The others: Comparisons to (Other) Collectives

A good part of self-description does not happen by means of outright identification or self-characterisation, but through comparison against other groups. Social groups and entities are only identifiable insofar as they can be cognitively and linguistically separated, and differentiated from, other entities. Two types of differentiations are made by the Zimbabwean migrants I encountered in the interviews vis-à-vis themselves and other groups.