Bibliography: leaves 232-239 / This thesis investigates the various language varieties of Venda. In traditional descriptions, researchers were mainly concerned with linguistic differences which characterised the socalled Venda 'dialects'. These are spoken forms which are mutually intelligible to one another and which occur within identifiable regional boundaries. Each of these forms in turn, is mutually intelligible to the so-called standard form, commonly known as Tshiphani. Various factors contributed to the evolvement of · the Venda dialects and, as this study shows, in some cases these factors are historical in nature and in others, they are determined by adjacent ethnic groups of people. The linguistic differences which characterise each of these dialects are identified and discussed. It is then argued that the term 'dialect' is far too restricted to account for the various spoken forms which characterise the Venda language, and the term 'language variety' is introduced to deal with the shortcomings of the traditional approach to language differences. The nature of different spoken forms is then discussed within the ambit of the definition of 'language varieties'. This is a term used in general linguistic studies and accounts for the many different forms that may characterise a language.+ To this end, a detailed discussion is presented of the social rural and urban varieties which are found in Venda. Some of these varieties are secretive in nature, and are not generally known to the general public. They include language varieties which characterise various institutions such as murundu, vhutuka, musevhetho, vhusha, thondo and domba . Then there are those varieties which are referred to as 'open' rural varieties which are not, generally speaking secretive in nature, for example those which characterise traditional religious beliefs, taboo forms, and those referred to as musanda and malombo. Finally, reference is made to the language varieties which permeate urban as well as rural areas, including those of divination, the church, tsotsitaal, gender, a variety which is referred to as the the linguistic restriction variety and finally the varieties used in the courtroom as well as that used by politicians. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

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)