Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-161).

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (M.A. (Linguistics))--Mahidol University, 1978.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

This study investigates Kinyarwaanda sexuality taboo words and their meaning in Rwandan culture to enable the youth to improve their communication and the values of Rwandan culture. It explores whether the use of Kinyarwaanda sexuality taboo words is a good way to communicate with one another or is a transgression of Rwandan culture. Its intent is to see the value that Rwandans assign to verbal taboos, particularly sexuality taboo words, to see how these taboos regulate Rwandans lives, to see the attitudes Rwandans hold towards them, and to find out the link there might be between sexuality taboo words, the information dissemination on HIV/AIDS and the spread of AIDS.

This study investigates Kinyarwaanda sexuality taboo words and their meaning in Rwandan culture to enable the youth to improve their communication and the values of Rwandan culture. It explores whether the use of Kinyarwaanda sexuality taboo words is a good way to communicate with one another or is a transgression of Rwandan culture. Its intent is to see the value that Rwandans assign to verbal taboos, particularly sexuality taboo words, to see how these taboos regulate Rwandans lives, to see the attitudes Rwandans hold towards them, and to find out the link there might be between sexuality taboo words, the information dissemination on HIV/AIDS and the spread of AIDS.

This thesis examines four taboo words (Jesus, God, fuck, ass) used in the films Jaws, Shampoo, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The dominant method of research is semantic, drawing on language theories of I.A. Richards and Alfred Korzybski. Investigation led to these conclusions: (1) Symbolic use of taboo terms is accompanied by positive attitudes, while non-symbolic use, which is more frequent, is accompanied by negative or neutral attitudes. (2) Casual non-symbolic pronunciation is leading to separation of the symbol from its referent. (3) Through this methodology, it is possible to ascertain the speaker's intent and his attitude toward the audience, but not his attitude toward the referent.

published_or_final_version / abstract / English Studies / Master / Master of Arts

In Zimbabwe, translation studies is yet to be recognized as a discipline worthy of study in its own right, hence, not much research has been carried out into the theory and practice of translation. Furthermore, there is no tertiary institution that offers professional translation courses. In light of this information most translations are carried out by untrained/partially trained translators with only a few translators who have gained experience over time. The aim of this study was to investigate strategies used by Ndebele translators in the translation of specialized terms and cultural taboos in selected HIV/AIDS texts, as well as factors that can be used to improve the translation situation of Zimbabwe. Three main theoretical approaches were used in a complementary fashion, namely Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), Cultural Studies and Corpus-based Translation Studies (CTS). DTS provided the researcher with a theory to understand the Ndebele translations in their wider environment; Cultural Studies provided the researcher with the means by which to understand Ndebele culture and taboos; Corpus-based Translation Studies (CTS) provided the researcher with the methodological tools and analytical techniques to analyse the corpus of texts. An English-Ndebele Parallel Corpus (ENPC) was created using fourteen English source texts and their corresponding Ndebele translations. The ENPC was interrogated by means of ParaConc, a parallel concordancing program. The study found that when translating specialised terms, Ndebele translators used strategies such as a general or neutral word, cultural substitution, paraphrasing and omission. The strategy of omission was misused in most cases because Ndebele translators omitted valuable information which did not reach the target readers. With regards to translation strategies that contributed to term creation, it was found that Ndebele translators relied on external as well as internal resources. The translators used strategies such as pure loan words; pure loan words preceeded by an explanation and indigenised loan words. From the Ndebele language itself, the translators resorted to semantic shift, compounding, coinage and paraphrasing, among others. From the ENPC it is clear that Ndebele translators did manage to transfer the message from English to Ndebele to an extent. However, the ENPC has to be used with caution by other researchers since the translations included in the corpus are full of errors such as misinterpretations of the source texts, mistranslations, incorrect terms and incorrect orthography. This factor points to a dire need to establish translation as an academic discipline and profession in Zimbabwe so as to elevate the quality of translations and offer better translation services to all users.

