Nama is a Khoekhoe-language variety spoken in more than three countries namely Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and Angola. The language was previously called the Nama language, however, for pragmatic reasons, to cater for a Damara/Nama union, it is called Khoekhoegowab in Namibia. As far as I know there has been no comprehensive study on Nama/Damara/Khoekhoegowab. A preliminary study was done by Haacke, Eiseb and Namaseb (1997). However, as can be seen from the title of this study, it was ‘preliminary’ which means the authors are the first to admit that their study was not complete. The aim of this thesis was to undertake an extensive linguistic analysis of Khoekhoegowab as a way to come up with a comprehensive dialectal inventory. The established dialectal inventory will not only help in the linguistic development of Khoekhoegowab, but also in the determination of a standard linguistic code, leading to iv development of materials. This is important in grammatical descriptions needed for literacy material development and language policy implementation. Following Haacke, Eiseb and Namaseb (1997) and Guldenmann (2000, 2003, 2008), the study employed a dialectal difference or comparative approach. Considering the nature of the study, a mixed research design was used to collect the data. The data was drawn from the few available studies on Nama/Damara or Khoekhoegowab dialects such as those by Haacke, Eiseb and Namaseb (1997) and Du Plessis (2009). This was supplemented and complemented by document analysis and the various Khoekhoegowab literature. Interviews of limited key informants and focus groups were undertaken in various regions namely (Hardap, Karas and Kunene). The narratives from these interviews were used to determine the dialects currently in place as well as the differences and similarities. The collected data was then treated to a linguistic and dialectal analysis (cf. Guldenmann 2000, 2003, 2008; Du Plessis, 2009) as a way to discover similarities and differences, which will in turn inform the proposal on a possible standard form and composite orthography. The phonological differences of the three dialects under discussion were identified where the vowel system was discussed. With regard to the plain vowels, an argument was made that the Central Nama and Central Damara are in fact similar in terms of vowel inventory compared to Central Nama and the Bondelswarts dialects. The phonetic aspects of the consonant system of the identified dialects were also discussed. A discussion on clicks and click consonants was also made where a distinction was drawn between plain clicks and complex clicks. The morphosyntax v of Khoehoegowab was also discussed where it was obvious that there were mainly more similarities than differences between the dialects. The phonetic inventories identified in chapters 4 and 5 were assessed using data from different sources such as the Bible, the Social Security booklet, the grade 9 school textbook, Facebook (a social media page), Google maps, Khoekhoegowab orthography (2003), and the Ministry of Health booklet. The aim of this was to account for differences and similarities between various materials in terms of symbols used for writing Khoekhoegowab. There were differences observed which were because of the influence of modern technology (especially the electronic keyboard) on the writing practices of Khoekhoegowab speakers. The proposed orthography takes technological developments into account. As a contribution, this study provides new insight into the issues of voicing, and voiced and voiceless consonants. In terms of theory the handling of tone and length was discussed in detail where it was established that tone is phonemic and not vowel length. The issue of whether or not complex clicks should be treated as units or clicks plus an accompaniment was discussed where I argued that the sounds are co-articulated and should be treated as one. Regarding the orthography, although there is orthography, the existing orthography is clearly not adequate as some of the sounds were not correctly captured. This has an implication on teaching the language in the schools. It will help in the revitalizing of Khoekhoegowab compared to more established Bantu languages. / Philosophiae Doctor - PhD

