Not available

This study examines Agaat (2004), the second novel in the oeuvre of Marlene van Niekerk, as both a postcolonial text and a farm novel. Firstly a theoretical perspective is given on postcolonialism, with specific reference to typical phenomena in Afrikaans postcolonial literature. Subsequently, a short historical overview is given of the Afrikaans farm novel by distinguishing between "normative" farm novels and "contesting" farm novels. Typical characteristics of the Afrikaans farm novel are also discussed. By discussing three key aspects of Marlene van Niekerk's Agaat, I demonstrate why Agaat can be seen as a postcolonial text and how this novel differs from earlier Afrikaans farm novels. The first aspect is the representation of coloured people within the household, specifically focussing on Agaat Lourier's powerful role as worker for the De Wet family on Grootmoedersdrift, as well as the hierarchical shift of Agaat's position on the farm from worker to owner of the farm after Milla de Wet's death. In Agaat (2004) the coloured worker is given a voice, something that did not readily occur in earlier farm novels in the first half of the twentieth century (Coetzee, 2000: 2). An important question that receives attention in this study, is how the identity of Agaat is formed by Milla who trains Agaat to behave in a certain way. Does Agaat lose her identity when she is colonised by Milla mimicking Milla's behaviour, and does she then become a product of Milla becoming "almost the same, but not quite" (Bhabha, 1994: 86)? The second key aspect deals with the role and representation of women characters in Agaat (2004). Here attention is paid to Agaat and Milla who jointly rule the farm and its inhabitants resulting in a constant power struggle between these two women. In Agaat (2004) patriarchal authority is undermined and the relationship between Milla and Agaat, as Neil Cochrane (2005: 216) points out, can be seen as a replica of the relationship between the coloniser (Milla) and the colonised (Agaat). The third key aspect focuses on land and landownership, by referring to relevant literature such as Ampie Coetzee's 'n Hele os vir 'n ou broodmes. Grond en die plaasnarratief sedert 1595 (2000). The issue of land ownership is foregrounded in Agaat (2004), as in lM Coetzee's Disgrace (1999), when Agaat becomes the owner of the farm after Jakkie (Milla's son) returns to Canada where he works as an ethnomusicologist. With my focus on the three aspects mentioned above I assess Marlene van Niekerk's contribution to the development of the Afrikaans farm novel within a postcolonial context. / Thesis (M.A.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

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.

No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1993.

No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1999.

