The background in this study is that over the years analysis of grade 12 results in Ekurhuleni South District indicates that most secondary schools obtain 100% pass rate but not quality results isiZulu home language. IsiZulu home language quality results often range from 20% to 40%. The research findings point at two casual factors: (1) inside the classroom and (2) outside the classroom. Inside the classroom refers to quality of educators teaching isiZulu home language and outside the classroom refers to what is supposedly isiZulu home language’ yet a close analysis of the kind spoken in the township Zulu homes is in fact pidgin Zulu. In terms of quality evaluation this so called isiZulu home language can never pass quality assurance. The researcher recommends that educators of isiZulu home language be put through vigorous quality training in the teaching of isiZulu (HL). / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)

The study sought to explore possibilities of harmonising Shona-Nyai cross-border varieties in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Emerging from the responses were problems of attitudes, ignorance of what the harmonisation project entails and the different levels of development among the varieties to be harmonised. Participants believed that the challenges they faced could be resolved and they proposed some intervention strategies. Results from the questionnaire, the interview and documents analysed affirmed the generally held view that, the future of Shona-Nyai as a language and culture is securely in the hands of the speakers’ initiatives. The argument of the study has been that, the success of such a harmonisation project depends on the presence of favourable and conducive political and economic conditions through enabling language engineering activities. Information collected from the questionnaires was mainly presented in tables and information from interviews and document analysis was presented qualitatively in words. The language as a right and the language as resource orientations of language planning guided this study. The intention was to show that the preservation of linguistic diversity is important in the maintenance of group and individual identity and harmonisation should further this cause. Findings from this thesis indicate that for a successful harmonisation project to take place there is need for research in the documentation of underdeveloped Shona-Nyai varieties so that they have some presence in the education domain. The study recommends that people’s mindsets must be changed by packaging the harmonisation project in a way which they understand and appreciate. A holistic approach in solving the language problem can be achieved through a mixed approach of language policy formulation. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African languages)

Even though language formed part of the post-apartheid agenda which was set out to redress the ills of the pre-democratic South Africa, there are still concerns that the status of indigenous languages has not been elevated. Using decolonial work of Steve Biko, Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Frantz Fanon as theoretical lens, I aimed at exploring perceptions of key informants on post-apartheid language policies, young South Africans and parents /guardians toward indigenous languages. In-depth and narrative interviews were used to collect data from language policy key informants and young South Africans who started schooling after 1994 and focus group discussions with parents/guardians were held. Thematic, narrative and discourse analyses were used to analyse the data. Indigenous languages were perceived by participants as having an inferior status compared to languages of oppression and that was attributed to inferiority complex, lack of will from government to promote these languages and absent voice of indigenous language speakers in the fight for the status of indigenous languages. South Africa’s language diversity was also perceived as a challenge believed to contribute toward the difficulty of properly implementing post-apartheid language policies. The study results suggest a need for a stronger civil society which would assist in the dismantling of categorising languages as superior and inferior. Furthermore, the results point to a need for a more humanising approach which treats indigenous languages with respect. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)

The initial purpose of this study was to describe and analyse the language situation at Baragwanath Hospital. This was seen as a microcosm of the language situation in urban South Africa. As such, this study set out to identify problems and offer suggestions in resolving the difficulties experienced in communication in this hospital as well as in other medical institutions in the rest of the country. Before attempting such an investigation, a sound theoretical framework had to be established. In order to gain familiarity with the research field, concepts on sociolinguistics had to be researched and described. In order to apply particular concepts to the situation under investigation, the concepts had to be defined and interpreted first. This study has made a contribution to the theoretical debate regarding various sociolinguistic concepts, in that it has shown how these concepts apply to the South African situation. The next step in the research process involved making a decision about which method would be most appropriate for collecting data. Therefore, various approaches were investigated in order to find the appropriate one. The techniques of data collection and the recruitment of respondents had to be refined before the main data collection process could begin. Then began the journey of discovery. The detailed description of the language situation at Baragwanath Hospital presented in chapter 3 forms the crux of this study. This is the first time that such a comprehensive, qualitative description of the entire language situation in this hospital has been done. An appropriate method for data analysis had to be devised. This entailed various levels of analysis and interpretation. A description of the language situation at Baragwanath Hospital would have been incomplete without presenting a few of the various scenarios that took place in this hospital. Many important conclusions were reached during the course of the research. The most important of these were: 1. A huge communication problem exists at Baragwanath Hospital. 2. Either interpreters will have to be hired to overcome this problem; or nurses will have to be paid more for their interpreting services. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil.

