Doctoral Degrees (General Linguistics)
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- ItemThe acquisition of (in)definiteness in English as a foreign language by Tanzanian L1 Swahili secondary school learners(2016-12) Kimambo, Gerald Eliniongoze; Conradie, Simone; Oosthuizen, Johan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.AFRIKAANS OPSOMMING: Die studie waaroor in hierdie proefskrif gerapporteer word, het ondersoek ingestel na die verwerwing van (on)bepaaldheid in Engels as Vreemde Taal (EVT) deur hoërskoolleerders met Swahili as eerstetaal (T1) in Tanzanië. Dit het gefokus op (i) die anaforiese, assosiatiewe en ensiklopediese kontekste (vir bepaaldheid), (ii) die eerste-verwysing, ondeursigtige en deursigtige kontekste (vir onbepaaldheid), en (iii) die gebruik van lidwoorde in spesifieke en nie-spesifieke kontekste, in geskrewe sowel as gesproke taal. Alhoewel Engels in Tanzanië die onderrigmedium is vanaf hoërskoolvlak, is dit steeds ‘n vreemde taal. Gevolglik ontvang meeste leerders slegs blootstelling aan Engels in die EVTklaskamer, en sukkel meeste EVT-onderwysers self met Engels (Qorro, 2006). Dit is dus nie verbasend dat hierdie leerders (onder andere) Engelse lidwoorde op nie-teikenagtige wyses gebruik nie. Die studie het ten doel gehad om vas te stel watter kontekste van die Engelse lidwoordstelsel op nie-teikenagtige wyses gebruik word deur Swahili-sprekende EVTleerders en om, gebasseer op die bevindings, voorstelle te maak aan EVT-onderwysers in Tanzanië aangaande watter kontekste spesiale pedagogiese aandag benodig. Terwyl Engels grammatikale bepaaldheid aandui deur sy lidwoordstelsel, dui Swahili semanties-pragmatiese bepaaldheid aan deur die konteks van interaksie. Om hierdie rede kon data van Swahili-sprekende EVT-leerders gebruik word om in die huidige studie die Lidwoordkeuse Parameter (Ionin, Ko & Wexler, 2004), die Fluktuasie Hipotese (ibid.), die Sintaktiese Misanalise Verklaring (Trenkic, 2007) en die Ontbrekende Oppervlaksinfleksie Hipotese (Prévost & White, 2000) aan te spreek. Gebaseer op ‘n kruislinguistiese analise van Engels en Swahili, was die spesifieke voorspellings dat Swahili-sprekende EVT-leerders lidwoorde sou weglaat op die elementêre vaardigheidsvlak, en dat hulle sou fluktueer tussen bepaaldheid en spesifiekheid op die intermediêre vaardigheidsvlak. Die gemengde-metodes studie waaroor gerapporteer word in hierdie proefskrif het die insameling behels van (i) kwantitatiewe data van 163 Swahilisprekende EVT-leerders deur middel van ‘n aanvaarbaarheidsoordeletaak, ‘n geforseerdekeuse-ontlokkingstaak en ‘n prentjie-beskrywingstaak, en (ii) kwalitatiewe data van 10 EVTonderwysers deur middel van semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude. ‘n Analise van die kwantitatiewe data het aangedui dat die leerders die blotenaamwoordfrase-struktuur van hul T1 Swahili oorgedra het en ‘naamwoord+voornaamwoord’-afparings gebruik het om bepaaldheid aan te dui in Engels, Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za v meestal op die elementêre vaardigheidsvlak. Hulle het ook gefluktueer tussen bepaaldheid en spesifiekheid. Wat die bogenoemde kontekste betref, het nie-teikenagtige taalgebruik meer voorgekom by die gebruik van die onbepaalde lidwoord, die anaforiese gebruik van die bepaalde lidwoord en die nie-deursigtige gebruik van die onbepaalde lidwoord, as by ander kontekste. Die onderhoud-data het gewys dat meeste van die onderwysers nie ‘n voldoende vlak van vaardigheid gehad het in Engels nie, en ook nie voldoende opleiding in die implementering van die huidige kurrikulum of kundigheid in die onderrig van die lidwoordstelsel op ‘n kommunikatiewe wyse nie. Die bevindings van die huidige studie dui op die noodsaaklikheid daarvan om die taal-in-onderrig beleid te hersien en om te verseker dat onderwysers opleiding ontvang in die implementering van die kurrikulum en in die gebruik van die Fokusop-Vorm benadering. Die studie sluit af met ‘n paar spesifieke voorstelle vir EVT-onderwysers in Tanzanië aangaande die onderrig van die Engelse lidwoordstelsel aan hulle Swahili-sprekende leerders.
