Thesis (MA (African Languages))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The study explores how Grade 10 learners use the speech act of apology in an educational environment. Apologies are viewed in this study as a kind of remedial work; action taken to change what may be regarded as an offensive act into an acceptable one. Eight different strategies for complaining and twenty-one for apologising are presented with examples to illustrate each. Data was gathered using questionnaires in order to gain insight in the total number of complaint and apology strategies used. Analysis of the answered questionnaires showed that while there are strategies which are commonly used by both male and female learners, some strategies are used mostly by male learners and some mostly by female learners.

The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of socio-cultural rules underlying address behaviour in face-to-face interactions in Xitsonga. In the study, a socio-pragmatic approach is used. This approach is a combination of sociolinguistics and pragmatics. Data are collected using semi-structured interviews from 29 participants in Hlanganani region. Hlanganani is a Xitsonga speech community located in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The participants were selected in terms of five variables, namely their age, gender, marital status, educational status and occupation. Five theories are tested in this study, namely Brown and Gilman’s (1968) theory of power and solidarity, Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory, the theory of accommodation, the theory of universal grammar and the Gricean theory of conversation. The study finds that Hlanganani is an age-set society in that the age of a person is the primary determiner of address choice. The male gene also receives superior status in address behaviour in Xitsonga. It is also found that women are given the same lower status as children. It is observed that women’s statuses reflect their graduation in terms of marriage and the production of children. It is recommended that more studies of a similar kind should be undertaken based on either different speech communities or on a comparative basis of particularly African languages. Such studies will go a long way in describing similarities and differences in both the linguistic and the social structures of different cultures. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of socio-cultural rules underlying address behaviour in face-to-face interactions in Xitsonga. In the study, a socio-pragmatic approach is used. This approach is a combination of sociolinguistics and pragmatics. Data are collected using semi-structured interviews from 29 participants in Hlanganani region. Hlanganani is a Xitsonga speech community located in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The participants were selected in terms of five variables, namely their age, gender, marital status, educational status and occupation. Five theories are tested in this study, namely Brown and Gilman’s (1968) theory of power and solidarity, Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory, the theory of accommodation, the theory of universal grammar and the Gricean theory of conversation. The study finds that Hlanganani is an age-set society in that the age of a person is the primary determiner of address choice. The male gene also receives superior status in address behaviour in Xitsonga. It is also found that women are given the same lower status as children. It is observed that women’s statuses reflect their graduation in terms of marriage and the production of children. It is recommended that more studies of a similar kind should be undertaken based on either different speech communities or on a comparative basis of particularly African languages. Such studies will go a long way in describing similarities and differences in both the linguistic and the social structures of different cultures. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)