Text has abstracts in English and Tshivenḓa / The purpose of this study was to investigate how language used in the past was lost with regard to pregnant women, as well as the rituals meant to be followed when a woman is pregnant until child-birth. This study compared the language use of modern times and of the past with regard to taboos during pregnancy and birth. The components that the researcher investigated embrace how a pregnant woman should handle herself, taboos that must be followed by pregnant women and the infants, fortification and procedures which follow when the ceremony of the baby is done and language development from pregnancy and child birth. In this study, the researcher applied the Critical Language Awareness (CLA), Ethnography of Communication and Ethnopragmatics models to best explain the Vhavenḓa cultural practices and discourse in relation to child-aligned language with regards to pregnancy, child-birth and anything associated with a newborn child. Regarding research design, the researcher chose qualitative-ethnography research design because it is more exploratory as it deals with human beings and the environment in which they live. A qualitative research method was utilised in this study. The population was Vhavenḓa elderly women who are knowledgeable about taboos pertaining to pregnancy and childbirth. In this study, purposive and snowball sampling techniques were appropriate since the researcher used her judgement to and snowball sampling were used to sample information from people who have knowledge of the Tshivenḓa language and culture to establish if there is a difference between the language used today and that used in the past. On the subject of data collection tools, the researcher collected qualitative primary data with the aid of interviews and interviews from the social groups including youth, elders, nurses and doctors from various natural research settings in the Vhembe District. Ultimately, the researcher identified various themes and concepts which emanated from the data collection process in line with analytical comparison methods, namely, method of agreement and method of difference. From the research, it was discovered that the Tshivenḓa culture is being undermined and the Western culture is being preferred in modern times. These changes came about when Western and Christian ways of doing things were v followed and African customs were abandoned. Furthermore, this research uncovered that the Tshivenḓa language is being lost while looking at the period from pregnancy until the birth of a child into the world. Most importantly, this research brought forth the knowledge of language used in pregnancy that has been lost; including medicines that are no longer used for purposes of curing during pregnancy, child-birth and the raising of a newborn. / Ngudo ino yo ḓitika kha u sengulusa uri luambo zwe lwa vha lu tshi shumiswa zwone kale lwo ngalangala zwo livhiswa kha muimana u swika a tshi vhofholowa. Musi i tshi ya phanḓa, ṱhoḓisiso iyi i sedza luambo lwa zwiilaila uri ndi luambo lune lu kha ḓivha lune lwa dzhielwa nṱha na musi ho sedzwa ho sedzwa vhuimana na mbebo. Zwine muṱoḓisisi a khou ṱoḓulusa zwone zwi katela zwi tevhelaho: muimana u ḓifarisa hani, zwiilaila zwine zwa tea u tevhedzwa nga muimana na lutshetshe, muthuso na nḓila ine ya tevhelwa musi hu tshi khou itwa vhuṱambo na u sedza luambo lwa muimana lune lwa shumiswa u swikela kha lutshetshe. Kha ṱhoḓisiso iyi muṱoḓisisi o shumisa mutheo wa thyiori dzi tevhelaho: Critical Language Awareness, Ethnography of Communication na Ethnopragmatics u ṱalusa kushumisele kwa mvelele ya Vhavenḓa na luambo malugana na luambo lwa zwilaila, lutshetshe na zwiṅwe zwine zwa elana na u vhofholowa. U ya nga ha tshivhumbeo tsha ṱhoḓisiso na nḓila ya u ṱhoḓisisa muṱoḓisisi o nanga u shumisa ngona ya khwaḽithithethivi nga uri o vha a tshi khou sedzesa kha vhathu na hune vha vha vhe hone. Zwiṱoḓuluswa zwa ṱhoḓisiso iyi ndi vhathu vhahulwane vha Vhavenḓa vhane vha vha na ndivho ya vhuilaila malugana vhuimana na, u vhofholowa. Kha ngudo iyi purposive na snowball sampling techniques hune yo tea u bva muṱoḓisisi o shumisa ndila yawe ya u nanguludza sambula a dovha hafhu a shumisa u vhudzisa muvhudziswa ngae u wana munwe. Kha ndivho ya zwishumiswa zwa u kuvhanganya mafhungo, muṱoḓisisi o kuvhanganya mafhungo o shumisa khwalithithethivi kha tshi khou thusiwa nga ithaviiyu na ithaviuyu u bva kha zwigwada zwo fhambanaho sa vhaswa, vhaluwa, manese na madokotela u bva fhethu ho fhambanaho vhuponi ha ḽiisela ḽa Vhembe. Muṱoḓisisi o topola ndivho na mihumbulo ine ya bva kha mafhungo e a kuvhanganywa ho shumiswa maitele a Analytical Comparison Method ine ya shumisa: Method of agreement na Method of difference.. U bva kha ṱhoḓisiso ho wanala uri mvelele ya Tshivenḓa i khou dzhielwa fhasi, ha dzhielwa ntha mvelele ya vhukovhela . Tshanduko iyi ndi ine yo ḓiswa nga nḓila ine Vhukovhela na vhutendi ha Tshikrisite zwa tshimbidzwa ngayo musi vha tshi tevhedzela maitele a Tshirema. U inga kha izwo, ṱhoḓisiso iyi yo bula uri luambo lwa Tshivenḓa lwo ngalangala musi ro sedza kha muimana u swikela a tshi vhofholowa.Tsha vhuṱhogwa, ṱhoḓisiso iyi yo ḓisa nḓivho ya luambo lune lwa shumiswa kha vhuimana uri lwo ngalangala zwo katela na miuluso ine ya shumiswa kha vhuimani, ṅwana a tshi bebiwa na u alusa lutshetshe. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (Languages, Linguistics and Literature)