In theory, the South African government advocates additive bilingual education over subtractive bilingual education. However, this study shows that subtractive bilingual education supersedes additive bilingual education mainly because the official African languages of South Africa are being marginalised and not utilised as languages of teaching and learning in schools. The majority of isiZulu speaking learners in KwaZulu-Natal are underperforming academically under a subtractive bilingual educational system. The findings of this study acknowledge that there are numerous contributing factors to this problem, but the most obvious is that isiZulu speaking learners are compelled to write their examinations in English. This study employed a triangulation approach where various literary sources were consulted to illustrate how English has emerged as a dominant language on the local and global stage, and how this has affected the status and use of minority languages. Qualitative approaches were used to gather data from Grade 10 to 12 isiZulu speaking learners who attend the so-called 'Black schools' in the district of Pinetown, in KwaZulu-Natal. Questionnaires and experimental tests were used as the main instruments for gathering data from learners. One-on-one interviews were conducted with educators and other relevant stakeholders. The observation technique was also utilised to monitor the behaviour of isiZulu speaking learners in both affluent and previously disadvantaged schools. By examining Cummins’ interdependency hypothesis (1979, 1996 and 2000) as a theoretical framework, this research study has proven that the continued use of English as the only language of teaching and learning in South African ‘Black schools’ has a negative impact on the academic achievements of the KwaZulu-Natal isiZulu speaking learners. The study, therefore, calls for the introduction of a language policy that will promote dual bilingual education where both isiZulu and English are used as the languages of teaching and learning throughout the KwaZulu-Natal isiZulu speaking learners’ scholastic years. The study has proven that this approach to education will facilitate better understanding of the subject matter and thus curb the high failure rate, especially in the so called 'Black schools'. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

In theory, the South African government advocates additive bilingual education over subtractive bilingual education. However, this study shows that subtractive bilingual education supersedes additive bilingual education mainly because the official African languages of South Africa are being marginalised and not utilised as languages of teaching and learning in schools. The majority of isiZulu speaking learners in KwaZulu-Natal are underperforming academically under a subtractive bilingual educational system. The findings of this study acknowledge that there are numerous contributing factors to this problem, but the most obvious is that isiZulu speaking learners are compelled to write their examinations in English. This study employed a triangulation approach where various literary sources were consulted to illustrate how English has emerged as a dominant language on the local and global stage, and how this has affected the status and use of minority languages. Qualitative approaches were used to gather data from Grade 10 to 12 isiZulu speaking learners who attend the so-called 'Black schools' in the district of Pinetown, in KwaZulu-Natal. Questionnaires and experimental tests were used as the main instruments for gathering data from learners. One-on-one interviews were conducted with educators and other relevant stakeholders. The observation technique was also utilised to monitor the behaviour of isiZulu speaking learners in both affluent and previously disadvantaged schools. By examining Cummins’ interdependency hypothesis (1979, 1996 and 2000) as a theoretical framework, this research study has proven that the continued use of English as the only language of teaching and learning in South African ‘Black schools’ has a negative impact on the academic achievements of the KwaZulu-Natal isiZulu speaking learners. The study, therefore, calls for the introduction of a language policy that will promote dual bilingual education where both isiZulu and English are used as the languages of teaching and learning throughout the KwaZulu-Natal isiZulu speaking learners’ scholastic years. The study has proven that this approach to education will facilitate better understanding of the subject matter and thus curb the high failure rate, especially in the so called 'Black schools'. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

