The study focused on the translation and interpretation of cultural concepts from Xitsonga into English. The main aim of the study was to formulate strategies and methods as well as techniques of translating cultural concepts from Xitsonga into English with the view towards bridging the gap between the two cultures. The study used a mixed method approach combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches. It examined the research problem by selecting respondents who deal with translation issues on a day-to-day basis and also observed how cultural concepts are presented in the bilingual dictionaries. This was done by comparing three languages i.e. Xitsonga, Northern-Sotho and Tshivenda. The researcher had to identify the afore-mentioned cultural concepts and to find if they were properly described or translated into English. The observation focused on the translation of both Xitsonga, Northern-Sotho and Tshivenda cultural fixed expressions which were given to translation studies students to translate into English. The aim was to find if they are able to give proper explanations or translation to the given expressions. Quantitatively, 24 out of the 30 questionnaires that were sent out to respondents, were returned to the researcher for presentation, analysis and interpretation. The study found that translating cultural concepts is very challenging. These challenges are presented by lack of equivalence and not recognising the cultural concepts in the source text. The study however found that employing the right strategies, methods and techniques can assist in bridging the gap between the languages and cultures. The translator also needs to have an in-depth knowledge of the two cultures: Xitsonga and English. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

MA (Xitsonga) / M.E.R. Mathivha Centre for African Languages, Arts and Culture / Xikongomelonkulu xa ndzavisiso lowu i ku xopaxopa maendli ya mfambo yo pfumala xiendliwa eka Xitsonga. Maendli ya mfambo ma nga aviwa hi mitlawantsongo mimbirhi ku nga maendli ya mfambo yo tsutsuma na maendli ya mfambo yo khunguluka. Ndzavisiso lowu wu kongomisa eka maendli ya mfambo yo tsutsuma. Swi nga tlhela swi koteka ku ava maendli ku ya hi tinhlamuselo leti ma ti paluxaka, tanihi maendli ya xihlovo na maendli ya mpakaniso. Eka ndzavisiso lowu, ku kaneriwa hi maendli ya mfambo ehansi ka mitlawa mimbirhi ya maendli ma mfambo lama paluxaka maendlelo na maendli lama endzeni ka wona ma nga na nhlamuselo leyi kongomisaka eka tlhelo. Eka ntirho lowu ku kaneriwa maendli mo ringana 24. Mitlawa leyi ya tinxaka ta maendli ya mfambo yi tlhela yi aviwa hi mitlawantsongo ya mune ku nga maendli ya mfambo lama nchumu wu fambaka hinkwawo ku suka eka ndhawu yo karhi ku ya eka yin’wana, maendli ya mfambo lawa ku fambaka xirho xa nchumu wo karhi ntsena, maendli ya mfambo lama ku fambaka nchumu hi ndlela yin’we na maendli ya mfambo ya muhulahula. Mahungu ya ndzavisiso lowu ma hlengeletiwa hi ku tirhisa yin’wana ya maendlelo ya phurayimari leyi vuriwaka endlelo ra nhlokohlo (elicitation), laha ku tirhisiwaka swivulwa leswi nga vumbiwa hi swichudeni leswi dyondzaka Xitsonga swa lembe ra vunharhu eYunivhesiti ya Vhenda. Ndzavisiso lowu wu endliwa ehansi ka thiyori ya thitha (theta-theory), ku nga thiyori leyi tirhanaka na vuxaka bya riendli ni swiphemu swa swivulwa leswi ri tirhaka na swona, leswi kumekaka eka tindhawu ta nhlokomhaka na swiendliwa. Hi ku ya hi thiyori leyi, agumente yin’wana ni yin’wana yi fanela ku nyikiwa nhlamuselo (ntirho) yo karhi hi riendli. Tinhlamuselo ta kona ti katsa leti landzelaka: muendli, nkongomelo, ndhawu, muamukeri, muvabyi, tlhelo, nkarhi, mukhuva ni tin’wana na tin’wana. Eka ndzavisiso lowu ku tirhisiwa tindlela timbirhi ku xopaxopa mahungu. Ndlela yo sungula i leyi vuriwaka nxopaxopo wa nkoka hi ku landza mikongomelo (thematic qualitative analysis), kasi ya vumbirhi yi vuriwaka manyikelo ya tinhlamuselo eka tiagumente ta swivulwa hi riendli (theta-role assignment). Tiagumente hinkwato leti nga eka swivulwa swa ndzavisiso lowu, leti katsaka tinhlokomhaka, swihetisi na swilandzelandzhaku, ta kombisiwa kasi na tinhlamuselo leti tiagumente ti nyikiwaka tona hi riendli ti paluxiwa.

