Nicknames are powerful indicators of attitudes towards gender categories and because of their transient and optional nature, it has been argued that they are more likely to show a closer relationship to ongoing trends in the culture and society than other more fixed parts of the language E. B. Phillips (1990) ["Nicknames and Sex Role Stereotypes," Sex Roles, Vol. 23, pp. 281-289]. This study reports on a survey of nickname usage among a group of South African adolescents from mixed socioeconomic backgrounds (approximately 25% other than white) in an attempt to explicate gender-linked trends in frequency of occurrence, usage and attitudes to such special names. It reveals that conventions regarding nickname coinage and usage are intimately connected to the gender of bearers and users, and that more males have nicknames and coin them than females; it also shows significant sex-linked differences in the linguistic sources and users of nicknames, and reveals a greater tendency for female nicknames to function as indicators of affection rather than for humorous or critical effect. It could be argued that these trends could be linked to the nurturing and nurtured role of females in society, and to the differences in social power generally between males and females.

Black South African English is generally regarded as the variety of English commonly used by mother-tongue speakers of South Africa's indigenous African languages in areas where English is not the language of the majority. This paper explores some of the problems involved in defining this variety, problems such as whether it is a `new' variety of English or a dialect, and problems relating to whose English it is: the English of those learners who have encountered only a smattering of English in informal contexts or the variety of English acquired during formal schooling. The second half of the paper focuses on the possible future of Black South African English (BSAE) against the backdrop of South Africa's new multilingual policy. Reasons for the continued appeal of English are examined, alongside the range of factors influencing the possible future growth of BSAE as a distinct variety. It is argued that South Africans are unlikely ever to be free not to learn English, owing to the huge economic, political and ideological constraints which make the `choice' of English inevitable. The success of current efforts to resist value judgements and recognise the worth of BSAE will depend not only on the goodwill of South Africans, and on the cooperation of all speakers of English, world-wide, but on the rate at which the variety drifts away from recognised standard forms of English.

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the semantic and syntactic characteristics of the discourse marker actually, and then to describe and explain how it is used by mothertongue (MT) Xhosa speakers who have learned English as an additional language. Such a description may provide a useful benchmark for comparison with MT norms. The source of data for the study is a corpus of approximately half a million words of transcribed spontaneous dialogue between Xhosa English speakers.

An estimated 27 million South Africans use indigenous medicines (Mander, 1997, Medicinal plant marketing and strategies for sustaining the plant supply in the Bushbuckridge area and Mpumalanga Province. Institute for Natural Resources, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa). Although herbal remedies are freely available in amayeza stores, or Xhosa chemists, for self-medication, little is known about the motivations of consumers. According to African belief systems, good health is holistic and extends to the person's social environment. The paper makes a distinction between traditional medicines which are used to enhance personal well-being generally and for cultural purposes, on the one hand, and medicines used to treat physical conditions only, on the other. Drawing on an eight-month study of Xhosa chemists in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, in 1996, the paper identifies 90 medicines in stock which are used to enhance personal well-being. Just under one-third of all purchases were of medicines to enhance well-being. Remedies particularly popular included medicines believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. The protection of infants with medicines which repel evil spirits is a common practice. Consumer behaviours indicate that the range of medicines available is increased by indigenisation of manufactured traditional medicines and cross-cultural borrowing. Case studies confirm that self- and infant medication with indigenous remedies augmented by indigenised medicines plays an important role in primary health care by allaying the fears and anxieties of everyday life within the Xhosa belief system, thereby promoting personal well-being.

This article considers the use of popular science articles in teaching scientific literacy. Comparing the discourse features of popular science with research article and textbook science – the last two being target forms for students – it argues that popular science articles cannot serve as models for scientific writing. It does, however, suggest that popular articles can make science more accessible to students, and so can play a useful role in the teaching of scientific writing as well as in the teaching of science. This is because popular science articles view scientific findings as provisional rather than as incontrovertible fact as they are presented in textbooks or as they appear to be presented in research articles. Another feature of popular articles is that they are peopled with large numbers of specific scientists, thus representing scientists as ordinary people rather than as a few exceptional people of iconic status as is the case in textbooks.