Thesis--Vid. Vorwort. / Includes bibliographical references.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Nama is a Khoekhoe-language variety spoken in more than three countries namely Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and Angola. The language was previously called the Nama language, however, for pragmatic reasons, to cater for a Damara/Nama union, it is called Khoekhoegowab in Namibia. As far as I know there has been no comprehensive study on Nama/Damara/Khoekhoegowab. A preliminary study was done by Haacke, Eiseb and Namaseb (1997). However, as can be seen from the title of this study, it was ‘preliminary’ which means the authors are the first to admit that their study was not complete. The aim of this thesis was to undertake an extensive linguistic analysis of Khoekhoegowab as a way to come up with a comprehensive dialectal inventory. The established dialectal inventory will not only help in the linguistic development of Khoekhoegowab, but also in the determination of a standard linguistic code, leading to development of materials. This is important in grammatical descriptions needed for literacy material development and language policy implementation. Following Haacke, Eiseb and Namaseb (1997) and Guldenmann (2000, 2003, 2008), the study employed a dialectal difference or comparative approach. Considering the nature of the study, a mixed research design was used to collect the data. The data was drawn from the few available studies on Nama/Damara or Khoekhoegowab dialects such as those by Haacke, Eiseb and Namaseb (1997) and Du Plessis (2009). This was supplemented and complemented by document analysis and the various Khoekhoegowab literature. Interviews of limited key informants and focus groups were undertaken in various regions namely (Hardap, Karas and Kunene). The narratives from these interviews were used to determine the dialects currently in place as well as the differences and similarities. The collected data was then treated to a linguistic and dialectal analysis (cf. Guldenmann 2000, 2003, 2008; Du Plessis, 2009) as a way to discover similarities and differences, which will in turn inform the proposal on a possible standard form and composite orthography. The phonological differences of the three dialects under discussion were identified where the vowel system was discussed. With regard to the plain vowels, an argument was made that the Central Nama and Central Damara are in fact similar in terms of vowel inventory compared to Central Nama and the Bondelswarts dialects. The phonetic aspects of the consonant system of the identified dialects were also discussed. A discussion on clicks and click consonants was also made where a distinction was drawn between plain clicks and complex clicks. The morphosyntax of Khoehoegowab was also discussed where it was obvious that there were mainly more similarities than differences between the dialects. The phonetic inventories identified in chapters 4 and 5 were assessed using data from different sources such as the Bible, the Social Security booklet, the grade 9 school textbook, Facebook (a social media page), Google maps, Khoekhoegowab orthography (2003), and the Ministry of Health booklet. The aim of this was to account for differences and similarities between various materials in terms of symbols used for writing Khoekhoegowab. There were differences observed which were because of the influence of modern technology (especially the electronic keyboard) on the writing practices of Khoekhoegowab speakers. The proposed orthography takes technological developments into account. As a contribution, this study provides new insight into the issues of voicing, and voiced and voiceless consonants. In terms of theory the handling of tone and length was discussed in detail where it was established that tone is phonemic and not vowel length. The issue of whether or not complex clicks should be treated as units or clicks plus an accompaniment was discussed where I argued that the sounds are co-articulated and should be treated as one. Regarding the orthography, although there is orthography, the existing orthography is clearly not adequate as some of the sounds were not correctly captured. This has an implication on teaching the language in the schools. It will help in the revitalizing of Khoekhoegowab compared to more established Bantu languages.

No description available.

This essay seeks to give an account of the German-Herero/Nama conflict of 1903-1907, often labelled the first genocide of the 20th century, and to address the question, whether the Namibian tribes of the Herero and Nama have the right to claim reparations from Germany. After explaining the historical narrative, a legal discussion is held which underlines the complexity of the issue, bringing in the difficulty of the definition of “genocide” as a legal term, the question of German state succession, as well as the domestic struggles of contemporary Namibian politics. With all factors taken into consideration the conclusion is reached that the question is not answerable with a simple “yes” or “no”, but must ultimately be solved in direct negotiations between the involved parties.