- ItemCommunicating taboo topics in gynaecological consultations in Malawi : a sociolinguistic study on effective strategies used in a conservative culture(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-03) Chirwa Kajombo, Marion; Mongie, Lauren; Southwood, Frenette; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The clinical gaze, which is the combination of doctor expertise and information obtained from and on the patient, is the basis of diagnosis and prognosis (Foucault 1975). As such, open doctor-patient communication becomes a prerequisite for successful medical consultations. However, in a generally conservative Malawian cultural context, gynaecological topics are considered taboo, especially when discussed across genders. Despite the conflict between biomedical requirements of openness and sociocultural requirements of silence about gynaecology-related topics, consultations with male gynaecologists, who outnumber female gynaecologists in Malawi, are conducted. However, the nature of communication in these consultations was not known. This study therefore investigated the nature of gender-discordant communication about topics related to sex, women’s bodies, reproduction, and infertility in Malawian gynaecological consultations. This qualitative study is embedded in a sociolinguistic theoretical framework, making use of Situated Discourse Analysis (Gee 2011), Interactional Sociolinguistics (Gumperz 1982, 2015), and X-phemism Theory (Allan & Burridge 2006) to study Chichewa-dominant interactions between male gynaecologists and their patients in a public hospital in Blantyre. The study hospital is a district and referral hospital treating emergency cases referred by other, smaller healthcare facilities. There were two participant groups (all Chichewa-speaking Malawians), namely four gynaecologists practicing at the study hospital, and 12 women who had consulted a gynaecologist at least once in the 12 months prior to data collection. Individual interviews were conducted with the patient participants. They were asked questions about their communication experiences in gynaecological consultations (such as, which terms they found appropriate, whether and, if so, how culture influenced their communication, what discourse strategies they have experienced gynaecologists using), using an audio-recording they had listened to at the beginning of the interview as prompt. This scripted audio-recording was of a simulated gynaecological consultation in Chichewa. The gynaecologists were also interviewed individually, amongst others on discourse strategies used and the influence of culture on Malawian gynaecological practice. Eight simulated gynaecological consultations also took place, with eight patient participants each consulted one participating gynaecologist on a medical condition of her choice. (Each gynaecologist was therefore involved in two simulated consultations.) The interviews and simulated consultations were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically; by means of Interactional Sociolinguistic methods (Gumperz 1982, 2015) and Situated Discourse Analysis (Gee 2011). Further, taboo referring expressions were analysed using the X-phemism Theory (Allan & Burridge 2006). From the perspectives of former patients and practicing gynaecologists drawn from the interviews and simulated consultations, it was found that: (i) communicating about culturally taboo topics was indeed a challenge, which (ii) could be overcome by establishing relationship boundaries and identities of interlocutors and by using negative politeness strategies; (iii) sociocultural principles were involved in acceptability judgements on Chichewa terms used to refer to sex-related matters; and (iv) the current practice in gynaecological consultations was deemed successful but could improve. In short, this study found that despite cultural restrictions on discussing topics such as sexual health and reproduction, sociolinguistic strategies are used to achieve the goals of gynaecological consultations in the culturally conservative Malawian context.
- ItemThe comprehension and production of later developing language constructions by Afrikaans-, English- and isiXhosa-speaking Grade 1 learners(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-04) Nel, Joanine Hester; Southwood, Frenette; Conradie, Simone; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigated the comprehension and production of articles, quantifiers, binding relations and passive constructions as later developing constructions (LDCs) by 27 Grade (Gr) 1 monolingual Afrikaans-speaking learners with Afrikaans as language of learning and teaching (LOLT), 31 bilingual isiXhosa-speaking learners with English as LOLT and 31 monolingual isiXhosa-speaking learners with isiXhosa as LOLT in three non-fee-paying schools, each in a different low socio-economic status area, in the Stellenbosch area of the Western Cape Province in South Africa. The overarching aim of this study was to determine which LDCs these learners are capable of comprehending and producing at the start of Gr 1 and what progress they make in terms of these LDCs during their Gr 1 year. The English and isiXhosa LOLT groups were then compared on how they fared on the LDCs in their respective LOLTs in order to ascertain whether the English language proficiency of the English group is at such a level at the start of Gr 1 that they can, without disadvantage, undergo schooling successfully in English. Data were collected on articles, binding relations, quantifiers and passive constructions by using the informal language assessment instrument, the Receptive and Expressive Activities for Language Therapy (Southwood & Van Dulm 2012a), which makes use of picture selection- and pointing tasks for assessment of comprehension and sentence completion, picture description- and question answering tasks for assessment of production. The results showed that for the Afrikaans and English groups all four LDCs are indeed later developing and are only mastered after the end of Gr 1. For the isiXhosa group, quantifiers and passive production are mastered by the end of Gr 1. In terms of the language-in-education and teaching policy, the results show that the time allocated to listening to and producing language in Gr 1 is sufficient for children whose first language is also their LOLT, whereas it is not sufficient in the case of English additional language learners. The latter group made significant progress in all LDCs assessed, but still performed worse than their isiXhosa-speaking peers, for whom there was a match between first language and LOLT. The implication of the results are that (i) the Foundation Phase school curriculum should be refined so as to consider the needs of all Gr 1 learners, as learners enter Gr 1 with different language skills and different levels of preparation for the tasks which lie before them, (ii) teachers should be assisted to foster the development of language skills in additional language learners, and (iii) the institution of a universal Gr R year, which is free to those who cannot afford school fees, should be considered a necessity. Without ensuring that all children enter Gr 1 with an adequate language foundation on which literacy development can build, historical inequalities still present in South Africa will likely be perpetuated rather than systematically removed.
- ItemConstruction of linguistic identities among cross-border communities: The case of Samia of Uganda and Samia of Kenya(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Nahayo, Sylvia; Oostendorp, Marcelyn; Southwood, Frenette; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation investigated the discursive identity construction of a community who is separated by a national border. The town of Busia cuts across the Ugandan/Kenyan border and the community language is considered to be Lusamia. The study used ethnographic methods to investigate how speakers of Lusamia on both sides of the border construct their linguistic identities in relation to their own linguistic repertoires and the linguistic repertoires of others. My theoretical interest in this was sparked by a gap in the literature, namely, that most studies which investigate language and identity construction within multilinguals focus on urban communities. Although early sociolinguistic studies within the ethnographic tradition, focused on rural communities (Gumperz 1971, 1964; Hymes 1962, 1964), recently the city has become the most frequently studied setting for multilingualism. My study builds on a small (but growing) body of research on contemporary multilingualism in rural African communities (see for example Banda and Jimaima 2015); Deumert and Mabandla 2013). Against this backdrop, I examined how speakers of Lusamia that live in a rural community and are multilingual negotiate different linguistic identities just like their counterparts in the urban centers. My study will thus turn the attention (back) on the everyday linguistic practices of a rural, multilingual community within an African context. Data for this study were collected using various ethnographically informed methods. The data collection instruments included observations, interviews and a survey of the linguistic landscape. Linguistic landscapes are defined as ―the language of public road signs, advertising billboards, street names, place names, commercial shop signs, etc.