M. Tech. Language Practice / This study investigates the attitudes of Grades 5-7 Xitsonga learners towards learning English as a first additional language using the four language skills viz. listening, speaking, reading and writing. Variables such as attitude, orientation, motivation, and anxiety are imperative, influential factors to consider when studying aspects that contribute to learning a second language. Learners' attitude towards language learning is considered to be the key factor that affects the levels of learner motivation in their trajectory to learn a language and are intertwined with the aspect of motivation. This study explores the attitudes of learners from a particular primary school towards learning English as a first additional language. This study deals with a sample of a selected primary school's learners' attitudes towards learning English as a first additional language. The first language of these students is Xitsonga, one of the eleven official languages in South Africa.

Thesis (M.A. (Linguistics)) --University of Limpopo, 2011 / Xitsonga is one of the eleven official languages in South Africa. It is spoken mainly in three provinces, Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, while English is a global language. Whenever two languages meet, challenges are evident in terms of communication. The study aim to analyse the impact of nonverbal communication in both English and Xitsonga cultures. Nonverbal communication accounts for 60 to 70 per cent of what people communicate. Furthermore, the study deals with the role of nonverbal communication as it shapes the perceptions of both the receivers and communicators’ personality. Categories of nonverbal communication have been investigated by exploring different intercultural dimensions which include nonverbal immediacy and non-immediacy behaviours, power, authority and status, power distance, responsiveness, high-context and low-context communication, individualistic or collectivistic cultures. In addition, the study explores facial expressions which, among others, include expression of emotions; the types of emotions; paralanguage; and factors that influence facial expressions; cultural display rules, eye contact and gaze. Also, the study gives attention to Facial paralanguage and facial reflexes. It has been discovered in the study that although English and Xitsonga cultures are related in some nonverbal communication aspects, there are other aspects that are culturally bound. The latter aspects require a serious scrutiny lest miscommunication and misinterpretation occur. In other words, culture cannot be taken for granted when it comes to nonverbal communication cues. Cultural display rules dictate responsiveness, attitudes, and perspectives of communicators’ perceptions.

Thesis (M.A. (Translation studies and Lingustics)) --University of Limpopo, 2015 / The aim of this study is to investigate ambiguity in Xitsonga. There are many kinds of ambiguity, but the study mainly focuses on lexical and structural ambiguity. Lexical ambiguity occurs at word level and is caused by homonyms (homophones and homographs) and polysemes. Structural ambiguity occurs at sentence level. This kind of ambiguity manifests in the structure of the sentence itself. Data were collected through self-observation as a native Xitsonga speaker. Words and sentences with multiple meanings in Xitsonga were listed and tree diagrams were used to illustrate and disambiguate ambiguity. The study reveals that, like other languages, Xitsonga has words and sentences with double or many meanings. KEYWORDS AMBIGUITY, LEXICAL AMBIGUITY, STRUCTURAL AMBIGUITY, HOMONYM, HOMOPHONES, HOMOGRAPHS, POLYSEMES.

Thesis (MA (African Languages))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The study explores how Grade 10 learners use the speech act of apology in an educational environment. Apologies are viewed in this study as a kind of remedial work; action taken to change what may be regarded as an offensive act into an acceptable one. Eight different strategies for complaining and twenty-one for apologising are presented with examples to illustrate each. Data was gathered using questionnaires in order to gain insight in the total number of complaint and apology strategies used. Analysis of the answered questionnaires showed that while there are strategies which are commonly used by both male and female learners, some strategies are used mostly by male learners and some mostly by female learners.

The colonial era brought about Western civilisation, industrialisation, urbanisation and technology that led to the negation of the validity of the traditional wall decorations and the meaning behind what is understood as merely decorative shapes and parttens. To research as to whether this is true, the aim of this study is to establish whether the symbols applied on the traditional African murals have any linguistic significance. The research investigated the pictography embedded in the traditional murals of three linguistic groups, namely the Balobedu, Vatsonga and Vhavenda in Limpopo Province. The researcher gathered and recorded from the surviving elders the vital codes which unlock the meaning of signs, symbols, colours and geometric shapes before the knowledge is lost forever when they die. Data was collected mainly from Vatsonga female elders in their homes by using unstructured interviews. Traditional huts are decorated with symbols, signs, shapes, lines, and colours on the maguva (walls around the courtyard), mavala ya nghotsa (design and patterns, mainly in repeated half circles (figures 26 to 35)), mabilomu/swiluva/ swiphaswana (calabash/gourd flowers), ku sindza hi makholo (patterned cow dung floor) and ku tsema (coloured bands around the hut), depicted in figures 12 to 15. According to the respondents, the maphapha (calabashes/gourds) is a symbol for the plant that feeds the people. The plant from which maphapha are made, has heart-shaped green leaves and yellow flowers that develop into a calabash/gourd, which are consumed as food (figures 10–11). In this sense, it represents a woman and her responsibilities as carer and life giver. The results affirm that the pictography is not merely a reproduction of common decorative patterns, but is instead the source of an ancient visual expressive language carried down from generation to generation through oratory and visual narratives in the form of symbols, and signs. The study recommends the preservation of the linguistic significance of the traditional South African murals that have long been marginalised, possibly encouraging the younger generations to review their own history. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil.(African Languages)