<p>The principle aim of this thesis is to investigate all the challenges and opportunities/possibilities involved in realising the implementation of the official Western Cape Language Policy (finalised in 2002). These challenges and opportunities/possibilities were investigated within various structures of the Western Cape Province of South Africa&rsquo / s civil service environment in six major multilingual towns in the Western Cape. The historical and political context leading to the creation of this policy is provided in the following three paragraphs. Following the demise of Apartheid with South Africa&rsquo / s first democratic elections in 1994, the New South Africa brought with it amongst other things the following changes: a new Constitution / new legislation / access and freedom within a system of inclusion / the creation of new provinces / the constitutional breakdown of social, geographical and linguistic barriers / the subsequent migration to different towns and cities of people speaking different languages and their integration there / the creation of district and regional municipalities / freedom of the press. All of these introduced a whole new platform of language interaction and association and therefore general communication (Constitution of the RSA, 1996). In addition, in contrast to the Apartheid policy of only two official languages &ndash / English and Afrikaans &ndash / eleven languages were declared official languages of the state. The declaration of 11 official languages in 1996 (English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, Tshivenda, isiNdebele, siSwati and Xitsonga) was an integral part of highlighting multilingualism in the newly designated nine provinces of SA. Each of the nine provinces &ndash / the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Gauteng, the Northwest Province, Northern Province (now called Limpopo), Mpumalanga, the Free State and Kwazulu-Natal - had to, in consultation with different provincial stakeholders, draft language policies according to the National Language Framework. In the Western Cape Province, three languages were identified as dominant, namely Afrikaans, isiXhosa and English. The Western Cape Language Policy (WCLP) was consequently drafted by the Western Cape Language Committee (WCLC), a statutory body and a sub-committee of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), after the Westen Cape Provincial Languages Act, Act 31 of 1998, was accepted by Parliament in 1998. This WCLP was the first provincial language policy to be completed in the New SA. The policy was accepted and the draft was ready for implementation by 2002. This thesis presents a critical overview of previous and current strategies being used by all provincial government departments in the implementation of the WCLP. This includes a sample of general public knowledge of the existence of the terms and meaning of the WCLP, different outcomes of studies and language-related projects done by the WCLC, PanSALB, DCAS and the Central Language Unit (CLU) since 2000. It also focuses on the role that different private and public language implementation agencies are playing, or not, in their communication with the multilingual civil society of the Western Cape. Projections for and challenges facing the implementation of the WCLP since its acceptance in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) in 2004 were also researched carefully, together with an analysis of research already conducted on behalf of the provincial government. Document analysis therefore forms a core part of this methodology, together with fieldwork research conducted in six selected major multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was done in order to explore the challenges experienced by Afrikaans-, isiXhosa- and English-speaking people at grassroots level, since they needed to become more aware of their language rights as set out in the WCLP. Drawing on a theoretical and conceptual framework based on studies in Language and Power Relations, specifically studies on the role of Language Ideologies, Linguistic Citizenship, Agency and Voice and Language Ecology on effective Language Planning, Policy and Implementation, the thesis presents, through its document analysis, quantitative and qualitative data, an analysis of the limited or failed implementation of the WCLP in both government departments as well as the civilian populations in six selected multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was achieved by examining actual language practices at particular language policy implementation agencies such as the post office, the police station, the high school, households, the municipal office, the day hospital and the clinic in each of these towns. The thesis gathers together all this evidence to prove that the implementation of the WCLP has been hampered by a range of factors such as wide-spread ignorance of the policy, the dominance of particular languages in the province over others, power relations within government structures and relatively inflexible language ideologies held by those charged with policy implementation at different levels. It concludes by providing a number of practical recommendations on how more effective implementation can be achieved.</p>