‖ (Landry and Bourhis, 1997: 25). Data were collected over a period of 12 months and analysed through thematic analysis (Starks and Trinidad, 2007). Two major themes emerged, that is: multilingualism as linguistic repertoire and the interplay of language, spacialisation and identity. Findings from this study suggest that participants typically have a range of linguistic resources in their repertoire. These linguistic resources are used differently by the speakers depending on the situation they are in. Sometimes the lack of the required linguistic resources(s) in a particular situation may exclude the speaker or lead to failure in communication. Furthermore, as Busch (2012) observes, the linguistic repertoire does not only include actual linguistic varieties used, but also ideologies about language. In the two countries in which Lusamia is spoken (Kenya and Uganda), different linguistic resources may be used or understood. This interaction of the different linguistic resources with Lusamia explains the subtle differences in accent and word choice in the speech of participants on both sides of the border. These differences are constructed as the distinguishing features between the Ugandan and Kenyan varieties of Samia. Thus as Samia speakers engage in various activities that call for use of different linguistic resources, they constantly negotiate different linguistic identities. Furthermore, the identity of Samia speakers is very much a multilingual one. Even rituals evolving major milestones or major events (birth, marriage, death) are performed through the use of heteroglossic meaning-making resources. In view of the results, I suggest that more research into language and identity needs to take a multilingual, spatial perspective
- ItemA critical analysis of corporate reports that articulate corporate social responsibility(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-04) Bernard, Taryn; Anthonissen, Christine; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the last 15 years, growing public awareness of the negative impact of corporate activities has prompted big corporations in the mining, manufacturing and retail sectors to publish reports that communicate their awareness of environmental and social issues. These reports typically take the form of standalone corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports or integrated annual (IA) reports. The publication of these reports is not an isolated event or practice on behalf of each company; the structure and content of the reports are informed by stock exchange policies such as the King Code in South Africa, and reporting frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) on an international level. The nature of corporate social responsibility and CSR reporting has captured the interest of researchers in diverse disciplines. Scholars such as Jones (1995) and Pedersen (2006), working within business and marketing-related fields, have praised CSR reports as a “win-win” concept which encourages corporations to focus on both their financial and social performance. Conversely, scholars such as Banerjee (2003, 2007) and Redclift (2002, 2005) have criticised CSR for being a new form of “greenwashing” and a mechanism that promotes the continued dominance of financially strong institutions. Critical scholars typically adopt a neo-Marxist perspective of neoliberalism and assert that legitimate environmental protection or social transformation and equality cannot take place within the reigning economic paradigm (see Pepper 1984, 1996). This study is a contribution to applied linguistic research into CSR and IA reports, particularly those originating from the Global South. It draws on methods developed within critical discourse analysis (CDA), systemic functional linguistics (SFL) and corpus linguistics to investigate the 2011, 2012 and 2013 CSR and IA reports of six South African companies located in the mining, retail and food manufacturing industries. Drawing on Halliday’s (1978) three metafunctions of texts, Fairclough’s (1989, 2002) three dimensional framework, as well as the Appraisal Framework (White 2001; Martin and White 2005) this study investigates the textual, representational and interpersonal meanings of the selected reports as ones that represent a new, gradually conventionalised genre within modern corporate discourse. In summary, the study contributes to an understanding of CSR and IA reports in three ways: First, it highlights the significant role of the GRI in prescribing, and thus restricting, the structural and discursive features of CSR and IA reports. Second, the study shows how the six companies draw on a limited set of discourses in the reports which all, in some way or another, embed neoliberal ideologies. This suggests that the South African CSR and IA reports function to maintain an established, dominant ideological and discursive order. Third, the degree of reliability of the information in the reports is dependent on how the companies construct themselves in this report. In this regard, the analysis reveals that the companies use a limited set of linguistic resources to construct themselves as strategic, moral and responsible social actors. In a country marked by widespread social inequality and diminishing resources, the findings ultimately suggest that social transformation and environmental protection are unlikely to be achieved if the sustainability discourses of corporate institutions are not publically challenged.
- ItemA critical analysis of media discourse after a natural flooding disaster in Malawi, in 2015(2018-03) Chikaipa, Victor; Anthonissen, Christine; Bernard, Taryn; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This is a multimodal critical discourse analysis study that investigates the media discursive strategies in the representation of the catastrophic flooding disaster of January 2015 in Malawi. It analyses the representation of social actors in local print and international online websites, investigating which discursive strategies are typically used to present the selected content, and what the overt and covert meanings are that visual and linguistic texts puts out to their respective implied audiences. The theoretical and analytical framework uses a combination of different approaches within CDA, specifically Fairclough’s (1992, 1995) dialectal relational approach, Kress and Van Leeuwen’s (1996, 2006) Grammar of Visual Design, and Van Leeuwen’s (2008) Social Actor Model. Using a multimodal approach, the study analyses articles purposively selected from a data corpus of 308 news articles that incorporated 313 news images gathered from two local Malawian print media, namely The Daily Times and The Nation, and two international online news websites, The Guardian and Daily Mail Online. The methodology is predominantly qualitative although some elements of quantitative paradigm were used to explain patterns, frequency and or volume of media coverage. The data is organised according to emerging themes, and the analysis is done by critical reading of the verbal and visual texts. The findings are that both the local and international media use discursive strategies that negatively represented the floods as destructive without due attention to the possible contribution of unsustainable agricultural activities of humans that are likely to have triggered or exacerbated the disaster and its effects. In addition, overlapping and interlocking discourses, namely humanitarian, hegemonic and expertise discourses, are evident of the dependencies in the global north – south divide. Further, there is a generic positive portrayal of the donor countries and non-profit organisations as effective and with agency, and at the same time a negative representation of the Malawian government and victims of the crisis as passive recipients of the relief aid. Although the multimodal analysis shows how the reporting upholds and perpetuates stereotypes of gender in the media representation of the disasters, this analysis established that there is minimal difference between ways in which men and women are portrayed by the local (insider) as compared to the international (outsider) media. This is significant considering another stereotype according to which the people of the UK are seen to be relatively liberal and sensitive to gender role casting as opposed to the African media that are seen be relatively conservative in subscribing to traditional gender role casting. Overall, the findings reveal that the media representation of the floods is not neutral; rather it is socially constructed with various ideological perspectives. The study contributes greatly to an understanding of the general linguistic and visual discursive tendencies that local print and international media use in the portrayal of participants in a flooding disaster that occurred in a relatively remote country such as Malawi. In addition, it fills a gap that exists in semiotics on the empirical studies that focus on the interplay between verbal texts and images in disaster representations in African contexts specifically, and in the global south more broadly.