This dissertation presents the first full grammatical description of unprompted (spontaneous) speech in pidgin Chinook Jargon [synonyms Chinúk Wawa, Chinook]. The data come from a dialect I term ‘Kamloops Chinúk Wawa’, used in southern interior British Columbia circa 1900. I also present the first historical study and structural analysis of the shorthand-based ‘Chinuk pipa’ alphabet in which Kamloops Chinúk Wawa was written, primarily by Salish people. This study is made possible by the discovery of several hundred such texts, which I have transliterated and analyzed. The Basic Linguistic Theory-inspired (cf. Dixon 2010a,b) framework used here interprets Kamloops Chinúk Wawa as surprisingly ramified in morphological and syntactic structure, a finding in line with recent studies reexamining the status of pidgins by Bakker (e.g. 2003a,b, forthcoming) among others. Among the major findings: an unusually successful pidgin literacy including a widely circulated newspaper Kamloops Wawa, and language planning by the missionary J.M.R. Le Jeune, O.M.I. He planned both for the use of Kamloops Chinúk Wawa and this alphabet, and for their replacement by English. Additional sociolinguistic factors determining how Chinuk pipa was written included Salish preferences for learning to write by whole-word units (rather than letter by letter), and toward informal intra-community teaching of this first group literacy. In addition to compounding and conversion of lexical roots, Kamloops Chinúk Wawa morphology exploited three types of preposed grammatical morphemes—affixes, clitics, and particles. Virtually all are homonymous with and grammaticalized from demonstrably lexical morphs. Newly identified categories include ‘out-of-control’ transitivity marking and discourse markers including ‘admirative’ and ‘inferred’. Contrary to previous claims about Chinook Jargon (cf. Vrzic 1999), no overt passive voice exists in Kamloops Chinúk Wawa (nor probably in pan-Chinook Jargon), but a previously unknown ‘passivization strategy’ of implied agent demotion is brought to light. A realis-irrealis modality distinction is reflected at several scopal levels: phrase, clause and sentence. Functional differences are observed between irrealis clauses before and after main clauses. Polar questions are restricted to subordinate clauses, while alternative questions are formed by simple juxtaposition of irrealis clauses. Main-clause interrogatives are limited to content-question forms, optionally with irrealis marking. Positive imperatives are normally signaled by a mood particle on a realis clause, negative ones by a negative particle. Aspect is marked in a three-part ingressive-imperfective-completive system, with a marginal fourth ‘conative’. One negative operator has characteristically clausal, and another phrasal, scope. One copula is newly attested. Degree marking is largely confined to ‘predicative’ adjectives (copula complements). Several novel features of pronoun usage possibly reflect Salish L1 grammatical habits: a consistent animacy distinction occurs in third-person pronouns, where pan-Chinook Jargon 'iaka' (animate singular) and 'klaska' (animate plural) contrast with a null inanimate object/patient; this null and 'iaka' are non-specified for number; in intransitives, double exponence (repetition) of pronominal subjects is common; and pan-Chinook Jargon 'klaksta' (originally ‘who?’) and 'klaska' (originally ‘they’) vary freely with each other. Certain etymologically content-question forms are used also as determiners. Kamloops Chinúk Wawa’s numeral system is unusually regular and small for a pidgin; numerals are also used ordinally in a distinctly Chinook Jargon type of personal name. There is a null allomorph of the preposition 'kopa'. This preposition has additionally a realis complementizer function (with nominalized predicates) distinct from irrealis 'pus' (with verbal ones). Conjunction 'pi' also has a function in a syntactic focus-increasing and -reducing system. / Graduate

The initial purpose of this study was to describe and analyse the language situation at Baragwanath Hospital. This was seen as a microcosm of the language situation in urban South Africa. As such, this study set out to identify problems and offer suggestions in resolving the difficulties experienced in communication in this hospital as well as in other medical institutions in the rest of the country. Before attempting such an investigation, a sound theoretical framework had to be established. In order to gain familiarity with the research field, concepts on sociolinguistics had to be researched and described. In order to apply particular concepts to the situation under investigation, the concepts had to be defined and interpreted first. This study has made a contribution to the theoretical debate regarding various sociolinguistic concepts, in that it has shown how these concepts apply to the South African situation. The next step in the research process involved making a decision about which method would be most appropriate for collecting data. Therefore, various approaches were investigated in order to find the appropriate one. The techniques of data collection and the recruitment of respondents had to be refined before the main data collection process could begin. Then began the journey of discovery. The detailed description of the language situation at Baragwanath Hospital presented in chapter 3 forms the crux of this study. This is the first time that such a comprehensive, qualitative description of the entire language situation in this hospital has been done. An appropriate method for data analysis had to be devised. This entailed various levels of analysis and interpretation. A description of the language situation at Baragwanath Hospital would have been incomplete without presenting a few of the various scenarios that took place in this hospital. Many important conclusions were reached during the course of the research. The most important of these were: 1. A huge communication problem exists at Baragwanath Hospital. 2. Either interpreters will have to be hired to overcome this problem; or nurses will have to be paid more for their interpreting services. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil.

MA (Linguistics) / Department of Communication and Applied Languages Studies / The question of the use of languages in radio broadcasting is of particular importance in multilingual communities in Vhembe district of Limpopo province. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) issues broadcasting licenses, and further regulates conditions of implementation of these licenses. The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which community radio stations in Vhembe district adhere to ICASA language policies and guidelines stipulated in their licenses. Literature was drawn from government language policy documents (Acts, rules and regulations), broadcasting legislative framework manuals (ICASA), government gazettes, books, journals, magazines, and newspapers. The design for the study is exploratory, whereas the target population comprised of seven (7) community radio stations, fifteen (15) radio programmes, and station managers of community radio stations in the Vhembe district. Purposive sampling was used to select three community radio stations, three programmes per station and station manager of each sampled station. Non-participant observation, documents analysis and tape recorder were used as instruments for data collection, whereby the researcher observed, recorded a total of (nine) 9 talk format programmes. The researcher further analysed documents (broadcasting licenses and programme schedules), from sampled radio stations, to examine stipulated language quotas by ICASA. Lastly, the researcher employed unstructured interviews to collect data from the station managers of community radio stations, in the Vhembe district. The sampled data was analysed through qualitative content analysis and interpreted subsequently. Findings from data analysis determined that community radio stations partially adhere to the policies stipulated in their licenses. / NRF