<p>The principle aim of this thesis is to investigate all the challenges and opportunities/possibilities involved in realising the implementation of the official Western Cape Language Policy (finalised in 2002). These challenges and opportunities/possibilities were investigated within various structures of the Western Cape Province of South Africa&rsquo / s civil service environment in six major multilingual towns in the Western Cape. The historical and political context leading to the creation of this policy is provided in the following three paragraphs. Following the demise of Apartheid with South Africa&rsquo / s first democratic elections in 1994, the New South Africa brought with it amongst other things the following changes: a new Constitution / new legislation / access and freedom within a system of inclusion / the creation of new provinces / the constitutional breakdown of social, geographical and linguistic barriers / the subsequent migration to different towns and cities of people speaking different languages and their integration there / the creation of district and regional municipalities / freedom of the press. All of these introduced a whole new platform of language interaction and association and therefore general communication (Constitution of the RSA, 1996). In addition, in contrast to the Apartheid policy of only two official languages &ndash / English and Afrikaans &ndash / eleven languages were declared official languages of the state. The declaration of 11 official languages in 1996 (English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, Tshivenda, isiNdebele, siSwati and Xitsonga) was an integral part of highlighting multilingualism in the newly designated nine provinces of SA. Each of the nine provinces &ndash / the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Gauteng, the Northwest Province, Northern Province (now called Limpopo), Mpumalanga, the Free State and Kwazulu-Natal - had to, in consultation with different provincial stakeholders, draft language policies according to the National Language Framework. In the Western Cape Province, three languages were identified as dominant, namely Afrikaans, isiXhosa and English. The Western Cape Language Policy (WCLP) was consequently drafted by the Western Cape Language Committee (WCLC), a statutory body and a sub-committee of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), after the Westen Cape Provincial Languages Act, Act 31 of 1998, was accepted by Parliament in 1998. This WCLP was the first provincial language policy to be completed in the New SA. The policy was accepted and the draft was ready for implementation by 2002. This thesis presents a critical overview of previous and current strategies being used by all provincial government departments in the implementation of the WCLP. This includes a sample of general public knowledge of the existence of the terms and meaning of the WCLP, different outcomes of studies and language-related projects done by the WCLC, PanSALB, DCAS and the Central Language Unit (CLU) since 2000. It also focuses on the role that different private and public language implementation agencies are playing, or not, in their communication with the multilingual civil society of the Western Cape. Projections for and challenges facing the implementation of the WCLP since its acceptance in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) in 2004 were also researched carefully, together with an analysis of research already conducted on behalf of the provincial government. Document analysis therefore forms a core part of this methodology, together with fieldwork research conducted in six selected major multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was done in order to explore the challenges experienced by Afrikaans-, isiXhosa- and English-speaking people at grassroots level, since they needed to become more aware of their language rights as set out in the WCLP. Drawing on a theoretical and conceptual framework based on studies in Language and Power Relations, specifically studies on the role of Language Ideologies, Linguistic Citizenship, Agency and Voice and Language Ecology on effective Language Planning, Policy and Implementation, the thesis presents, through its document analysis, quantitative and qualitative data, an analysis of the limited or failed implementation of the WCLP in both government departments as well as the civilian populations in six selected multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was achieved by examining actual language practices at particular language policy implementation agencies such as the post office, the police station, the high school, households, the municipal office, the day hospital and the clinic in each of these towns. The thesis gathers together all this evidence to prove that the implementation of the WCLP has been hampered by a range of factors such as wide-spread ignorance of the policy, the dominance of particular languages in the province over others, power relations within government structures and relatively inflexible language ideologies held by those charged with policy implementation at different levels. It concludes by providing a number of practical recommendations on how more effective implementation can be achieved.</p>

Is it probable that a reader can have an empathetic and learning experience of an historical event facilitated through text? Research in neuroscience indicates that the form of a text can trigger mirror neurons, enhancing empathy with the events and characters portrayed and enabling introspective learning through stimulation of the default state network in a reading brain. Narrative elements in historical and fictional literature are analyzed for their potential in facilitating the stimulation of these states. The historical fiction novel Morenga by Uwe Timm is analyzed in order to deduce what a reader neurologically experiences in relation to the text and the historical event portrayed in the novel during the reading process. The probability of the reader experiencing empathy and learning through text so that their perspectives on inter-textual and extra-textual similar events are affected is then developed.