- ItemThe development of cognitive processes and English language abilities : the case of early English language learners in a multilingual South African setting(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) White, Michelle Jennifer; Southwood, Frenette; Simonsen, Hanne Gram; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of English language skills and the processes which underlie these skills in English Language Learners (ELLs) who are in their first year of formal schooling, Grade R. Twenty seven ELL participants were assessed longitudinally, three times over the course of their Grade R year, on an English language assessment battery, including the domains of syntax, semantics and pragmatics, along with a vocabulary test. Additionally, the processes underlying language acquisition were assessed with the use of working memory tasks, two phonological working memory tasks and two visuospatial working memory tasks. The English language and working memory development of the 27 ELLs were compared to seven English monolingual classmates in order to determine how their trajectory and rate of development related to one another. A total of nine different first languages (L1s) were represented in the ELL group, namely (ordered from that spoken by most of the highest to the lowest number of ELLs) isiXhosa, Shona, French, Swahili, isiZulu, Sesotho, Oshiwambo, Igbo and Cameroonian Pidgin English. Moreover, most of the ELL group knew at least one language besides their L1 and English. All participants were from one low socio-economic status school, where the sole language of learning and teaching (LoLT) is English. South Africa, with its 11 official languages and several other minority languages, is linguistically and culturally diverse, yet English continues to be the preferred LoLT (Heugh, 2000). Many South African children are thus ELLs who have little English proficiency upon entering school. The differing levels of English proficiency at school entry, together with a wide range of first languages in one classroom, pose teaching challenges. One of these challenges is that a certain level of proficiency in English is required to perform well academically in an English-medium school. It is widely accepted that academic success is highly dependent on language competence (Hoff, 2005; Owens, 2008), entailing that an understanding of the underlying processes related to language is crucial for assisting learners to perform well academically. Moreover, measures of non-linguistic processing, such as working memory, provide important information on language development in multilingual contexts (Paradis, 2010). Results from this study showed evidence for the three distinctions within working memory stipulated by Baddeley and Hitch (1974): the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad and the central executive. The phonological loop and the central executive were found to be implicated in the ELLs’ English language development. It was also found that their performance on the tasks assessing these two components were predictive of outcomes on certain language domains. Furthermore, this study also found that both the ELLs and the English monolinguals showed a comparable growth trajectory to each other on the language as well as the working memory tasks. These findings contribute to the broadening of our knowledge of bilingual development, in the domains of working memory and English language learning. The South African education system is in crisis and further studies, such as this one, are needed in order to better inform practical solutions.
- ItemThe discourse of liberation: the portrayal of the gay liberation movement in South African news media from 1982 to 2006(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-12) Mongie, Lauren Danger; Anthonissen, Christine; Southwood, Frenette; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation reports on a study that straddles the applied linguistic fields of discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis and a sociolinguistic field recently referred to as “queer linguistics”. The study investigated the linguistic construction of gay mobilisation in South African media discourses across a period of almost 30 years. It aimed to identify characteristics of the Discourse that topicalised the gay liberation movement, considering specifically the linguistic means used in articulating on the one hand the need and the right to gay liberation, and on the other hand the public opposition to acknowledging gay rights. It invoked a social theory identified as ‘framing theory’ in analysing the different kinds of views, attitudes, social positions and arguments motivating for or agitating against the institution and protection of gay rights in post-apartheid South Africa. The project takes Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), particularly its applications in considering features and functions of media discourses, as its primary theoretical framework. First, following the insistence of the Discourse-historical approach put forward by Wodak (1990), it gives an overview of the social and historical context against which the recognition of gay rights in South Africa developed. It follows the analytic methodology suggested by van Dijk (1985) in considering issues of ‘language and power’, and the ways in which the access of elites to media attention is drawn on to support and give credence to particular ideologies. Supplementary to the application of CDA methods, an analytic approach from the fields of Social Movement Theory and Collective Action Framing is introduced to make sense of the discursive strategies implemented in the Discourse thematically tied to the South African gay liberation movement, particularly from the early 1980s up to 2006. This period was marked by the movement’s pursuit of social mobilization. Attention went to the ways in which arguments for and against gay rights were instantiated in the media using a variety of different frames. Such analysis could disclose the extent to which the "anti-apartheid" master frame was utilised by actors of the gay liberation movement. Based on their circulation demographics, two local South African weekly newspapers, City Press and Mail & Guardian, were screened in order to identify articles and letters to the editor relevant to the gay liberation discourse. The full complement of published items topicalising homosexuality directly and indirectly were collected as two corpora in order to assess the ways in which they contributed to public discourses of gay liberation. Two analytic exercises were done: first, the content of the full data-set was “tagged” and categorised according to the textual nature of the newspaper item, and the kinds of frames used in its presentation; second, a number of articles and letters were selected from the corpora for detailed analysis that would illustrate the use of the various strategies and frames found to characterise the Discourse. The first more quantitative analysis provided an overview of patterns, trends and editorial practices typically used in the media representations. The second more qualitative analysis provided insight into the finer details of media presention of ideas aimed at affecting the knowledge and attitudes of the intended and imagined readers. The findings of these analyses were presented in terms of quantifiable results as well as detailed descriptions. In broad strokes, the quantifiable findings showed that the Mail & Guardian corpus was significantly more outspoken in advocating for gay rights than the City Press corpus, and that both publications frequently framed homosexuality in terms of “tolerance”, “religion” and “rights”. The quantifiable findings also showed that in their discourses of gay tolerance and gay rights, both the City Press and the Mail & Guardian made significant use of frames typically and widely used by the media in the discourse of political change at the time. The detailed analyses investigated the textual reproduction of the authors’ ideologies, drawing attention to their regular reliance on certain types of arguments used for and against gay rights in the selected newspapers.
