This study aimed to determine whether the current African language translation facilitation course (ALTFC) held at the Directorate Language Services (D Lang) is in tune with contemporary trends in translator training, as well as the needs of the South African Department of Defence (DOD) and ALTFC candidates. In order to accomplish these aims, the research methodology was divided into a theoretical component in the form of a literature survey and an empirical component by means of questionnaire research. While the literature survey revealed that with the exception of using corpora of parallel texts, the ALTFC largely follows contemporary trends in translator training, the questionnaire research identified four problem areas, i.e. feedback on practical work, the time factor, the candidates' English proficiency and teacher enthusiasm. Based on the theoretical and empirical findings, four new ALTFC models were developed. / Linguistics / MA (Linguistics)

The study sought to explore possibilities of using African languages and their literature to enhance socio-cultural and economic development in Zimbabwe. In broad terms the study considered empowerment through language. Basically the research was an exploration of the different linguistic patterns and attitudes that prevail in the African continent in general and Zimbabwe in particular. The descriptive survey research design was employed for its usefulness in exploratory studies. A total of 600 people participated in the research. Respondents were from across the breath of linguistic divides in the country. Questionnaires, interviews, observations and documentary reviews were used to gather data. Data gathered was subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis resulting in data triangulation for validation. Major findings of the research indicated a disparity in the roles and functions allocated to languages in Zimbabwe. English is preferred and over valued in administration, education and wider communication as a carrier of modern knowledge in science and technology Zimbabwe’s dependence on English provides selective access to socio-cultural and economic services that results in the exclusion of a majority of indigenous people. Zimbabwe’s dependence on English therefore limits adequate exploitation of potential in socio-cultural and economic development. The linguistic landscape of Zimbabwe is not adequately exploited. Zimbabwe is a multi-lingual and multi-cultural country without a clear defining instrument for the status and use of indigenous languages, (Gatawa, 1998; NLPAP, 1998 and Nziramasanga et al, 1999). A clear language policy that recognises that language is a resource is likely to be linguistically all-inclusive and facilitate socio-cultural and economic participation by all Zimbabweans Implementation of proposals for inclusion of African languages is retarded by centuries of linguistic marginalisation and fossilised attitudes in the belief that English carries modern knowledge, coupled with the lack of resources theory. Zimbabwe’s pursuance in the use of English is mainly for nationistic reasons.Proposals and recommendations to avoid reverse discrimination and come up with an all-inclusive multi-lingual policy that uplifts the status of indigenous languages and their literature without annihilating English were made. The level of development for English should illuminate and challenge the heights to which African languages can be developed. / African languages / D.Litt. et Phil.

This study discusses the African perspective of the role of language in explaining development issues through the medium of drama and theatre in Zimbabwe. The problem of the study is centred on the idea that development was hardly measured through art. The researcher argues that language used in drama and theatre as a form of art can also contribute to development in Zimbabwe. This development can be witnessed through people’s changing lifestyles, acknowledging the importance of their mother tongue in communication and restoring hope in situations characterised by hopelessness and despair. Descriptive research design was used in the study because it allowed the researcher to dig much deeper into the subject. Data from respondents was gathered through the use of questionnaires, interviews and content/textual analysis of some scripts. In interrogating the issues of development through language in drama and theatre, the research was guided by the African Renaissance theory, Theatre for development and Hymes’ SPEAKING model. As a result, the study observes that language, a people’s indigenous language should be placed at the centre of a performance if that message being conveyed is to change or develop them. The key respondents to the study bring out the idea that there is no language which is superior to the other and the choice of language to be used in a work of art should be determined by the circumstances that prevail. Even the language which is used by the smallest population of people should be given space to flourish and be used by its people. Another major finding of the research is that language itself cannot change people but people change themselves through the use of a language that they understand. This calls for the initiative by the indigenous people and the powers that be to make sure that they use their language at different levels so that all facets of development can be witnessed within their lives. In the final analysis, the researcher recommends that policies that allow the total usage of all declared official languages in Zimbabwe. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African languages)

This study analyses the different social variables that conditioned the naming of schools during the colonial period in Zimbabwe (1890-1979). The study collects and analyses the names given to schools in Salisbury (including Chitungwiza), Umtali and Fort Victoria the colonial period in Zimbabwe. The study adopts Geosemiotics, a theory propounded by Scollon and Scollon (2003), together with insights from Semantics, Semiotics and Pragmatics in the analysis of school names. Critical Discourse Analysis is used a method of data analysis. One of the main findings of the study is that place names are discourses of power which are used to express and legitimise power because they are part of the symbolic emblems of power. It was possible to ‘read’ the politics during the colonial period in Zimbabwe through the place names used in the colonial society. Both Europeans and Africans made conscious efforts to imbue public places with meanings. Overally, people who have access to power have ultimate control over place naming in any society. In this case, they manipulate place naming system in order to inscribe their own meanings and versions of history in the toponomastic landscape. The second finding is that place names are critical place-making devices that can be used to create imagined boundaries between people living in the same environment. Place names are useful discourses that index sameness and differences of people in a nation-state. Place names exist in interaction and kinship with other discourses in making places and imposing an identity on the landscape. Semiotics, Semantics and Pragmatics are instrumental in the appreciation of the meaning conveyed by school names. This study makes an important contribution to onomastic research in the sense that its findings can be generalised to other place naming categories during the colonial period in Zimbabwe. This study provides background information on how place naming was done during thecolonial period in Zimbabwe. This makes it significant because it provides insights on place naming in other states that went through the colonial experience, in Africa or elsewhere in the world. / African Languages