This study examines the value and relevance of autobiographical texts in the classroom. For the purpose of this study the focus is on Het Achterhuis: dagboekbrieven van Anne Frank. It is a critical study to establish whether autobiographical texts such as Het Achterhuis should have a rightful place in the learning environment alongside novels and other texts in the Afrikaans classroom and to determine how learners can benefit when they are exposed to a variety of texts to develop their minds through analytical thinking and creative writing. Chapter one presents a theoretical perspective on autobiographical texts such as the autobiography, the letter, memoires and the diary. Through autobiographical texts readers gain knowledge about peoples’ lives, experiences, weaknesses and strengths. Human interest arouses curiosity and encourages reading and research. Chapter two offers a literary analysis of Het Achterhuis. The textual analysis focuses on the background of Anne Frank during her period of hiding from persecution in the holocaust as well as on the interpersonal relationships and difficult circumstances the eight people in hiding had to share. With the coming to power of Hitler in 1933 and the subsequent persecution of the Jews, their rights were restricted step by step and the Jewish community was gradually isolated. Deportation started and thousands of Jews went into hiding. In July 1942 Otto Frank, his wife and two daughters together with four other Jews moved into a secret annexe behind Otto Frank’s business premises. The experiences of the above-mentioned eight people in hiding have been described by Anne Frank in a diary which she selected when her and her father Otto went shopping together. She received the diary which was one of her most precious gifts on her thirteenth birthday, shortly before going into hiding. The diary entries of Anne Frank convey a key message of tolerance and perseverance. Chapter three of this study focuses on the physical, emotional and social development of the adolescent. Anne Frank’s diary was written when she was in the age group 13 – 15. High school learners can identify with Anne Frank as a teenager like themselves who also experienced the typical insecurities, resentments and rebelliousness of the adolescent. In addition to the historical value of Anne Frank’s diary as a testimony of the holocaust, she is a role model for the teenager of today. The example of how Anne dealt with her problems helps learners to overcome obstacles and to deal with the realities in life. Finally, chapter four investigates the numerous possibilities of using Het Achterhuis as a text in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning. This chapter is based on actual findings that were made after using Het Achterhuis as a prescribed text in a grade 11 classroom in 2006. An important finding is that learners can benefit by being exposed to a variety of texts about life writing to develop their minds by analytical and critical thinking, creative writing and integration with other school subjects. Through autobiographical texts diverse perspectives can be introduced to enable learners to develop a more balanced view of the world. The code of the diary offers the best opportunity to give expression to one’s own life. Narratives are necessary to form your own identity. Through diary inscriptions you make contact with the inner self and a sense of identity is achieved. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This study examines the relationship between father and son in the novel Indische duinen (1994, 2002) by Adriaan van Dis within the context of post-war and postcolonial Dutch society. It relates the process by which an adult son, 36 years after the death of his father, comes to terms with the memory of a man whom he has always seen as unreasonably strict, violent and even cruel. During this process the son discovers the effects of colonialism, war, the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (subsequently Indonesia) and the process of rapid decolonisation and repatriation to the Netherlands upon his father. For the father the latter experiences amount to what Kaja Silverman (1992: 55) refers to as "historical trauma". The experiences that shaped his father and influenced his behaviour towards his son are linked to what Paul Ricoeur (1992: 121) would refer to as the father's "narrative identity" and his sense of masculinity (Cormell, 1995: 77 - 81) which have both been marginalised within the "dominant fiction" (Silverman, 1992: 54) of the postcolonial society in which he has been forced to live. As the son discovers the father through a process of retelling both his father's story and the story of their relationship he is able to gain sense of understanding and closure. Regarding issues of race and gender in Dutch colonialism and the trauma of postcolonial alienation this study draws upon the insights of E.M. Beekman (1988 and 1998), Frances Gouda (1998), Elsbeth Locher-SchoIten (1995), Rob Nieuwenhuys (1982), Edy Seriese (1995), Ann Laura Stoler (1992, 1995 and 1997) and Peter van Zonneveld (1995, 2002 and 2003). / Thesis (M.A.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

This article has as focus an environmental education analysis of ten selected poems from the book Skakering (Opperman and Coetzee 1991) to associate the problem of environmental education with the teaching of a humanities subject like Afrikaans, and specifically in the light of the poem as text. It has as its aim the teaching of a genre, to relate in this regard the single text (the poem text) to the environment and environmentally associated problems. In this respect an approach which is aimed at selected texts in Skakering (Opperman and Coetzee 1991) shall possibly accentuate both teachers and pupils' relationship with nature. This article will concentrate on the following: a definition of environmental education as phenomenon which links up the concept ecology, general overview of the important and relevant sources, a theoretical explanation of the concept environmental education, a brief discussion of existing studies that pays attention to the environment and environmental education in the literature, the analysis of the contents of poems that represent certain environmental problems, and an awareness of the pedagogical implications for the teacher. OPSOMMING Hierdie artikel het as fokus 'n ' omgewingsopvoedingsanalise van tien geselekteerde gedigte uit die bundel Skakering (Oppenman en Coetzee 1991 ) om die probleem van omgewingsopvoeding in verband te bring met die onderrig van 'n geesteswetenskaplike vak 5005 Afrikaans. en spesifiek aan die hand van die gedigteks. Oit het as doel die onderrig van 'n genre, om in die verband die enkelteks (die gedigteks) in verband te bring met die omgewing en omgewingsverwante probleme. In hierdie opsig sal 'n benadering wat op geselekteerde tekste in Skakering (Opperman en Coetzee 1991 ) gerig is, beide ondervvysers en leerlinge se verhouding met die natuur aksentueer. In hierdie artikel word op die volgende gekonsentreer: die omskrywing van omgewingsopvoeding as verskynsel wat aansluit by die konsep ekologie, In oorsig van die belangrike en retevante bronne, 'n toeretiese uiteensetting van die konsep omgewingsopvoedingsbenadering, 'n kortlikse bespreking van bestaande studies wat aandag gee aan die omgewing en omgewingsopvoeding in die letterkunde, 'n analise van die inhoud van gedigte wat bepaalde omgewingsopvoedingsprobleme representeer, en 'n bewustheid van die pedagogiese implikasies vir die onderwyser. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