- ItemDiscourse strategies of lecturers in higher education classroom interaction : a case at the University Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-03) Shartiely, Nikuigize Erick; Anthonissen, Christine; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates how linguistic super diversity is managed in a higher education context in Tanzania. Specifically, the use of language in lectures to large classes made up of students with linguistically diverse backgrounds at the University of Dar es Salaam is in focus. Considering the multilingualism of the students as well as the lecturers, and a language-in-education policy, which prescribes English as the language of teaching and learning, the study is interested in the perceptions and practices of those teaching big numbers of students in large lecture halls. The data comprised eight recorded lectures and interviews with the respective lecturers. The intention was to identify, describe, document and analyse interactional strategies that lecturers use, particularly the discourse strategies that lecturers use in conveying new information at a relatively sophisticated level of academic rhetoric, and to facilitate interaction between them and students. With large numbers of students in the audience, and given that they are first year students new to the university-spoken register, lecturers are likely to make remarkable language choices consciously or unconsciously. Conversational Analysis (CA) and Discourse Analysis (DA) approaches facilitated the identification and analysis of conversational and discursive features of lectures as part of spoken registers that are generically used in university teaching. The analysis particularly considered the linguistic diversity of the participants in the higher education context in Tanzania and how lecturers use language to cater for such diversity. The sample involved eight lecturers, four from each of two departments regarded among those with the highest student numbers in the College of Arts and Social Sciences of the University of Dar es Salaam, namely the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology. The findings indicate that lecturers use a selected number of both propositional and structural discourse strategies during lecture sessions. The three most notable propositional discourse strategies are repetition, use of questions, and use of code switching between English and Kiswahili. Lecturers use phrasal and clausal types of repetition to achieve cohesion, topic continuity and emphasis. They use tag, rhetorical, open and closed types of questions to check for comprehension, to stimulate higher level thinking, to manage classroom behaviour as well as to encourage students' participation and independent study. They also use inter and intra sentential types of code switching to engage with students, to translate some concepts, explain, and manage students' behaviour and to advise or encourage students. Regarding structural discourse strategies, the study shows that lecturers notably use discourse markers so and now as cohesive devices, marking such textual functions as framing, linking and showing consequential relationships. They use the discourse markers so and now to achieve similar communicative goals as those achieved using propositional discourse strategies. In referring to themselves or their audience, they use specific pronouns you, we, and I, to perform different functions. They use the pronoun you not only as an interactive device, but also as an explanatory device of significance in classroom interaction. They use the pronoun we not only as a solidarity device, but like you, also as a strong explanatory device. They also use the pronoun I to mark speaker's knowledge and his or her stance about it, and speaker's circumstance and experience. This study not only describes generic features and language practices in big lectures; it also engages critically with some of the established practices and in so doing adds to the literature on individual and societal multilingualism and how lecturers manage it in an African higher education context.
- ItemThe discursive construction of identity in young offenders' narratives in Swaziland(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Dlamini-Akintola, Virginia Thontea; Oostendorp, Marcelyn; Costandius, Elmarie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study of ‘identity’ straddles different fields such as psychology, sociology and linguistics. The particular approach taken to the study of identity is contingent upon the field, with some fields viewing identity as an essential, fixed phenomenon while others view identity as a discursive construction that occurs in discourse (Benwell and Stokoe 2006; Bamberg, De Fina and Schiffrin 2011). This study set out to investigate the discursive construction of young offenders’ identity in a youth correctional facility in Swaziland. This facility introduced formal schooling in 2008. This study thus investigated how the young offenders who are attending the school located at the correctional facility discursively construct their own identities. The study also investigated how the semiotic landscape (Jaworksi & Thurlow 2010) that is all meaning-making resources within the public landscape of the correctional facility and the school, contributes to constructing the young offenders’ identity. The study made use of arts-based methodological approaches. This included encouraging the participants to visually depict the course of their lives, their futures and the semiotic landscape which surrounds them. Since the study was situated in a ‘total institution’ (Goffman 1961), the nature of the place contributed to shaping the identities of the young offenders. This occurred through ‘mortification processes’ which enable the inmates to adapt to the life of ‘regimentation’ in the institution (Goffman 1961). This study shows that since identity is discursively constructed in discourse, the use of multimodal personal narratives combined with arts-based approaches to research are extremely useful methods with which to investigate identity construction from participants in a context that is traumatic. In addition, long-term-ethnographic studies provides rich insight into changes into a semiotic landscape and the reasons for such changes. Another major contribution of the study is the questions it raises about ethical engagement with vulnerable participants. It presents the challenges this study encountered. Ultimately, I argue that the key to moving towards an ethical engagement is to do research with, rather than on vulnerable participants.
- ItemEffects of the second language on the first : investigating the development of 'conceptual fluency' of bilinguals in a tertiary education context(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012-03) Oostendorp, Marcelyn Camereldia Antonette; Anthonissen, Christine; Van Dyk, T.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Scineces. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the effect of the increased use of a second language (L2) (English) as language of teaching and learning on the bilingual individual in a specific bilingual higher education context. The specific interest is in the development of conceptual fluency, and the role that bilingualism and the increased exposure to an L2 in a teaching and learning context plays in such development. In order to serve the interest of the study, the theoretical framework includes theories developed in language and cognition, bilingualism and cross-linguistic influence. The theoretical stance that is taken in this thesis is one that: recognises that bilingual individuals cannot be expected to exhibit the same kind of linguistic and conceptual knowledge as monolinguals, investigates the possibility that language can affect certain aspects of cognition, acknowledges that bilingual individuals themselves can contribute to the knowledge about the bilingual mind. The participants in the study are L1 speakers of Afrikaans who finished their secondary schooling in Afrikaans. At university they are increasingly exposed to more English as language of teaching and learning than in previous formal education. The effects of the increased use of English on conceptual fluency, academic achievement and self-perception of language proficiency were investigated. The study used university records, language tests and interviews to collect data. No concrete evidence could be found that English has a significantly positive or negative effect on 'conceptual fluency', academic achievement or self-perception of language proficiency. The study however provided valuable information about how bilinguals use the languages they have in their repertoires. The findings from the study suggest that increased exposure to an L2 leads to a unique form of language competence. This 'multi-competence' enables the participants in the study to use both languages in the understanding and learning of concepts in their respective fields of study. Thus this dissertation provides evidence that bilinguals can transfer knowledge and skills between the languages they know. Theories developed by Cook (1999, 2003) and Jarvis and Pavlenko (2008), that suggest transfer is bidirectional, is partly supported by the findings of the study. The study has various implications for the field of bilingualism in education. It illustrates how a multilingual context such as the one we have in South Africa complicates the use of certain methodologies and theoretical frameworks. This also means that models of bilingual education designed elsewhere cannot be implemented in the South African context without considered modification.