Thesis (MA (African Languages))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / This study aims at highlighting one of the crucial aspects of Xhosa drama: how women have been regarded by a variety of communities as being inferior to men. This stereotype pervades almost all spheres of life. The low status assigned to women find its way into literature as well. Ngewu’s drama “Yeha mfazi obulala indoda” and Taleni’s drama “Nyana nank’uNyoko” has been examined. In most Xhosa literature, women are portrayed as submissive, obedient and minor characters. The advent of Ngewu’s work changed this scenario by portraying women as independent characters. This has led to great conflict with male characteristics and this demonstrates clearly that partriarchal domination is deep rooted in Xhosa culture.

Cette thèse s'inscrit dans le cadre de l'harmonisation des langues africaines transfrontalières à tradition écrite émergente au moyen des Technologies de l’information et de la communication. / La langue, objet principal de la linguistique, se trouve également au carrefour d’autres disciplines connexes, toute chose qui repose la problématique de l’interdisciplinarité. Dans la présente thèse, il a été question des langues africaines transfrontalières, notamment le Peul abordé sous l’angle de sa dotation pour un enseignement-apprentissage plus efficient dans un contexte africain où les TIC ne sont plus nouvelles. En effet, les sources écrites du savoir en Peul sont d’exploitation très localisées. Ainsi, un journal, un livre de lecture ou de mathématique produit au Sénégal est inutilisable par les apprenants du Burkina Faso. Il se pose alors un problème d’harmonisation du Peul, objet de la présente thèse qui porte plus exactement sur l’harmonisation du Peul par les TIC pour un enseignement-apprentissage plus efficient. L’harmonisation du Peul qui ne saurait exclure du processus aucun de ses parlers qui sont de véritables richesses (Daff, 2004) participe de son utilisation à des fins d’enseignement-apprentissage plus efficient, l’efficience étant le rapport entre le niveau d’efficacité et les ressources (Gérard, 2001). Pour que le Peul, médium linguistique, participe effectivement d’un enseignement-apprentissage plus efficient, les TIC constituent un outil précieux, elles qui donnent «l’occasion de repenser et de délocaliser, dans le temps et dans l’espace, les échanges entre les enseignants et les élèves et favorisent ainsi la création de nouvelles avenues pour des activités d’apprentissage» (Karsenti, 2004, p. 268). Aussi, les objectifs de la présente étude ont-ils été les suivants : mieux comprendre comment les TIC peuvent aider à lever les defis de l’harmonisation de la terminologie et de l’orthographe du Peul ; mieux comprendre dans quelle mesure la diffusion de ressources peules sur Internet a un impact sur « l’évolution positive » de cette langue ; mieux comprendre comment les TIC peuvent rendre plus efficient l’enseignement-apprentissage du Peul. Pour atteindre les objectifs de la recherche, nous avons eu recours à une méthodologie ayant accordé une place de choix aux TIC dans la collecte des données. La thèse étant rédigée par articles, chacun des objectifs a été mis en relation avec l’un des trois articles. Du reste, l’étude fait ressortir que les TIC contribuent efficacement à l’harmonisation du Peul pour un enseignement-apprentissage plus efficient. / Language, the principal object of linguistics, is also located at the crossroads of other disciplines, anything that lies the issue of interdisciplinarity. In this thesis, it was question of cross-border African languages, including Fulani discussed in terms of its allocation for a teaching / learning process more efficient in an African context where ICT is no longer new. Indeed, the written sources of knowledge in Fulani are very localized. Thus, a newspaper, a book reading or mathematics produced in Senegal is unusable by learners of Burkina Faso. This raises a problem of harmonization of the Fulani, subject of this thesis which focuses exactly on the harmonization of the Fulani of ICT for teaching / learning process more efficient. The harmonization of the Fulani who can not be excluded from the process any of its dialects which are true wealth, part of its use for teaching / learning process more efficient, the efficiency being the ratio between the level of efficiency and resources (Gerard, 2001). For the Fulani, linguistic medium, actually participates in a teaching / learning process more efficient, ICT is a valuable tool, giving them "an opportunity to rethink and relocate in time and space, the exchange between teachers and students and thus promote the creation of new avenues for learning activities "(Karsenti, 2004, p. 268). Therefore, the objectives of this study have they been: better understanding of how ICT can promote harmonization of terminology and spelling of the Fulani; better understand how the distribution of Fulani resources on the Internet has an impact on the "positive development" that language; better understand how ICT can make more efficient teaching / learning of the Fulani. To achieve the research objectives, we used a methodology which granted a place of ICT in data collection. The thesis being drafted by sections, each objective has been linked with one of three articles. Moreover, the study revealed that ICT effectively contribute to the harmonization of the Fulani to a teaching / learning process more efficient.