This article researches the attitude of learners to the oral activities in the Afrikaans Second Language classroom. The apparent discrepancy between learners' communicative competence and the oral year mark awarded by school-based educators is looked at. It seems as though neither educators nor learners participate very enthusiastically in oral activities in the classroom. Educators on the one hand appear to be preoccupied with assessment and the completion of a syllabus rather than with developing the communicative competence of learners. Learners on the other hand fear being censured and mocked by their peers and the assessment process most commonly used in the classroom compounds this anxiety. In Section 4 suggestions are made for reducing assessment anxiety so as to encourage learners to communicate spontaneously in Afrikaans. Learners of an additional language need to be provided with the opportunity to engage in oral activities that elicit the use of the target language in such a way that the learner's enthusiasm to participate neutralises the fear of using linguistic structures that they feel they have not yet mastered. OPSOMMING In hierdie artikel word leerders se houding !eenoor die mondelinge akliwiteite in die Afrikaans Tweede Taal klaskamer ondersoek. Die klaarblyklike wanverhouding lussen die leerders se kommunikaliewe vaardigheid en die mondeiinge jaarpunt wat deur onderwysers toegeken word, word ondersoek. Uit die studie blyk dit dat nog die leerders nog die onderwysers baie entoesiasties deelneem aan mondelinge aktiwiteite in die klaskamer. Die onderwysers blyk behep te wees met die insamel van punte en die voltooiing van leerplan items sonder om aandag te skenk aan die ontwikkeling van leerders se kommunikatiewe vaardighede. Die vrees wat leerders het vir die sensuur deur hulle portuurgroep, word versterk deur die evalueringsangs wat die assesseringsmetodes skep. Voorstelle word gemaak om leerders se kommunikasievrees en toelsangs te verminder om sodoende leerders aan te moedig om sponlaan in Afrikaans te kommunikeer. Leerders van 'n Tweede Taal moet die geleentheid gegun word vir mondelinge aktiwiteite wat taal-in-gebruik sal ontlok, waar die entoesiasme vir die taak die leerder sal laat vergeet van die taalkennis wat nog nie bemeester is nie en wat deur deelname aan die aktiwiteit ontdek word. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 2001.

In hierdie mini-skripsie word daar na fantasieliteratuur in die multikulturele Afrikaans klaskamer gekyk. Die aard van fantasieliteratuur, naamlik die fabel, sprokie, volksverhaal, mite, legende en toekomsfiksie word omskryf. Die studie poog ook om die ooreenkomste wat bestaan tussen fantasieliteratuur in Engels, Afrikaans, Zoeloe en SeSotho uit te wys en om aan te dui wat die implikasie van hierdie ooreenkomste binne die multikulturele Afrikaanse klas is. SUMMARY This mini-thesis focuses on the study of Fantasy literature in the multicultural Afrikaans classroom. Different genres, ego fable , myth, folktale, fairytale, legend and science fiction will be looked at. The study will also try to look at the similarities present in the fantasy literature of English, Afrikaans, Zulu and seSotho and the implications thereof in the multicultural Afrikaans class. / Thesis (M.A.) - University of Natal, Durban, 1999.