- ItemInterrogating China’s approach to relations with sub-Saharan Africa in official documents (2000-2010) through critical discourse analysis(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-12) Ndenguino-Mpira, Hermanno; Oosthuizen, Johan; Anthonissen, Christine; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: China‘s rise as an economic superpower has had important consequences for its relations with African countries over the past 10-15 years. Not only were these relations thoroughly reviewed and significantly increased, but China also adopted a new cooperation policy that its administration describes as being based on mutual benefits and win-win economic collaboration. However, there is a sceptical public opinion in Africa and also in some developed countries about China‘s current engagement with African countries, and in particular with countries from the sub-Saharan region. In fact, China is frequently accused of acting as a new colonizing power and of increasing its relations with African countries simply as a strategy to achieve higher power-politics status and to structure a new global economic order. The present study addresses the question of whether China‘s official discourse about its relations with sub-Saharan African countries from 2000 to 2010 contains any grounds for the sceptical public opinion mentioned above. In more concrete terms, the main objective of the study is to determine from a linguistic perspective, and more specifically from a critical discourse analysis point of view, whether there are any overt or covert messages of power and ideology in China‘s discourse to sub-Saharan African countries which could justify the sceptical public opinion about China‘s current engagement in this part of the continent . The texts representing China‘s discourse about its relations with sub-Saharan African countries that are examined for this study comprise official speeches, statements, and other related official documents delivered by Chinese officials in the period 2000-2010, and published in English on the websites of various institutions, including China‘s official websites. These texts are examined from within the framework of the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) as set out by, specifically, Wodak (2001a). The texts are analysed using the DHA three-dimensional procedure consisting of (i) identifying the Content(s) and Topic(s) of the specific discourse, (ii) investigating the discursive strategies used in the specific texts, and (iii) analysing the linguistic means and the specific context-dependent linguistic realizations. On the one hand, the analysis of the Discourse Topics indicates that the relations between China and sub-Saharan African countries are grounded in China‘s pluralist approach to international affairs. From this perspective, then, it could be argued that China‘s current engagement in sub-Saharan Africa does not warrant the sceptical public opinion mentioned earlier. On the other hand, however, the analysis of the discursive strategies used to represent China and sub-Saharan African countries, indicates that such sceptisism is likely warranted. The relations between China and African countries have predominantly been investigated from economic and political perspectives. However, the manner in which these relations are expressed, implied, negotiated, interpreted, distributed, etc. in discourse has not yet received any systematic attention. The present study was therefore undertaken to contribute, from a linguistic perspective, to the knowledge of and the debate about China‘s current engagement in Africa.
- ItemInvestigating evidence of linguistic relativity in Dholuo(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-03) Ogelo, Awino; Spangberg, Manne Bylund; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: An age old question within the language sciences has been whether linguistic experience influences how people perceive reality. The possible linguistic influence on thought is what is known as linguistic relativity. Experimentally rigorous psycholinguistic approaches provide an understanding of this kind of relationship between language and thought. These empirical techniques have been adopted in this study to investigate evidence of linguistic relativity in Dholuo. The study specifically explores relativity effects as evidenced in the behaviour of Dholuo-EnglishKiswahili (DEK) multilingual individuals. The investigations were carried out under the linguistic domains of stasis (spatial frames) and kinesis (motion events), both wrapped within the spatial realm. Each of the domains was probed both at a linguistic and a non-linguistic level. A total of two hundred and thirty DEK multilingual speakers were engaged through the photo-object spatial reference frames task, the mirror image task, the verbal motion event construal task and the nonverbal motion event categorization task. Additionally, forty first language (L1) Kiswahili speakers were also engaged through the verbal motion event construal task and the non-verbal motion event categorization task. The latter group was included for comparison. These experiments were conducted under different language contexts; for the DEK group, the spatial reference tasks were carried out both in Dholuo and English; the motion event tasks were performed under Dholuo, English and Kiswahili contexts; while the L1-Kiswahili group performed under Kiswahili context. The results of the investigations were analysed and interpreted through the theoretical lenses of the thinking-for-speaking hypothesis, the grammatical aspect approach, multicompetence theory as well as cognitive grammar. For the investigations on spatial reference frames, the findings revealed an unrestricted availability of multiple spatial reference frames in Dholuo – a state referred to as “referential promiscuity”. The multiplicity of the spatial reference frames was linked to but not directly attributed to the multicompetence of the DEK participants. The linguistic promiscuous state of Dholuo provides multiple options for Dholuo speakers to spatially encode phenomena in a way that is missing in other languages which have a single spatial frame. This is a case of linguistic relativity at the linguistic level. In the motion event experiments, the findings revealed that Dholuo construes motion events by focussing on the ongoing phase of the events, a behaviour that is typical of languages that grammatically mark aspectual distinctions. The grammatical aspect hypothesis attributes the preference for the restricted viewpoint to the imperfective (progressive) aspect in these languages. Dholuo thus aligns with grammatical aspect hypothesis as would be expected of aspect languages. The restricted viewpoint of motion event obligatorily imposed on the Dholuo speakers by the imperfective (progressive aspect) in the language is proof of linguistic relativity at the linguistic level. The L1-Kiswahili group’s findings were similar to those of the DEK group. The study however failed to show sufficient evidence of linguistic relativity at the non-linguistic level for both the spatial reference and the motion event investigations. Instead there was evidence of conceptual convergence due to possibly a shared grammatical category of Dholuo, English and Kiswahili at the non-linguistic level of the motion event tasks.
