This study investigates what can cause significant gaps in grammatical knowledge in a class of English 5 and how such gaps can be healed or avoided. By triangulating results from two diagnostic tests, a focus group of pupils and a semi-structured interview with their teacher, data were analysed statistically and through a phenomenographic perspective.  The results expose grammatical gaps concerning genitive construction, relative pronouns, and tag construction. Moreover, the pupils’ experiences from earlier grammar teaching and learning indicate that cause, development, and possible healing of grammatical gaps are related to how grammar seldom is discussed or practised in school. Furthermore, the teacher’s experiences show how pupils and groups typically unaffected by grammatical issues now are involved and that extensive repair efforts are needed. In conclusion, the results and analysis suggest that grammatical gaps may be related to three main issues: how communicational theory within the syllabi is intended, how it is understood and then brought to the classroom and how teaching professionals’ schooling and tradition related to grammar teaching and testing may affect the outcome of the communicational classroom. If managed, they can be the key to bridging grammatical gaps in the future.

Nama is spoken in South West Africa by approximately 115 000 people of different ethnic groups. The numerically biggest groups speaking the Nama language are the Damara (75 000) and the Nama (38 000). Certain smaller Bushman groups use Nama as well. Nama is the last survivor of the "classical Hottentott" (Khoekhoen) languages that is still spoken on a fairly extensive basis. The differences between the dialect spoken by the Nama, and the dialect spoken by the Damara south of the Huab River are negligible. This dissertation is, however, explicitly confined to Nama as spoken by the Nama people. This proforma limitation has to be made, as the material on syntax was recorded and checked with Nama informants only. The claim by certain Damara that they speak "Damara", a language not to be confused with Nama, can in our opinion not be upheld on linguistic grounds. Object and objective: Several handbooks have been published on Nama. Yet no significant progress has been made in recent years in the understanding of the nature of this language. Ever since Vedder's handwritten manuscript appeared in 1909, his "school-grammar" approach to Nama has been adopted by subsequent authors. Olpp revised Vedder's handbook in 1917. It was printed some forty-five years later, in 1963. In 1965 Rust's handbook appeared, which is based on the manuscripts by Vedder and Olpp. In 1964 Olpp's handbook was furthermore translated into Afrikaans by J.C. van Loggerenberg. His translation in turn was transcribed into the standard orthography and moderately revised by H.J.Kruger in 1972 (publication forthcoming). A scholarly re-assessment of Nama grammar by Otto Dempwolff in 1934 apparently went largely unnoticed by more recent authors. It is thus for more than sixty years that Vedder's approach to Nama grammar has been adopted almost entirely for the purpose of writing handbooks. It cannot be overlooked that a grammatical model for European languages - in particular for Latin and German - has been imposed on Nama, as will be illustrated in the next section. The result is that the handbooks fail to reveal certain underlying regularities that are essential to an understanding of the grammatical principles of Nama. Hence some serious misconceptions are prevailing in the current literature, and several accounts of grammatical processes in Nama are confusing and complicated. In this light this dissertation hopes to serve a dual purpose: It aims to provide additional descriptive material on certain aspects of Nama that have not yet been covered in existing literature; but in doing so, a satisfactory theory must be found that can adequately serve as infrastructure (working basis) for the description of Nama. The theory that is proposed is sketched in outline. It will be cause for personal satisfaction if this theory will show the way for future research and for the construction of a detailed theory of Nama grammar. Only one aspect has been selected for discussion: the NOUN-PHRASE. This topic has been chosen as nominalization is one of the most important features of Nama grammar. Nominalization is moreover that aspect of Nama syntax which is the most mispresented. This dissertation should not be seen as a theoretical work: It should rather be seen as a descriptive work on Nama. A re-assessment of some of the material available in existing handbooks should lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms at work. It is hoped that this restatement is the major contribution, as it affects all the aspects of Nama syntax, not only the NOUN-PHRASE. That material which has been recorded for the first time is presented in order to substantiate the grammatical theory. But it should also have its merit simply as a contribution towards the factual knowledge about Nama.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in the Department of African Languages at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2002. / Chapter one outlines the aim of the study, research design and the statement of problem It further explains the methods of research that will be used. A theoretical background is discussed to clarify the research problem. Chapter two gives the background to the study of vowels in Sesotho and isiZulu. Highlights through vowel charts have been displayed to show positional differences. Chapter three concentrates on the origin of SeSotho and isiZulu vowels phonemes. It further looks at the historical background of the close vowels and the alternating roles of vowels fu] and [i] in different languages. Chapter four deals with the nature of Sesotho close vowels and isiZulu close vowels. A comparisons in terms of the origin of close vowels is conducted in this chapters. Chapter five examines the role of close vowels in the juxtaposed lexemes. The role of close vowels has been analysed in both SeSotho and isiZulu languages. Chapter six looks at terminative phonemes in deverbatives in both languages in question. A schematic representation of demorphemized isiZulu /-a-/ and SeSotho /-a/ phonemes in syntactic construction is also investigated. Chapter seven concludes by sumrnarizing the main findings of this study and it also suggests recommendations for future research

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