During the past decade the relationship between biodiversity and human diversity has received increased attention, resulting in the identification of what the Declaration of Belém calls an ‘inextricable link’ between biological and cultural diversity. Although the term biocultural diversity, introduced to denote this link, is being used increasingly, there has been little critical reflection on what it precisely refers to. I argue that it is used with particular reference to ‘indigenous traditional’ people, but that there is scope for extending its application within biocultural discourse. I therefore review the concept of culture and discuss what constitutes cultural values of the natural environment. I conclude that the concept of culture must be understood as involving a dynamic process of transcultural exchange and constant re-articulations of tradition resulting in the persistence of certain cultural practices. This approach ultimately reveals that the concept of biocultural diversity is also applicable to non-indigenous traditional communities.

The paper provides a sketch of the discourse of media and ‘cyber-democracy’ in and out of Africa. Firstly, it discusses the characteristic features of new media technology. Secondly, it attempts a ‘theorising’ of cyber-democracy, within the context of general democratic theory. Thirdly, it sets out a vision of cyber-democracy for Africa. In delineating this vision, it highlights six features characteristic of the democratic potential of new media technology and gives examples of how Africa has appropriated them. Finally, it outlines a ‘new media’ research agenda for Africa.

This background paper discusses some of the key issues associated with the phenomenon of public service broadcasting (PBS) in selected sub-Saharan African countries. These issues include (i) the conceptualisation of PSB (ii) the international politico-juridical context for PSB (iii) the regulatory-cum-policy models for PSB and (iv) the funding models for PSB.

In sharp contrast to the debates concerning land policy, land tenure and sustainable resource management in South Africa is any input concerning the geographical distribution of land productivity. This paper attempts to redress this imbalance by providing an empirical investigation of land potential in South Africa. In this way we intend to provide the crucial context for policy and academic studies of the land issue in South Africa. Furthermore, we will undertake our study in such a way that comparison can be made to Zimbabwe and Kenya where the land issue has been such a critical component of the post-colonial development process. Theoretically our work is contextualised within the debates surrounding the importance of geographical endowments, institutions and policies in the development process.

A reverse-flow micellar electrokinetic chromatographic (RF-MEKC) method was developed for the simultaneous qualitative determination of 10 components consisting of the flavonol glycosides, rutin and quercitrin, the flavonol aglycones, isorhamnetin, kaempferol and quercetin, the terpene trilactones, ginkgolides A, B, C and J and the sesquiterpene, bilobalide. This method was used to fingerprint Ginkgo biloba solid oral dosage forms and validated for the quantitation of the marker compounds, rutin and quercetin in some commercial products. In addition to the usual variables, the influence of some essential background electrolyte (BGE) components such as sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and <beta>-cyclodextrin concentrations were investigated. A polyimide fused-silica square capillary column (75 μm I.D. × 360 μm O.D.) with a total length of 60.0 cm and effective length of 45.0 cm was used for the separation. The final BGE consisted of 20 mM phosphoric acid, 40 mM SDS and 12 mM <beta>-cyclodextrin (pH 2.2) using reverse polarity with a voltage of −17.5 kV. Samples were injected electrokinetically at −5 kV for 3 s for the qualitative analysis and hydrodynamically at 20 mbar for 0.6 s for the quantitative assay. The total run time was 22 min and the limits of detection were 3.13 μg/ml and 1.88 μg/ml for rutin and quercetin, respectively. Fingerprint profiles of the solid oral dosage forms and the results of the quantitative analysis indicated that there were major discrepancies in the marker content between products and illustrates the value of this method for use as a procedure to assess product quality of commercially available Ginkgo biloba products.