M.A. / The time between the rhyming of the Psalms in 1936 and the subsequent rhyming thereof in 2001 is approximately 70 years. From 1936 to 2001 society has undergone drastic change. Such societal change normally influences language use and structure and brings about incremental and subtle changes in the language, resulting in new meaning being given to words and phrases in the new societal context. Such changes are mostly found in the lexicon of the relevant language. The lexicon is the medium of transmitting meaning, and if the meaning of the lexical item has changed in subsequent generations to the extent that the speakers of one generation do not understand the previous generation, it has become indicative of extensive modification of the language. The singing of the Psalms is historically associated with the accuracy of meaning transmitted by the Scripture by means of user-friendly language usage. Standardised use of language is always linked to aging and closely linked to the progress of time. The renewing of an aging language is important for subsequent generations to facilitate meaningful interpretative singing of the Psalms. However, the renewal of the religious register of the Psalms should always meet the rigorous test of accuracy to the Scripture as Calvin laid it down as a primary prerequisite during the Reformation. Because of the aging of language, as is the case with Afrikaans, the 1936 rhyming of the Psalms was done to facilitate the changes in the normal use of the language and to bring it closer to the la nguage then in use. In this way the standardisation of the language used in the rhyming of the Psalms was established, in accordance with the normal use of standard Afrikaans. During the past 70 odd years the religious register of Afrikaans aged again and resulted in the need for a new rhyming of the Psalms in accordance with the changed register of the language. This resulted in the 2001 rhyming of the Psalms and other Scripture-related hymns, attempting to bridge the gap between the register of formal religion and contemporary language. Using the DE-method, the psalmographer eliminated lexical items with a low frequency of use from the religious register as understanding of and access to these items by the user of the Psalm have become limited. Lexical items with a high frequency of use were selected and these words have moved into the current religious register. Changes in a language are subject to social forces and tensions. The forces of the changing modern society have led to the need to establish a new rhyme to the Psalms. Thus the formal reformative religious register was removed from the Psalms and replaced by the 2001 rhyme, which is representative of current language usage. The use of the new register is successful in the effective transfer of meaning as the essence of the Scripture was retained. Notwithstanding the loss of the archaic expressions of the 1936 rhyme in the 2001 version, the presence and expansion of meaning of core information is very much evident in the 2001 rhyme. By elimination of the great amount of archaic lexical expressions from the 1936 rhyme from the 2001 version, a clear movement in the reformative religious register of Afrikaans was executed. The social influence of the unsatisfactory acquisition of lexical items by the younger generation, pushing out the older form from the register, is very much evident in the register of the Psalms. The 2001 rhyme accelerates the process of elimination of such archaic und inaccessible lexical items from the register. The empirical study indicates the fact that many such archaic forms are already passive in especially the older generation and that active use of such archaic items has disappeared. The study furthermore indicates that Afrikaans contains enough synonyms to facilitate an effective transfer of meaning in such a new rhyme. These synonyms are established and standardised lexical items functioning as common language since the new translation of the Bible in Afrikaans (1983). The changes in language are subject to linguistic forces. Simplification is the most prominent linguistic force that manifests itself in the 2001 rhyme of the Psalms. Simplification makes it easier to understand the core content of the psalms and makes it accessible to all speakers of Afrikaans. Simplification is not only the decrease of lexical items in the language but includes adding difficult or expanded forms that bring balance to the process of change in the language. This adds value to the lexicon, as the items chosen for the rhyme are taken from the language register in its current form. The process is also in a sense held back by the fact that some items from the 1936 rhyme are still used in the 2001 version, putting a constraint on the development of the relevant lexicon. The modification of a language through simplification is mainly the result of reduction and expansion. The skills of the psalmographer resulted in both expansion and reduction as linguistic elements being present in the 2001 rhyme. The empirical study has shown tha t the psalmographer has not used the available synonyms. Instead, the psalmographer has used a total new approach by using a selection of techniques in the 2001 rhyme. These techniques focus on a tight use of specific rhyme patterns evident in the Psalms and its concomitant language usage resulting in extending the understanding of the psalms by the reader. This has also led to the effective communication by means of the reformative religious register. The psalmographer succeeded in creating a unique psa lm register and treasure. By virtue of their imbedded sacral element religious registers are strongly preservative factors preventing the acceptance and change of common language. Acceptance of the 2001 rhyme has already taken place as the rhyme is based on sound Scriptural principles, convincing the reformist reader of the Psalms of its truthfulness and credibility. The use of the accepted common language as already manifested in the new translation of the Bible (1983) also contributes to the acceptance of the 2001 rhyme. This is further reinforced by the appearance of common language usage in authoritative dictionaries presenting such lexicon items as standardised Afrikaans in a rapidly changing society. Intense language transformation is present in the Afrikaans lexicon. Observing the presence of intense change in the most conservative register of a language, that of religion emphasises the intensity of the social and linguistic powers at work in Afrikaans.

