Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the speech act of apology in Xhosa. The main aim of the study is to examine some of the characteristics of apologies in remedial interchanges based on a Xhosa corpus within the field of pragmatics. The study is concerned with the expressions people use when they apologize in Xhosa, and the effectiveness of apologies in remediating the negative effects of transgressions. In order to examine the effectiveness of apologies in Xhosa, a questionnaire has been drawn up within which students of selected High schools in the Western Cape have completed the offence and the apology. Data was collected through the selection of four High schools in the Western Cape and Grade 11 learners were asked to complete the questionnaires. In this study, these questionnaires are analyzed and assessed. The findings based on this research are presented to identify the characteristics of apologies in remedial interchanges based on a Xhosa corpus within the field of pragmatics. The study is organized as follows: Chapter 1 features the statement of the problem and the aim of the study. Chapter 2 is concerned with an overview of the theoretical framework on which the study is based, i.e. pragmatics, and within pragmatics specifically the speech act and the theory of politeness. Chapter 3 examines the speech act of apology as indicated by the literature on this speech act. Chapter 4 investigates apologies in Xhosa with attention to the apology strategies and the analysis of the Xhosa data. Chapter 5 summarizes the findings obtained from chapters 2 - 4. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die spraakhandeling van Apologie in Xhosa. Die hoofdoelstelling van die studie is om die kenmerke van apologiee te ondersoek in die veld van die pragmatiek in remediale interaksie gebaseer op 'n Xhosa korpus. Die studie het belang by die uitdrukkings wat mense gebruik wanneer hulle apologie aanteken in Xhosa, en die doeltreffendheid van apologiee in die rernedierinq van die negatiewe effek van oortredings. Ten einde die doeltreffendheid van apoloqiee in Xhosa te ondersoek, is 'n vraelys opgestel waarin leerders van geselekteerde Hoerskole in die Wes-Kaap die oortreding- en die apologie-beskrywing moes invul. Data is versamel deur Graad 11 leerders van vier verskillende Hoerskole in die Wes-Kaap te vra om vraelyste oor Apologiee in Xhosa te voltooi. In die studie is die vraelyste ontleed en ge-evalueer. Die bevindinge wat op die navorsing gebaseer is, is aangebied ten einde die eienskappe van apoloqiee te identifiseer soos gebaseer op remediale interaksie soos dit gegrond is op die Xhosa korpus. Die studie is soos volg georganiseer: Hoofstuk 1 formuleer die probleemstelling en die doelstellings van die studie. Hoofstuk 2 bied In oorsig van die teoretiese raamwerk waarop die studie gebaseer is, dit is die spraakhandelingsteorie van beleefdheid binne die bree veld van die pragmatiek. Hoofstuk 3 eksamineer die spraakhandelingsteorie van apolcqiee soos dit verwys word in die literatuur. Hoofstuk 4 ondersoek apoloqiee in Xhosa met spesifieke aandag aan die apologiestrateqiee en die analise van die Xhosa data. Hoofstuk 5 gee 'n opsomming van die belangrikste bevindinge verkry uit hoofstukke 2 - 4. / INTSHWANKATHELO Esi sifundo sihlola isenzo ntetho sokungxengxeza esiXhoseni. Eyona njongo yesi sifundo kukuphononga ezinye zeempawu zezingxengxezo ekulungiseleleni utshintsho olubhekiselele kwingqokelela esiXhoseni kumba wePragmatiki. Isifondo esi sibhekiselele kwintetho esetyenziswa ngabantu xa bengxengxeza esiXhoseni, kunye nefuthe lezingxengxezo ekulungiseleleni iimpembelelo ezigqithisileyo ezingavumiyo. Ukuze kuphononongwe ifuthe lezingxengxezo esiXhoseni, kuye kwasungalwa iphepha lemibuzo apho kukho isono kunye nesingxengxezo. Eli phulo belisenziwa ngabafundi bezikolo ezikhethiweyo zamabanga aphakgmileyo kwiNtshona koloni. Ulwazi luqokelelwe ngokuthi kukhethwe kwizikolo ezine zamabanga aphezulu eNtshona Koloni apho abafundi bebanga le-9 bebecelwa ukuba bazalise amaphepha emibuzo. Kwesi sifundo, la maphepha emibuzo ayacalulwa kwaye ahlolwe. Iziphumo ezibhekisele kolu phando ziye zaziswe ukwalatha iimpawu zezingxengezo ukulungiselela utshintsho olubhekisele kwingqokelela yezibhalo ezithile zesiXhosa kumba we Pragmatiki. Isifundo sicangciswe ngolu hlobo: Isahluko sokuqala sibonisa intetho yengxaki kunye neenjongo zesifundo. Isahluko sesibini sinxulumene neridlela esisekelwe kuyo esi slfundo oko kukuthi, iPragmatiki yaye nalapha kwiPragmatiki ngokukodwa kwisenzo ntetho kunye nethiyori yentetho echubekileyo. Isahluko sesithathu siphonononga izenzo ntetho zokucela uxolo nje ngokuba zibonisiwe kuncwadi kwizenzo ntetho. Isahluko sesine sihlola izingxengxezo kwisiXhosa ngokunika ingqalelo kubuchule bokungxengxeza kwakunye nohlalutyo Iwezingxengxezo kwisiXhosa. Isahluko sesihlanu sishwankathela iziphumo ezifumaneke kwizahluko 2 uku ya ku 4.