- ItemInvestigating literacy development among learners with a second language as medium of education : the effects of an emergent literacy stimulation program in Grade R(Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009-12) Olivier, Johanna M.; Anthonissen, Christine; Southwood, Frenette; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Addressing the low literacy rates in South Africa poses a mountainous challenge. However, identifying children at risk for reading difficulties and providing timely and preventative intervention might be a good starting point to addressing this challenge. This study aimed at making a contribution to the existing body of literature on emergent literacy skills of learners who are educated in a second or additional language. The study investigated English Language Learners’ (ELLs) emergent literacy skills prior to entering Grade 1 and evaluated the effectiveness of an evidence-based stimulation program in the South African context. The main research question this study attempted to answer was: “What is the effect of a stimulation program for emergent literacy skills in Grade R on the development of literacy of English Language Learners in Grade 1?” In a quasiexperimental design, ELLs’ emergent literacy skills were assessed with an adapted version of the Emergent Literacy Assessment battery (Willenberg 2004) and were compared to those of English first language (L1) and of ELL control groups, both prior to and after an 8-week purpose-designed stimulation program. Results indicated that while learners showed significant improvement on six out of the eight subtests, the particular intervention program did not significantly improve ELLs’ emergent literacy skills (those pertaining to alphabet knowledge, phoneme awareness, print awareness and oral language skills, amongst others) when compared to learners in the respective control groups. When controlling for receptive language abilities, English L1 learners did not perform any better than their L2 peers on any of the eight measures of emergent literacy prior to intervention. Furthermore, upon entering Grade 1, there was no statistical significant difference in the performance of the English L1 learners and ELLs on any of the eight subtests after intervention. Possible independent variables contributing to the dearth of intervention effect included socio-economic status, learners’ L1, and teacher and classroom specific characteristics. These variables were addressed, and clinical implications for speech-language therapists with regards to assessment, intervention, service delivery and outcome measures were highlighted.
- ItemAn investigation into the effect of mobile-assisted language learning on Rwandan university students' proficiency in English as a foreign language(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Uwizeyimana, Valentin; Conradie, Simone; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is almost common knowledge that English is the most spoken language in the world, which is considered a global lingua franca, and which often offers a means of socio-economic mobility for its speakers (Crystal 2003; Samuelson and Freedman 2010). Because of this status, English has been adopted by many countries as their national and/or official language, and to serve as a medium of instruction at different levels of education, even though it is a foreign language in some of those countries, i.e. not spoken or even understood by a large part of the population (Nyika 2015). This implies that attaining a high level of proficiency in English remains an advantage, whereas not knowing the language at all or attaining a low level of proficiency in it, constitutes a disadvantage. However, in many countries such as Rwanda, attaining a high level of English proficiency is problematic, precisely because it is a foreign language despite being an official language (Kagwesage 2013). This means that learners are not exposed to a sufficient amount of English input, and there are very few to no opportunities for English output (i.e. actually using the language). The limited input which learners receive, comes from the formal language classroom, where learners are, in by far the majority of cases, taught by non-native speakers of English (Abbott, Sapsford and Rwirahira 2015). Furthermore, learners have access to limited conventional teaching-and-learning materials (such as printed books, journals and computers), and they do not get enough opportunities to practise English outside the classroom setting (Andersson and Rusanganwa 2011). In order to address this problem, and in conformity with the constructivist approach to language teaching and learning, this study investigated the contribution that mobile input can make to the attainment of a higher level of English proficiency, given the growing amount of research showing the value of mobile technologies in language learning (MTLL). 60 Kinyarwanda-speaking students studying at the University of Rwanda participated in the study, and were divided into four groups. Group 1 received training in the use of MTLL and then continued using these MTLL; Group 2 used MTLL without having received any training; Group 3 did not use MTLL but were provided with additional conventional material; and Group 4 neither used MTLL nor received any additional material. Data were collected by means of observation, a survey, an English language proficiency test, a discussion group with the participants and a semi-structured interview with a lecturer at the University of Rwanda. A careful analysis of the data showed that MTLL have a significant effect on the learners’ proficiency in English as a foreign language (EFL), and that the learners have positive attitudes towards MTLL and their integration into the language pedagogy. Finally, this study offers some practical suggestions regarding the incorporation of MTLL in formal language classrooms generally, but also more specifically in the case of EFL classrooms in African countries, where English is a foreign language as well as the country’s official language and the language of instruction.
- ItemLanguage discordant HIV and AIDS interactions in Lesotho health care centres(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-03) Sobane, Konosoang Mabafokeng; Anthonissen, Christine; Huddlestone, Kate; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This PhD study investigated the organisational structure of medical communicative facilities and the related communicative experiences of health care providers and patients in HIV and AIDS care centres where there is language discordance between physicians and patients. Such discordance refers specifically to communication in contexts where patients and health care providers speak a number of different, mostly mutually unintelligible first languages (L1s) and where speakers have varying levels of proficiency in a lingua franca such as English. This study considers key moments within the organisational communication structure to assess how well the structure meets its communicative aims. The sites of care that provided empirical data in this study, were a public health clinic which is a division of a state hospital, and a privately run day care clinic both located near Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho. The participants were drawn from four categories, namely physicians, nurses, lay interpreters and patients. Data collection was done through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and direct observations of the study sites. The data was later transcribed interpreted and analysed according to insights gained from Organisation Theory on the one hand and Thematic Analysis and Qualitative Data Analysis on the other hand. The most important result of the study is the recognition of organisational fragmentation of care into different units which helps to facilitate communication where patients and physicians show marked language discordance. Further results illuminate several challenges that are encountered by participants in mediating and making meaning where language diversity is such that physicians’ linguistic repertoire does not match the repertoires of patients and local HCPs. The study highlights several institutional and interpersonal strategies that are used to overcome these challenges and to assure effective communication in the particular institutions. It also shows how some of these strategies fail to fully address the communicative challenges identified. The findings of this study suggest that in multilingual clinical contexts there is a need for more dedicated attention to interpreting practices, to the kinds of material distributed among patients and, more generally, to make consultative decisions on improved systems to put in place in order to facilitate communication related to quality health care.
