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The comprehension by factory workers of English technical terms in Ministry of Employment and Labour Radio Broadcasts in Lesotho

Thesis (MPhil )--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: With the advent of the information age, government ministries in Lesotho, as well as nongovernmental
agencies, are trying to gain publicity in terms of services they offer to the
general public. The Ministry of Employment and Labour (MEL), for example, resorted to
using radio programmes in order to inform the public about the services it offers. These range
from career guidance and counselling, pre- and post-employment advice, information about
occupational health and safety and HIV/AIDS, providing facts about what type of vacancies
are available locally and internationally, to instilling the spirit of dialogue among relevant
stakeholders in matters related to labour, employers and employees. During various weekly
radio presentations, presented in Sesotho, several departments are able to go on-air and
present services that their departments offer to the general public and what the public can do
in the event they are given a disservice by the concerned department. In the process of doing
so, many technical terms are used. These often take the form of code switches into English,
translations from English into Sesotho and borrowings from English. The purpose of this
thesis is to examine whether the use of code switching, translation and borrowing makes it
possible for factory workers in Lesotho to understand the message that is being delivered to
them in a clear and unmistakable manner that will influence a change of behaviour on the part
of factory workers. In order to ascertain the level of comprehension of technical terms,
participants completed a questionnaire in which they gave their understanding of various
technical terms selected from transcribed MEL radio broadcasts. The findings of this study
show that the use of code switching, translation and borrowing from English limit the
understanding of what is being communicated, making the radio broadcasts less effective in
disseminating information on matters related to HIV/AIDS, the plight of factory workers
according to the ratified conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), legal
terms related to contracts of employment, their commencement and termination, conditions
of work, the level of the unemployed versus the employed, skills needed to venture into the
country’s labour market and occupational health and safety guidelines as reflected in the
Labour Code of Lesotho. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Met die aanbreek van die inligtingsera probeer staatsministeries in Lesotho, asook nieregeringsorganisasies,
om publisiteit te verkry vir die openbare dienste wat hul lewer. Die
Ministerie van Werksverskaffing en Arbeid (MWA) het byvoorbeeld besluit om gebruik te
maak van radioprogramme om die publiek in te lig aangaande sy dienste. Hierdie dienste
wissel van beroepsvoorligting en -berading, voor- en na-indiensnemingsadvies, inligting oor
bedryfsgesondheid en -veiligheid en HIV/VIGS, die verskaffing van feite oor beskikbare
plaaslike en internasionale vakaturetipes, tot die kweek van ’n dialoog-gees onder relevante
belanghebbendes in arbeid-, werkgewer- en werknemersake. Tydens verskeie weeklikse
radio-aanbiedings, aangebied in Sesotho, kan ’n aantal departemente hulle openbare dienste
adverteer, asook die prosedure wat gevolg kan word deur lede van die publiek wat veronreg
is deur die gegewe departement. Hierdie boodskappe bevat verskeie tegniese terme, dikwels
aangebied in die vorm van kodewisselings na Engels, vertalings uit Engels na Sesotho, asook
Engelse leenwoorde. Die doel van hierdie tesis is om vas te stel of die gebruik van
kodewisseling, vertaling en woordleen fabriekswerkers in Lesotho daartoe in staat stel om die
boodskap wat gekommunikeer word te verstaan in ’n duidelike, ondubbelsinnige wyse wat
tot ’n gedragsverandering onder die fabriekswerkers sal lei. Ten einde die begripsvlak vir
tegniese terme vas te stel, het deelnemers ’n vraelys voltooi waarin hulle hul begrip van
verskeie tegniese terme (geselekteer uit getranskribeerde MWA-radiouitsendings), weergegee
het. Die bevindinge van hierdie studie dui daarop dat die gebruik van kodewisseling,
vertaling en woordleen uit Engels die begrip van wat gekommunikeer word, beperk. Dít
maak die radiouitsendings minder effektief in die verspreiding van inligting oor HIV/VIGS;
die saak van fabriekwerkers (met inagname van die gesanksioneerde konvensies van die
Internasionale Arbeidsorganisasie); regsterme wat verband hou met arbeidskontrakte,
spesifiek hul aanvang en terminasie, asook werksomstandighede; die vlak van werkloses
teenoor werkendes; die vaardighede wat benodig word om die land se arbeidsmark te betree;
en bedryfsgesondheid en –veiligheidsriglyne, soos gereflekteer in die Arbeidswet van
Lesotho.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/18062
Date12 1900
CreatorsNchai, Tlali Pius
ContributorsHuddlestone, Kate, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.
PublisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
Languageen_ZA
Detected LanguageUnknown
TypeThesis
Formatvii, 86 p. : ill.
RightsStellenbosch University

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