Cross-dialectal acceptance of a written standard (CAWS) is essential for that standard to be used
by speakers of divergent dialects of a language. Earlier works have focused on the influence of
linguistic differences on comprehension of the standard, but little attention has been given the
influence of socio-cultural and programmatic factors on acceptance of a standard. Case studies
of the Lelemi and Likpakpaanl language development programmes provide information
through which the socio-cultural and programmatic factors which influence CAWS can be
identified. Due to the complex nature of the topic, various indicators are used to measure levels
of acceptance of the written standard by speakers of each dialect.
Socio-cultural factors which influence CAWS relate either to the language community's degree
of interdialectal communication or to their perception of being a unified people. These factors
include social structure, governance, cultural and religious activities, and patterns of marriage,
commerce, transportation and migration. The existence of extensive social networks and the
role of opinion leaders were also influential
Activities of the two language development programmes which positively influenced CAWS
included those which informed and involved speakers of all dialects of the language. These
activities built on the existing levels of unity and inter-dialectal communication by using
existing social networks. The Lelemi programme involved speakers of all dialects more
uniformly than did the Likpakpaanl programme. However, both programmes informed and
involved speakers of all dialects to some extent.
The dialect communities of each language did not equally accept the written standards.
Acceptance appeared to correlate more strongly with programmatic factors than with sociocultural
or linguistic factors.
This thesis provides a model for language teams to follow in 1) identifying socio-cultural factors
which have the potential to influence CAWS; 2) applying knowledge about the socio-cultural
situation to programme planning; and, 3) assessing levels of acceptance by speakers of each
dialect. / Linguistics / D. Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/715 |
| Date | 31 July 2006 |
| Creators | Hasselbring, Sue |
| Contributors | Barnes, Lawrence Andrew, 1947- |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (x, 253 leaves) |
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