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to identify the basic emotion verbs in Sesotho. Five basic emotions verb are identified: anger, anxiety, disgust, sadness, and fear. The verbs, expressions, as well as idiophones that express these emotions, are identified. Furthermore, the emotion words are semantically and syntactically analyzed. The outlay of the nine chapters is as follows: Chapter One is an Introduction in which reference is made to the aim of this study, methods used in compiling the data, and the analysis of the data. Chapter Two offers an overview of the basic emotions. A psychological overview of the work of the following scholars is undertaken: Le Doux (1998), Johnson-Laird and Oatley (1992), Tomkins (1962), Plutchik (1980), and Izard (1971); as well as a linguistic overview of the work of the following scholars: Kovecses (1989), Wierzbicka (1989), Frijda (1986), and Goddard (1998). Chapter Three deals with the lexical semantics which will be used in analyzing the different emotion words. Chapter Four deals with anger words. It starts with an overview of anger as treated by the following scholars: Taylor and Mbense (1998), Kovecses (1989), and Lakoff and Kovecses (1987). The treatment of the data (the expression of anger in Sesotho) starts with the definition of anger, followed by expressions of anger and the verbs of anger which are analyzed semantically and syntactically. Another form of the expression of anger, namely the threat, is also analyzed semantically and syntactically. Chapter Five deals with anxiety, Chapter Six with disgust, Chapter Seven with sadness and Chapter Eight with fear. In all these instances, the definition of the emotion word is followed by relevant expressions and verbs which are semantically and syntactically analyzed. The last chapter, Chapter Nine, offers conclusions regarding the five different types of emotion words in Se otho. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie stu die is om die basiese emosie-werkwoorde in Sesotho te behandel. Vyf basiese emosies word geidentiflseer, naamlik toorn/woede, angstigheid, walging, droefheid en vrees. Die werkwoorde en uitdrukkinge, sowel as idiofone wat hierdie emosies uidruk, word geidentifiseer. Voorts word die emosie-woorde semanties en sintakties geanaliseer. Die uitleg van die nege hoofstukke is soos volg: Hoofstuk Een is die Inleiding, met besonderhede betreffende die doel van die stud ie, metodes gebruik in die inwin en opstel van die data, sowel as die analise van die data. Hoofstuk Twee behandel die basiese emosies oorsigtelik. 'n Psigologiese oorsig so os verwant in die werk van die volgende deskundiges word onderneem: Le Doux (1998), Johnson-Laird en Oatley (1992), Tomkins (1962), Plutchik (1980) en Izard (1971); daar is ook 'n linguistieke oorsig van die werk van Kovekses (1989), Wierzbicka (1989), Frijda (1986) en Goddard (1998). Hoofstuk Drie behandel die leksikale semantiek wat in die analise van die verskillende emosie-woorde gebruik sal word. Hoofstuk Vier behandel die woede-woorde. Dit begin met 'n oorsig van woede soos behandel in die werk van Taylor en Mbense (1998), Kovecses (1989) en Lakoff en Kovecses (1987). Die behandeling van die data begin met 'n definisie van woede, en word gevolg deur 'n semantiese en sintaktiese analise van uitdrukkinge en werkwoorde wat woede uitdruk. 'n Ander vorm van woedeuitdrukking, naamlik die dreigement, word ook semanties en sintakties geanaliseer. Hoofstuk Vyf behandel angstigheid, Hoofstuk Ses walging, Hoofstuk Sewe droefheid, en Hoofstuk Agt vrees. In elke hoofstuk word 'n definisie van die emosie-woord gevolg deur 'n behandeling van relevante werkwoorde en uitdrukkinge wat semanties en sintakties geanaliseer word. Die laaste hoofstuk, Hoofstuk Nege, bring sekere gevolgtrekkinge betreffende die vyf ver killende tipes van emo ie-woorde in Sesotho.

