M.A. (Linguistics) / Unlike in the natural sciences, the study fields of the social sciences are closely related and large areas overlap - with regard to the use of terminology as well. However there are also differences, and in an institution such as the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) which comprises a heterogeneous community of subject specialists, not only the different subjects fields are represented, but also the different schools of thought (universities). In order to conduct human sciences research, the subject specialists should communicate with one another within these subject fields, but also across the borders of the different human sciences disciplines. The aim of this study was to standardize selected human sciences terminology used in the HSRC in order to provide a source of such terminology to be used mainly by HSRC personnel, and to enhance communication in this way. A theoretical review of the fields of standardization and sUbject lexicography was given. The former field was subdivided into linguistic standardization, technical language standardization and organizational standardization, and a clear organizational standardization process was distinguished on the basis of the steps of collecting, submitting, processing and distributing terminology. The field of subject lexicography concerned technical dictionaries and terminology lists, and the issue of computerizing terminology was also dealt with. The organizational standardization process with respect to HSRC terminology was explained and problematic terms identified in the study were discussed. The terminology involved in the study had been collected over a number of years by the language practitioners at the Centre for Language Services eCLS) of the HSRC, recorded on cards and later entered into the computer. In the study the terminology was submitted to the various sUbject specialists in the HSRC for their comment and approval, and their comments were subsequently researched and discussed by the CLS. The next step in the standardization process involves the processing of the comments so that the terminology can be distributed in the form of a publication or by means of a computerized database. The use of standardized terminology in the HSRC can contribute greatly towards improving communication between subject specialists and if the computerized information is transferred to the National Term Bank of the National Terminology Services as planned, the standardized HSRC terminology can be of use outside the HSRC as well.

No description available.

No description available.

The essay critically discusses the confusing state of the various Swahili language policies and studies brought forth in the colonial and post-colonial periods and examines the historical factors of the diversity within the Swahili language, which was once confined to the coastal area and later spread to the present area of distribution. The discussion focusses on the construction of Standard Swahili and the status of Swahili in regard to other East African languages. Special criticism is raised against recent East African and other authors, who wrote on the apparent unity of the Swahili language which they see as a result of the modern Tanzanian language policy.

Against the background of Slavonic microlinguistics, the Bunjevac dialect in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in Serbia is particularly interesting, and its sociolinguistic status is not very clear. The Bunjevci speak a Neo-Shtokavian Ikavian dialect, which has developed its own tradition of writing, but it is not standardized yet. Especially after 1990, language codification has become one of the main goals of some activists, and currently, it is questioned whether we should consider Bunjevac to be a dialect or a separate language. In contrast to this fundamental question, the possibility that Bunjevac could be classified as a microlanguage is rarely discussed.

African Languages / M.A. (African Studies (Linguistics))

Thesis (Ph.D. (Translation Studies and Linguistics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / This study explores the influence of the Khelobedu Dialect on Standard Sepedi with a special focus on the students’ writing. A classroom is a space where students need to feel the confidence to take part in classroom activities, language should not be a barrier. Post-1994, South Africa had to take quick measures to redress the injustices that were implemented towards indigenous languages by the previous government. This meant that South African indigenous languages were elevated to official status. Part of this process of officiating indigenous languages of South Africa was based on the concept of language planning which required that official languages must have orthography. This meant that those dialects which did not have orthography could not form part of the standardisation process. Khelobedu is one of the dialects in Sepedi which was left out during the standardisation of Sepedi. This was because of the settlement of the missionaries in South Africa. With the growing need to promote multilingualism and to use indigenous languages for learning and teaching, students who speak Khelobedu as a first language face challenges in the Multilingual classroom where Sepedi is used as a medium of instruction. Instruments such as individual interviews, focus group interviews and document analysis was used to gather data for this qualitative study. The data for this study has revealed that students face various challenges in the Multilingual Studies classroom, in the individual interviews participants have highlighted challenges such as phonological, spelling and finding relevant terminologies from their first language to the standardised Sepedi. The data from the focus group has revealed that most of the participants agree that these challenges are predominant. Both types of interviews revealed that participants will appreciate having orthography from the first language be added to the standard Sepedi. Document analysis instrument data has revealed the challenges that the students face in the Multilingual Studies classroom. With the current trends in Higher Education where education is evolving and issues of inclusivity are of importance, the study suggests a model for the re-standardisation of Sepedi where orthography from Khelobedu can be added through the process of corpus language planning. / National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS)

No description available.

The main aim of this study was to assess the degree of similarity or variation between the two cross-border standardised varieties of the Sena language spoken in Malawi and Mozambique. The study sets out to test the hypothesis that the two varieties are similar enough to be standardised into one common standard Sena. A contrastive analysis was done on the translated Biblical texts of Jonah and Matthew in both varieties on the grammatical, orthographical and lexical level. The findings show that on a grammatical and lexical level there is minimal variation, but on an orthographical level there is a 20% variation partly due to different orthographic conventions used by the translators. These findings suggest that in the light of the current trend of regionalisation, standardisation is desirable and could be achieved by a cross-border language commission. / Linguistics / M.A.

The main aim of this study was to assess the degree of similarity or variation between the two cross-border standardised varieties of the Sena language spoken in Malawi and Mozambique. The study sets out to test the hypothesis that the two varieties are similar enough to be standardised into one common standard Sena. A contrastive analysis was done on the translated Biblical texts of Jonah and Matthew in both varieties on the grammatical, orthographical and lexical level. The findings show that on a grammatical and lexical level there is minimal variation, but on an orthographical level there is a 20% variation partly due to different orthographic conventions used by the translators. These findings suggest that in the light of the current trend of regionalisation, standardisation is desirable and could be achieved by a cross-border language commission. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A.