Thesis (Ph.D. (Educational Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / This research project was an endeavor to investigate the effects of the languages of instruction (English and Shona), to teach Tsonga (Shangani) speaking children in Chiredzi district of Zimbabwe. Because of the nature of the study, a mixed method design was used where both qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted to study the performance of the Tsonga (Shangani) minority language speaking learners in five purposively sampled schools. 222 learners participated in the study. The main aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the language instruction in teaching Tsonga (Shangani) speaking Grade Seven children in Environmental Science. In fact, the researcher was interested in finding out whether teaching learners in a foreign language was a bridge or barrier to learning. In this case, the research did not only look at the effect of using English for instructional purposes, but also investigated how other major or dominant indigenous languages which are used for instructional purposes affect the performance of minority language speaking children in Chiredzi district of Zimbabwe. Data for this study were collected using lesson observation, document analysis, the questionnaire and a knowledge test. In this case, fifteen lessons were observed. Fifteen Tsonga (Shangani) speaking Grade Seven learners per school were purposively selected and taught in Tsonga (Shangani) only and the other fifteen Shona speaking Grade Seven children per school were also purposively selected and taught the same topic in Shona, and a third group of fifteen Grade Seven learners per school, were randomly selected and taught in English only. A knowledge test was given to each group thereafter. Children from each language condition were allowed to answer questions in their home languages, except for the third group which was taught in English. This group answered the questions in English with the restricted use of Shona. Each of the test results from the knowledge tests were analysed using a One Way Anova of Variance (ANOVA) and conclusions drawn. The results from other data collection instruments were analysed using qualitative methods like narrative discussions of data. A sample of five learners per school had their exercise books analysed. Data were presented in tables. The results from the knowledge tests given showed a significant difference in the mean marks obtained from the three groups (the Shangani, Shona and English group). The result showed that language has a significant influence on the performance of learners since the p – value was 0.000. This implies that the performance of learners between the three groups is significantly different. On the basis of these observations, the Null hypothesis was rejected. The same picture was also shown in document analysis and in the questionnaires. Consequently, conclusions were drawn and recommendations made.

PhD (Xitsonga) / MER Mathivha Centre for African Languages, Arts and Culture / Ku va tiko ra Afrika-Dzonga ri simekile mfumo wa xidemokirasi hi 1994 swi vile mhaka yo saseka na ku va ndzhuti wa Vantima wu vuyiseriwa evutshan’wini bya wona. Mfumo wa xidimokirasi wu katsa na timhaka ta ndzingano wa tindzimi. Ndzavisiso lowu wu kanerile timfanelo ta tindzimi ni matimba ya tindzimi tin’wana hi ku langutisa ndhawu ya Xitsonga exikarhi ka tindziminyingi ta Afrika-Dzonga. Ndzavisiso lowu wu tirhisile maendlelo ya nongonoko wa swivutiso ku hlengeleta mahungu ya nkoka. Lawa i maendlelo ya swivutiso yo tsala kunene. Hi maendlelo lawa machudeni yo ringana makumembirhi lawa ya endlaka lembe ro hetelela ra Xitsonga na lama endlaka masitasi ya Xitsonga eyunivhesiti yin’we eAfrika-Dzonga va nyikiwile maphepha ya swivutiso kutani va hlamula hi ku tsala. Mulavisisi u kotile ku kuma mahungu eka machudeni mayelana na mavonelo ya vona ya ndhawu ya Xitsonga exikarhi ka tindziminyingi ta Afrika-Dzonga. Eka ndzavisiso lowu maendlelo ya nkoka na wona ma tirhisiwile. Wonaya tirhisiwile ku kombisa mavonelo ya vatekaxiave hi ku ya tlhantlha na ku ya hlamusela hi ku enta.Maendlelo ya nxopaxopo wa switsariwa ya tirhisiwile. Hi maendlelo lawa mulavisisi u anamisile miehleketo ya yena hi ku hlaya tibuku, tipholisi na milawu leyi khumbaka timhaka ta ririmi. Ndzavisiso lowu wu tirhisile thiyori ya ‘the universality and relativity of human rights, leyi yi boxaka leswaku timfanelo ta munhu hi leti munhu a nga na tona hikuva munhu i munhu. Hi ku kongomisa, timfanelo ta munhu i masungusungu ya vumunhu. Ndzavisiso lowu i wa nkoka hikuva wu ta endla leswaku vavulavuri va tindzimi leti nga na matimba lamatsongo va tiva timfanelo ta vona.Tlhandlakambirhi, vavulavuri va tindzimi leti nga na matimba lamatsongo na vona va ta titwa leswaku ririmi ra vona i ra nkoka exikarhi ka tiko ra tindziminyingi. Hi nga dlayiseta hi ku vula leswaku vavulavuri va Xitsonga hi ku kongomisa eka ndzavisiso lowu, va ta kota ku swi vona leswaku na vona va na lunghelo mayelana na vukorhokeri na nhluvukiso wa ririmi ra vona. / NRF

MAAS / MER Mathivha Centre for African Languages, Arts and Culture