影响，而语言教育是其中的一个关键方面。这所学校是一个争夺，协商和确认身份的中心场所，但同时也充满了一种特殊的身份，在南非的情况下，这种身份经常保持明确的种族和等级。现有研究指出语言对于教育中的身份问题的重要性，以及学校文化与特定规范和价值观的灌输之间的关系。但是，在南非，研究还应该集中在学校的主要教学语言，英语，在学校一级鼓励的价值观和行为之间的关系，以及它们如何影响学习者的语言和社会身份。本文参与了在开普敦的三所学校中进行的研究，并提出了“社会凝聚力叙事”的概念，以阐明不同学校文化影响学习者身份形成的方式。它认为，假定主要教学语言的中立性及其与白人之间的历史联系，代表着黑人学习者的语言和社会经验的持续低估。