Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: At the start of the twentieth century Afrikaans humour was researched quite
intensively. Since then, however, such research has been relatively sporadic and has
concentrated on related sub-genres of humour, such as satire, irony and wit. This
dissertation investigates anew the phenomenon of humour as manifested in Afrikaans
short story texts, from the dual starting points of a current context and of the extensive
theoretical studies done by other researchers worldwide. In the process, humour is
viewed as a communicative strategy, a combination of codes which writers utilize
within a specific socio-political context in order to create humorous effects and elicit
resultant reactions from readers. One of the primary aims of this investigation into the
codes and strategies employed by Afrikaans writers in the humorous short story
genre, is to determine whether they coincide with universal tendencies or whether
they have certain unique features.
After a broad exposition of the historical background and of the evolution of the
continually changing concept humour, attention is paid to theories regarding its nature
and effect. The creative interaction between related modi, like comedy, satire, irony,
wit, burlesque, travesty, parody, caricature, grotesque, absurd and black humour and
their contribution to one's experience of humour are all researched. Initially, the
Afrikaans humour-tradition is set against its historical background. Following this, a
more detailed investigation considers strategies of humour selected from Afrikaans
short story texts from 1884 to 2001. These are selected for their variety of types of
humour and according to criteria relating to structure, style and convention. The major
emphasis is placed on short stories of the past two decades, in an attempt to measure
the era-relatedness of humour and the interaction with the prevailing socio-political
context. These various stylistic strategies are contextualized in writers' deliberate
attempts to create a humorous outcome. Along with generally universal characteristics
- like the interaction of humorous and non-humorous texts, with time-bound trends (in
common with other literatures) - it is concluded that the Afrikaans humorous short
story is strongly ancho.ed both in relevance and contextuality. Humour remains a
vibrant aspect of the Afrikaans short story and, by keeping this tradition alive, it also
remains popular with the reading public. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nadat daar aan die begin van die twintigste eeu betreklik intensiewe navorsing oor
humor in Afrikaans gepubliseer is, het sedertdien slegs sporadiese studies verskyn oor
verwante humormodi soos satire, ironie en geestigheid. Hierdie proefskrif wil
gevolglik vanuit 'n huidige konteks, en na aanleiding van die uitgebreide teoretisering
en navorsing elders ter wêreld, die verskynsel humor opnuut ondersoek, soos
gemanifesteer in Afrikaanse kortverhaaltekste. Humor word in die proses benader as
'n kommunikatiewe strategie, 'n versameling kodes wat skrywers binne 'n bepaalde
sosio-politieke konteks aanwend, met die oogmerk om humoristiese effekte te
bewerkstellig en bepaalde reaksies by lesers uit te lok. Dié studie wil veral vasstel
watter kodes en strategieë Afrikaanse humoristiese kortverhaalskrywers hierby
gebruik, of dit ooreenstem met breë tendense elders of eie is aan Afrikaans.
Na 'n oorsigtelike uiteensetting van die historiese grondslae en die evolusie van die
steeds veranderende begrip humor, word aandag bestee aan teorieë oor die aard en
effek daarvan. Die vrugbare interaksie tussen verwante modi soos die komedie, satire,
ironie, geestigheid, die burleske, travestie, parodie, karikatuur, die groteske, die
absurde en swart humor, asook die bydrae daarvan tot die humorbelewing, word
vervolgens ondersoek. Die Afrikaanse humortradisie word eers oorsigtelik histories
nagespeur, waarna nadere ondersoek ingestel word na humorstrategieë aan die hand
van Afrikaanse kortverhaaltekste wat dateer van 1884 tot 2001, geselekteer op grond
van sowel verskeidenheid met betrekking tot die tipe humor as kriteria soos struktuur,
styl en konvensie. Die klem val op kortverhale uit die afgelope twee dekades, ten
einde aspekte soos die tydgebondenheid van humor en die interaksie met die
heersende sosiopolitieke konteks te probeer bepaal. Die verskillende stylstrategieë wat
geïdentifiseer is, word in verband gebring met die skrywers se berekende opset om 'n
humoristiese uitkoms te bewerkstellig. Naas meer universele kenmerke, soos die
wisselwerking tussen humor en erns in dié tipe tekste en tydspesifieke neigings (in
ooreenstemming met ander letterkundes), soos die toename in groteske en absurde
tipe verhale, word bevind dat die Afrikaanse humor- en humoristiese verhaal sterk
kontekstueel veranker is. Humor in die Afrikaanse kortverhaal word steeds op 'n
lewenskragtige wyse beoefen deur skrywers en bly gewild by lesers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/53382 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Vosloo, Jan, 1934- |
| Contributors | Van Zyl, D. P., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of Afrikaans & Dutch. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | af_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 420 p. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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