published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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This examination of several languages permits the identification of universal characteristics of honorific forms, as well as possible explanations for those universals. The Japanese honorific system is described in some detail and contrasted with the honorific systems of ten other languages which are more briefly described: Javanese, Madurese, Thai, Korean, Dzongkha, Tibetan, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, and Guugu Yimidhirr. Data from those eleven languages explains how honorifics appear and spread through languages. An examination of Japanese indicates certain restrictions governing which parts of the vocabulary are elaborated as honorifics. Those restrictions are primarily semantic, although a few lexical and phonological factors must also be considered. Certain regularities in the appearance of honorifics could be observed in all of the languages. The honorific forms are always marked compared to the ordinary forms. Reference type honorifics always appear in a language prior to the addressee type. Reference honorifics appear first in the semantic domains related to humans; and the elaboration of honorific forms occurs in a certain implicational order. Naming (e.g. with titles) occurs first, followed by the elaboration of pronouns, verbs, nouns, and other parts of speech. All languages containing reference honorifics appear to elaborate parts of speech in that order. Among reference honorifics, the presence of non-actor forms always indicated the presence of actor forms. These synchronic implicational statements about honorifics have diachronic significance. In accounting for universal honorific forms, a limited set of explanations are necessary. These include general cognitive processes such as marking and degree of salience and common cultural behavior. For example, the concepts of power and solidarity can be used to describe a cultural universal of personal relations both linguistically and non-linguistically. The degree of elaboration of honorifics in different languages is also explained. The presence of honorifics in non-kinship based societies depends on a vertically organized social structure and ideology. In addition, the internal structure of the language may also affect the extent of honorific elaboration. If reference honorifics in a given language function to disambiguate NPs in discourse, they are elaborated to a greater extent than in languages where they only index social relationships.

A syntactic and semantic treatment of Japanese floating quantifiers is provided from a perspective of unification based grammatical theories and model theoretic semantics. The inventory of floating quantifiers under consideration includes not only familiar cardinals but also other quantificational elements such as universals. Syntactically, floating quantifiers are taken to be adverbial endocentric modifiers for some V-projections. Scrambling phenomena involving multiple floating quantifiers will also be accounted for without employing movement rules of any sort. Floating quantifiers function as semantic (but not syntactic) determiners (seen in the Generalized Quantifier theory) which establish a proper relationship between two sets (corresponding to a common noun and a one-place predicate) one of which functions as a domain of quantification. In addition to presenting the specifics of the syntactic and semantic accounts for the phenomena in question, this thesis considers consequences of the proposed account and offers a new perspective on a universal theory of quantification. A typological classification of language is proposed which establishes the opposition between 'floating quantifier oriented' vs. 'determiner oriented' languages. From this perspective, a comparison between Japanese and English is carried out and some typological differences between the two are shown to follow from the envisaged opposition.