Is it probable that a reader can have an empathetic and learning experience of an historical event facilitated through text? Research in neuroscience indicates that the form of a text can trigger mirror neurons, enhancing empathy with the events and characters portrayed and enabling introspective learning through stimulation of the default state network in a reading brain. Narrative elements in historical and fictional literature are analyzed for their potential in facilitating the stimulation of these states. The historical fiction novel Morenga by Uwe Timm is analyzed in order to deduce what a reader neurologically experiences in relation to the text and the historical event portrayed in the novel during the reading process. The probability of the reader experiencing empathy and learning through text so that their perspectives on inter-textual and extra-textual similar events are affected is then developed.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The principle aim of this thesis is to investigate all the challenges and opportunities/possibilities involved in realising the implementation of the official Western Cape Language Policy (finalised in 2002). These challenges and opportunities/possibilities were investigated within various structures of the Western Cape Province of South Africa’s civil service environment in six major multilingual towns in the Western Cape. The historical and political context leading to the creation of this policy is provided in the following three paragraphs. Following the demise of Apartheid with South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, the New South Africa brought with it amongst other things the following changes: a new Constitution; new legislation; access and freedom within a system of inclusion; the creation of new provinces; the constitutional breakdown of social, geographical and linguistic barriers; the subsequent migration to different towns and cities of people speaking different languages and their integration there; the creation of district and regional municipalities; freedom of the press. All of these introduced a whole new platform of language interaction and association and therefore general communication (Constitution of the RSA, 1996). In addition, in contrast to the Apartheid policy of only two official languages – English and Afrikaans – eleven languages were declared official languages of the state. The declaration of 11 official languages in 1996 (English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, Tshivenda, isiNdebele, siSwati and Xitsonga) was an integral part of highlighting multilingualism in the newly designated nine provinces of SA. Each of the nine provinces – the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Gauteng, the Northwest Province, Northern Province (now called Limpopo), Mpumalanga, the Free State and Kwazulu-Natal - had to, in consultation with different provincial stakeholders, draft language policies according to the National Language Framework. In the Western Cape Province, three languages were identified as dominant, namely Afrikaans, isiXhosa and English. The Western Cape Language Policy (WCLP) was consequently drafted by the Western Cape Language Committee (WCLC), a statutory body and a sub-committee of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), after the Westen Cape Provincial Languages Act, Act 31 of 1998, was accepted by Parliament in 1998. This WCLP was the first provincial language policy to be completed in the New SA. The policy was accepted and the draft was ready for implementation by 2002. This thesis presents a critical overview of previous and current strategies being used by all provincial government departments in the implementation of the WCLP. This includes a sample of general public knowledge of the existence of the terms and meaning of the WCLP, different outcomes of studies and language-related projects done by the WCLC, PanSALB, DCAS and the Central Language Unit (CLU) since 2000. It also focuses on the role that different private and public language implementation agencies are playing, or not, in their communication with the multilingual civil society of the Western Cape. Projections for and challenges facing the implementation of the WCLP since its acceptance in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) in 2004 were also researched carefully, together with an analysis of research already conducted on behalf of the provincial government. Document analysis therefore forms a core part of this methodology, together with fieldwork research conducted in six selected major multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was done in order to explore the challenges experienced by Afrikaans-, isiXhosa- and English-speaking people at grassroots level, since they needed to become more aware of their language rights as set out in the WCLP. Drawing on a theoretical and conceptual framework based on studies in Language and Power Relations, specifically studies on the role of Language Ideologies, Linguistic Citizenship, Agency and Voice and Language Ecology on effective Language Planning, Policy and Implementation, the thesis presents, through its document analysis, quantitative and qualitative data, an analysis of the limited or failed implementation of the WCLP in both government departments as well as the civilian populations in six selected multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was achieved by examining actual language practices at particular language policy implementation agencies such as the post office, the police station, the high school, households, the municipal office, the day hospital and the clinic in each of these towns. The thesis gathers together all this evidence to prove that the implementation of the WCLP has been hampered by a range of factors such as wide-spread ignorance of the policy, the dominance of particular languages in the province over others, power relations within government structures and relatively inflexible language ideologies held by those charged with policy implementation at different levels. It concludes by providing a number of practical recommendations on how more effective implementation can be achieved.