Perpetuating African ancestral customs, Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans avoid the African American identity crises illuminated by the poetry of the Harlem Renaissance. The poetry of Langston Hughes, Claude McKay and Waring Cuney incorporate W.E.B. DuBois’ double-consciousness theory to reveal the identity issues and ancestral alienation plaguing African Americans at the turn of the twentieth-century. In comparison, unique political and social circumstances in New Orleans allowed enslaved Africans to practice their ancestral customs weekly. The preservation of this heritage fostered a black community in New Orleans rich in traditions, pride and self-conviction. The development of Mardi Gras Indian culture and the allusions to Africa in Harlem poetry reveal the power of ancestry to establish identity.

This study discusses the African perspective of the role of language in explaining development issues through the medium of drama and theatre in Zimbabwe. The problem of the study is centred on the idea that development was hardly measured through art. The researcher argues that language used in drama and theatre as a form of art can also contribute to development in Zimbabwe. This development can be witnessed through people’s changing lifestyles, acknowledging the importance of their mother tongue in communication and restoring hope in situations characterised by hopelessness and despair. Descriptive research design was used in the study because it allowed the researcher to dig much deeper into the subject. Data from respondents was gathered through the use of questionnaires, interviews and content/textual analysis of some scripts. In interrogating the issues of development through language in drama and theatre, the research was guided by the African Renaissance theory, Theatre for development and Hymes’ SPEAKING model. As a result, the study observes that language, a people’s indigenous language should be placed at the centre of a performance if that message being conveyed is to change or develop them. The key respondents to the study bring out the idea that there is no language which is superior to the other and the choice of language to be used in a work of art should be determined by the circumstances that prevail. Even the language which is used by the smallest population of people should be given space to flourish and be used by its people. Another major finding of the research is that language itself cannot change people but people change themselves through the use of a language that they understand. This calls for the initiative by the indigenous people and the powers that be to make sure that they use their language at different levels so that all facets of development can be witnessed within their lives. In the final analysis, the researcher recommends that policies that allow the total usage of all declared official languages in Zimbabwe. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African languages)

This study analyses the different social variables that conditioned the naming of schools during the colonial period in Zimbabwe (1890-1979). The study collects and analyses the names given to schools in Salisbury (including Chitungwiza), Umtali and Fort Victoria the colonial period in Zimbabwe. The study adopts Geosemiotics, a theory propounded by Scollon and Scollon (2003), together with insights from Semantics, Semiotics and Pragmatics in the analysis of school names. Critical Discourse Analysis is used a method of data analysis. One of the main findings of the study is that place names are discourses of power which are used to express and legitimise power because they are part of the symbolic emblems of power. It was possible to ‘read’ the politics during the colonial period in Zimbabwe through the place names used in the colonial society. Both Europeans and Africans made conscious efforts to imbue public places with meanings. Overally, people who have access to power have ultimate control over place naming in any society. In this case, they manipulate place naming system in order to inscribe their own meanings and versions of history in the toponomastic landscape. The second finding is that place names are critical place-making devices that can be used to create imagined boundaries between people living in the same environment. Place names are useful discourses that index sameness and differences of people in a nation-state. Place names exist in interaction and kinship with other discourses in making places and imposing an identity on the landscape. Semiotics, Semantics and Pragmatics are instrumental in the appreciation of the meaning conveyed by school names. This study makes an important contribution to onomastic research in the sense that its findings can be generalised to other place naming categories during the colonial period in Zimbabwe. This study provides background information on how place naming was done during thecolonial period in Zimbabwe. This makes it significant because it provides insights on place naming in other states that went through the colonial experience, in Africa or elsewhere in the world. / African Languages / D. Lit. et Phil. (African Languages)

The effects of the colonial project in Kenya created multi-faceted damages to the land and indigenous people-groups. Using the lens of ecofeminism, this study examines the undergirding structures that produce systems such as colonization that oppress and destroy land, people, and other beings. By highlighting the experience of the Kikuyu people within the Kenyan colonial program, the innovative and ingenious response of Wangari Maathai's Green Belt Movement proves to be a relevant and effective counter to women's disempowerment and environmental devastation in a post-colonial nation. The approach of the Green Belt Movement offers a unique and accessible method for empowering women, restoring the land, and addressing loss of cultural identity, while also contributing a theoretical template for addressing climate change.