Proefskrif ingelewer vir the Graad Doktor in die Lettere en Wysbegeerte aan die Universiteit van Zululand. = Submitted in fulfillment for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Literature and Languages at the University of Zululand, 2000. / Afr: In hierdie proefskrif doen ek verslag oor navorsing wat ek binne die raamwerk van die Kognitiewe Retoriek gedoen het oor die venvantskap tussen oorsaaklikheid en oorganklikheid in Afrikaans. Nadat ek die aard van oorsaaklikheid aan die hand van die jongste literatuur beskryfhet, het ek gewys hoe oorsaaklikheid saam met ander betekeniselemente soos beeldskemas, konseptuele melafore en semantiese rolle die grondslag vorm vir hoe die mens dink en praat oor die interaksies om hom wat hy oorganklike gebeure noem. = Engl: In this dissertation I am reporting the results of the research that I did within the framework of Cognitive Rhetoric regarding the relationship between causality and transitivity in Afrikaans. After describing the nature of causality based on the most recent literature in this regard, I demonstrate how causality, along with other elements of meaning such as image s enemas, conceptual metaphors and semantic roles form the basis of how humans think and-talk about the-interactions-around-them that they term transitive events. / National Research Foundation

NEGATION is a semantic feature found mainly on clause/sentence level. Negation in Afrikaans is characterised by (a) NEG1-forms represented by various particles which are located within the major constituents of the sentence (eg. in the auxiliary, as part of the subject-nominal etc.), and (b) NEG2 that is the closing particle (= NIE2) in sentence-final position.

PROEFSKRIF VOORGELe TER VERVULLING VAN DIE VEREISTES VIR DIE GRAAD PHlLOSOPHIAE DOCTOR IN AFRIKAANS EN NEDERLANDS IN DIE FAKULTEIT VAN LETTERE AAN DIE UNlVERSITEIT VAN DIE WlTWATERSRAND / The aim of this study is to investigate marked linguistic phenomena in the spoken language of a group of (elderly) white Afrikaans-speaking men and women who were economically active in Johannesburg and surrounding areas between 1920 and 1940. For this purpose, tape recordings of twelve male railway workers and twelve female factory workers who fall into a lower socio-economic group were transcribed and analysed as faithfully as possible. Tape recordings of five white male and five white female Afrikaans-speaking teachers of more or less the same age as the first group, but belonging to a higher socio-economic category, were also analysed and transcribed as a basis for comparison. Distinct phonological, syntactical and lexical phenomena indicating signs of language contact were observed in the language of the speakers in the various groups under investigation. Significant differences may also be observed in the language of the men and women in the different socio-economic groups, with the language of the men and women in the lower socio-economic group and that of those in the higher socio-economic group clearly exhibiting gradual differences. Contrary to what was initially expected, men do not necessarily adhere more strictly to standardised language in speech than do women, and few significant characteristics typify the language of men and women in this period. The original expectation of finding relics of spoken Afrikaans from the pre-standardisation phase amongst the speakers selected was not fulfilled since the linguistic phenomena recorded are generally still heard in colloquial Afrikaans today. Furthermore, no traces of Dutchification were to be found in the case of the speakers selected. Dutchification apparently did not take place at lower socio-economic levels. From this study it is clear that the interaction between social stratification and language variation plays an important role, as do the problems surrounding language norms and social norms. In this study of variation, attention is also paid to language normalisation and standardisation, and to language variation and social stratification prior to a discussion of the language of men and women. / Andrew Chakane 2018