In this dissertation I examine partial vowel assimilations, where more than one but less than all vowel features pattern together in a phonological rule. The result of this dissertation research is the 'Height Node Geometry'. The particular innovation this geometry makes is to group the height features ( (high) and (low)) under a separate Height Node, as opposed to having the height features report to the Dorsal Node or the Place Node. Motivation for the Height Node Geometry comes from analyses of several phonological processes. First, removing the height features from under the Dorsal Node and the Place Node facilitates a more natural explanation for reduplication in the Petit Diboum dialect of Fe?fe?-Bamileke. Second, placing the height features above the Place Node but still directly or indirectly under the Supralaryngeal Node provides an account for Tunica partial translaryngeal harmony. Finally, vowel harmony in Ewe involves spreading of (+high) and (+low) in the same environment, arguing for a simpler rule of node spread; hence, I propose that the height features stem from a separate Height Node, instead of directly to the Supralaryngeal Node.

Results from curriculum enactment and sociolinguistic research have indicated that lessons are composed of information exchanges consisting of mostly facts and procedures that place little cognitive demand on students. Scholars from these areas have ascribed the characteristics of the school, teacher, student, management and task demands, or linguistic, and/or social context as explanations for those observations. They have not made a direct connection between how teachers and students decide who takes responsibility for providing the intellectual content of lessons and how that decision affects the students' higher order contributions. Consequently, the present study was designed to examine the way teachers and students cooperated for effective information exchanges and how that cooperative effort influenced students' higher order contributions. One hundred twelve chemistry and mathematics tutorials formed the data. The volunteer tutors possessed extensive training in their subject areas and the problems for discussion were designed to make high cognitive demands on the volunteer students. Methods from discourse analysis were used to develop an analytical model to identify, describe, and compare how the tutors and students exchanged information. The model was applied to the data to provide information on the following topics; the roles of the tutor and student, the substance of the exchanges, and the use of mediation strategies. Next, a code of conduct known as Grice's (1975) theory of conversational implicature was used to interpret the results of the analysis. The aim was to link conversational cooperation with students' higher order contributions to the discourse. First, the results indicated a model can be developed to describe, compare, and categorize instructional conversations. Second, tutors and students cooperate to maintain their roles during instruction and mediation strategies support those roles. Third, tutors and students intuitively follow Grice's (1975) conversational code of conduct to support their roles during their information exchanges. This cooperative effort is rooted in the conditions for conversational implicature. It was found when teachers and students explicitly negotiate and accept new intellectual roles before instruction (the conditions for implicature), higher order thinking can be encouraged by teachers and contributed by students to instructional conversations.

Assimilation and coarticulation both involve extending the duration of some property or feature. The similarities between these phenomena can be seen by comparing Basque vowel raising with vowel -to -vowel coarticulation in a language like English. In Basque the low vowel /a/ is raised to [el following a high vowel. This gives rise to alternations in the form of the definite suffix, /-a/ (de Rijk 1970): (1) sagar –a; 'apple (def.)'; mutil-e 'boy (def.)'. In an English sequence containing a low vowel preceded by a high vowel, like [-ilæ-] in 'relapse', the high vowel also conditions raising of the low vowel. But in spite of the parallels between these cases, standard analyses regard Basque vowel raising as phonological whereas the English vowel raising is regarded as non-phonological, being attributed to a phonetic process of coarticulation. In this paper, we will argue that this distinction is untenable. We will see that coarticulation can affect the distribution of contrasts, and therefore must be specified in the phonology. This opens up the possibility of giving a unified analysis of assimilation and coarticulation. Analyzing coarticulation as phonological implies that phonological representations contain far more phonetic detail than is usually assumed to be the case. Vowel-to-vowel coarticulation involves fine degrees of partial assimilation in that vowels assimilate only partially in quality, and the effects may extend through only part of the duration of a segment (e.g. Ohman 1966). This conclusion thus flies in the face of the standard assumption that the richness of phonological representations should be severely restricted in order to avoid over-predicting the range of possible phonological contrasts. So before we turn to evidence that coarticulation is phonological, we will lay the groundwork by examining the arguments for limiting the detail in phonological representations and show that they are based on very questionable assumptions.