Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The use of interpersonal verbal routines such as greetings is a universal phenomenon of human languages. All human speech communities have such formulas, although their character and the incidence of their use may vary enormously from one society to another. For several decades, greetings have been a recurrent object of inquiry for linguists and other human communication. Greetings are part of phatic communion, whereby people create ties of union and avoid silence, which is always alarming and dangerous. Communion among humans will often be marked in speech “phatically”. There is widespread evidence that greetings are an important part of the communicative competence necessary for being a member of any speech community. Greetings regularize patterns among members. Greeting has been often treated as if it was spontaneous emotional reaction to the coming together of people carrying overtly its own social message. Greeting expressions constitute an important part of the polite language. By greeting the speaker, indicates his attitude towards the addressee or starts a conversation with him. Greetings are often patterned expressions, which may vary among different nations. Most greetings perform primarily a phatic communion function; some greetings are used to convey information. Some culture does not operate non-verbal demonstration of respect of difference like bowing, or prostrating and kneeling, it makes up for this by insistence on the proper execution of verbal greetings, for example: Igbo culture does not operate nonverbal, whereas Japanese, Joruba and even Vendas they do practice these non-verbal demonstrations. Cultural performances are influenced by social variables such as the ages, sex and status of the interactants. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die gebruik van interpersoonlike mondelingse roetines, soos die handeling van groet, is ‘n universiele fenomeen van menslike taal. Alle menslike gemeenskappe het formules, alhoewel hulle karakter en die voorkoms van hulle gebruik, mag verskil van een gemeenskap tot ‘n ander. Vir dekades, was groet ‘n herhaalde onderwerp van ondersoek van taalkenners saam met ander aspekte van persoonlike kommunikasie. Die handeling van groet is ‘n deel van fatiese kommunikasie, waarby mense bande skep, en stilte vermy wat angswekkend kan wees. Kommunikasie tussen mense sal altyd na verwys word as faties in taalverskynsels. Daar is wydverspreide bewyse dat die handeling van groet ‘n belangrike deel van kommunikatiewe kompetensie is, wat noodsaaklik is vir 'n lid van enige gemeenskap geld. Groet reguleer voorbeelde van wedersydse verhoudings tussen groepelede. Groet is dikwels hanteer asof dit ‘n spontane emosionele reaksie by die saamkom van mense is wat hulle eie sosiale boodskap oordra. Die spraakhandeling van groet vorm ‘n belangrike deel van beleefdheidtaal. Deur te groet, bewys die persoon sy houding teenoor die ander persoon of begin om met die persoon 'n gesprek te voer. Die spraakhandeling van groet is dikwels voorbeelde van uitdrukkings wat verskil tussen verskillende taalgroepe. Die meeste groetvorme het ‘n primere fatiese gemeenskaps funksie, sommige begroetings word gebruik om informasie te verskaf. Sommige kulture maak nie gebruik van nie-verbale demonstrasies van respek of verskille soos neerbuiging of kniel, dit maak op vir die aandring op behoorlike gebruik van mondelinge begroeting, byvoorbeeld: Igbo kultuur maak nie gebruik van nie-verbale demonstrasies, waar Vendakultuur gebruik maak van hierdie nie-verbale demonstrasies. Kulturele belewenis van die groetvorm word beVnvloed deur sosiale veranderlikes soos ouderdom, geslag en status.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study examines data from advice-giving in Tshivenda relating to pragmatic theorist's argument that every human interaction, to a large extent carries with it an element of threatening to one or both participant's face. The speech act of politeness has been identified as one of the most effective speech acts to be employed in giving as well as soliciting advice. Every speech acts is influenced by contextual, cultural and many other background factors associated to age, gender and rank which contribute towards how a speech is composed. The issues relating to the theory of politeness prompted this study on the extent to which politeness plays a role in giving advice in an educational context of Tshivenda speaking learners. The study has employed Brown and Levinson's theory of politeness as a universal phenomenon against the findings of my data, in that universality of these theorists does not quite fit with this study. In this study, politeness in Tshivenda school context has demonstrated that it has been employed as a strategy for encoding distance between speaker and the solicitor. The purpose of advising teachers and students through politeness behavior is to mitigate face and to create a favourable context anticipated by the solicitor. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek data van adviesgewing in Tshivenda in verband tot die pragmatiekteoretikus se argument dat elke menslike interaksie tot 'n groot mate daarmee saamdra 'n element van bedreiging vir een of beide deelnemers se gesig ('face'). Die spraakhandeling van beleefdheid is geïdentifiseer as een van die mees effektiewe spraakhandelinge wat gebruik word in die gee en vra van advies. Elke spraakhandeling word beïnvloed deur kontekstuele kulturele en talle ander agtergrondfaktore wat verband hou met ouderdom, gender, en rang, wat bydra tot die kernposisie van die spraakhandeling. Die vraagstukke rakende die teorie van beleefdheid het hierdie studie gemotiveer, wat handelaar die mate waartoe beleefdheid 'n rol speel in adviesgewing in Tshivenda in opvoedkundige kontekste deur leerders. Die studie het Brown en Levinson se teorie van beleefdheid aangewend en geevalueer teenoor die bevindinge van die data van Tshivenda. Daar is bevind dat die universaliteits-aansprake van Brown en Levinson nie volledig strook met die data uit Tshivenda nie. In hierdie studie, het beleefdheid in Tshivenda in skoolkontekste gedemonstreer dat dit ingespan word om afstand te kodeer tussen spreker en hoorder. Die doel van adviesgewing aan onderwysers en leerders deur beleefdheidsgedrag is om gesig te verminder en om 'n gunstige konteks te skep, soos geantisipeer deur die adviesvraer.