No description available.

Modern lingusitics consist of several schools of thought with diverse approaches. The Systemic School consists of a group of linguists who primarily study language within the social context. They thus have an interpersonal approach. This approach within British Linguistics originated in the work of Malinowski in the twenties. In the sixties it was M.A.K. Halliday in particular who gave direction to this approach by placing it within a more scientific theoretical framework. In the seventies Systemic Linguistics developed in a generative direction. This development led to several generative models, and, eventually, to Fawcett's divergence from the existing school to an intrapersonal approach which approximated some of Chomsky's views. The historical background and development of Systemic Linguistics is outlined briefly in the first three chapters of the thesis. The specific variation of the Scale and Category model that is used in chapters 4 and 5 to describe aspects of Afrikaans grammar is also explained. This description of aspects of Afrikaans grammar indicates that, in respect of surface grammar, the Scale and Category model does not contribute much to the existing descriptions of Afrikaans within other theoretical frameworks. In respect of the deep grammar, on the other hand, the systemic approach has been shown to be a gain. It illustrates interesting underlying differences between clauses, and offers a wide field of research into Afrikaans. The last chapter of the thesis is an evaluation of the advantages and weaknesses of the Scale and Category model, as well as aspects of Systemic Theory in general. Practical applications of Systemic Grammar are indicated, and research possibilities in respect of a systemic description of Afrikaans are identified. Systemic Linguistics has its strong points and weak points . Because of their specific view on the language phenomenon, the systemicists' approach is, in my opinion, a very fruitful way to study language. Because of the growing influence of Systemic Linguistics on English Linguistics, it can no longer be ignored. This thesis, amongst other things, attempts to contribute to the introduction of Systemic Theory to Afrikaans Linguistics. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Natal, Durban, 1986.

NEGATION is a semantic feature found mainly on clause/sentence level. Negation in Afrikaans is characterised by (a) NEG1-forms represented by various particles which are located within the major constituents of the sentence (eg. in the auxiliary, as part of the subject-nominal etc.), and (b) NEG2 that is the closing particle (= NIE2) in sentence-final position.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Text in English / Underlying many formal approaches to linguistics is the fundamental, philosophical assumption that categories are discrete entities. This assumption also underlies two contemporary formal approaches to morphology which seek to account for the stress and distributional properties of derivational affixes in complex words. A study of these two approaches, the level-ordering and the category distinction approaches, reveals that both are faced with the same set of counterexamples in English. Specifically, they are faced with certain derivational affixes which display uncharacteristic distributional properties. In order to deal with such affixes the approaches resort to a variety of ad hoc mechanisms whose sole purpose is to save them from refutation. The argument offered in this thesis is that the problem with both approaches lies with the background assumption about categories which underlies their work. There is, however, an alternative conception of the nature of categories that has been widely supported by experimental research in the field of cognitive psychology, viz. that categories are non-discrete or continuous entities which are distributed along a continuum. In the thesis it is argued that, by adopting this conception of categories, a more adequate account can be given of the gradient differences between category members both inter- and intra-categorially. This argument will be illustrated with specific reference to affix categories in Afrikaans. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics)

M.A. (Afrikaans) / Please refer to full text to view abstract