- ItemLinguistic practices, language ideologies, and linguistic repertoires of isiXhosa-speaking families in Western Cape homes(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Nozewu, Asithandile Esona; Oostendorp, Marcelyn; Southwood, Frenette, 1971-ENGLISH SUMMARY : This dissertation investigated the linguistic repertoires, language ideologies and language practices of three isiXhosa-speaking families in the Western Cape. It investigated how the linguistic repertoires, language ideologies, and language practices shaped the family language policy (FLP) of each of the families. Cape Town, the capitol of the Western Cape Province, is regarded as South Africa’s most segregated city (Turok et al. 2021: 71). Since I was interested in how contextual factors shaped the families’ FLPs, I deliberately chose families living in different residential areas within the Cape Metropole. One family resides in the township Langa, where 92% of the inhabitants are isiXhosa mother tongue speakers (General Census 2011). The second family resides in Parklands, a predominantly English-speaking neighbourhood (General Census 2011). The third family resides in Belhar, which was previously classified as a coloured area and in which the language that is widely used is Afrikaans (see General Census 2011). Currently, sociolinguistic and applied linguistics studies on isiXhosa are mostly conducted in the school system, and a focus on home linguistic practices are almost entirely absent. Home linguistic practices and FLP are severely under-investigated in African contexts. I relate the data obtained from this study with Ricento and Hornberger’s (1996) notion of the multilayered onion: They argued that various components, including “agents, levels and processes”, form layers that together make up the whole of language planning and policy. The various components of this onion “permeate and interact with each other in a variety of ways and to varying degrees” (Ricento and Hornberger 1996: 401). This metaphor resonated with me as I saw in my data how both explicit and implicit decisions about language in the families I studied was shaped by a variety of factors: Their linguistic practices were shaped by the linguistic repertoires they had access to, the language ideologies they held, and their lived experience of language. In addition, factors such as time and space, and institutions and access to these institutions also shaped the decisions (or non-decisions) that parents made concerning their FLPs. Based on the data obtained, these factors are entangled with South Africa’s apartheid and colonial past and affect families in non-uniform manners.
- ItemLinguistic strategies used in the construction of performance assessment discourse in the South African workplace(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-03) Jones, Tamiryn; Conradie, Simone; Oostendorp, Marcelyn; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the construction of Performance Assessment Discourses in three companies in the Western Cape, South Africa. The specific interest of is in how Performance Assessment Interviews (PAIs) are performed in terms of content, form, structure and social practice, and how managers and employees experience and make sense of this organizational practice. The study further investigates how individuals express their membership to communities of practice (CofPs) within the workplace, and seeks to identify obstacles (boundaries) in terms of acquiring and maintaining membership. This study is conducted within the broader framework of discourse analysis (DA) and employs genre theory and small story analysis as analytical tools. The 31 participants in this study are managers and employees of three participating companies in the Western Cape. They are L1 speakers of Afrikaans, English, isiXhosa and isiZulu, and are representative of a wide range of employment levels (lower-level employees to top management). Each individual participated in either a one-on-one interview or in a focus group discussion, which were audio-recorded and transcribed. During these interviews and discussion groups, individuals frequently resorted telling small stories in order to explicate their feelings, perceptions and positions on certain matters. The data confirms that several generic features of PAIs are identifiable and across all three companies, but that some unique features are also reported. Furthermore, the analysis shows that Performance Assessments are sites of struggles as dominant and competing discourses emerge from the data. Additionally, the study reveals that acquiring membership to CofPs in a diverse workplace is a complex endeavour and that language plays a determining role in acquiring membership, as well as in the construction of workplace identities. In conclusion, this study argues for further linguistic research within professional setting in South Africa, and suggests that CofP theory be revised and further developed to be more descriptive of diverse communities.
- ItemListening in HIV counselling and testing: hearer signals in rural patient-counsellor HIV consultation(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12) Theron, Janina; Anthonissen, Christine; Meyer, Bernd; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.AFRIKAANS OPSOMMING: MIV en VIGS is sedert die 1980s ’n kommerwekkende nasionale gesondheidskwessie in Suid-Afrika. Na beraming het daar teen 2014 ʼn getal van 6,8 miljoen mense tussen die ouderdomme van 15 en 49 met MIV geleef (UNAIDS, 2015). Vrywillige Berading en Toetsing (VBT) is in 2004 landwyd geïmplementeer om die verspreiding van MIV te beperk. Die VBT-dienste is ingestel om die MIV-status van individue te bepaal en om diegene wat positief toets met berading by te staan ten einde tydige toegang tot die nodige behandeling en gepaardgaande verbetering van lewenskwaliteit te bied. Binne die groter genre van mediese diskoerse, is mediese konsultasie uitgewys as ʼn belangrike diskoerstipe wat reëlmatig gestruktureer is en dus in eie reg bestudeer behoort te word. So is daar reeds wetenskaplike aandag aan verskillende instansies van kommunikasie tussen gesondheidsorgdeskundiges en pasiënte gewy. As ’n gespreksubtipe binne mediese diskoers, is pre-toets MIV-berading in VBT tot dusver nie in wetenskaplike publikasies beskryf nie. Die protokol waarvolgens pre-toets VBT-berading gedoen word, verplig beraders om pasiënte in te lig aangaande verskeie MIV-verwante onderwerpe terwyl hul ook moet verseker dat pasiënte genoegsame begrip van hierdie informasie toon om ’n ingeligte besluit te kan neem rakende hulle instemming tot MIV-toetsing. Die doel van hierdie studie is om die generiese eienskappe van hierdie spesifieke mediese gesprekstipe te identifiseer. Hierdie studie is gesetel in die terrein van Taalwetenskaplike Pragmatiek en bied ’n kwalitatiewe analise van data wat ingesamel is by twee staatsbeheerde gesondheidsorginstansies in landelike dorpe in die Wes-Kaapse Wynlanddistrik. Die data bestaan uit 14 pre-toets MIV-beradingsessies wat in Afrikaans uitgevoer is. Die deelnemers is beraders en pasiënte. Beraders is in die plaaslike gemeenskap gewerf; hulle het geen mediese opleiding nie, maar het minstens graad 12 geslaag. Hulle het wel beperkte, MIVberadingstoegewyde voorbereiding vir die werk wat hulle in die klinieke doen. Pasiënte vertoon diversiteit ten opsigte van die rede vir hulle besoek aan die kliniek. Verder verseker die ligging van die klinieke ʼn redelik hoë mate van talige diversiteit onder die pasiënte. Met behulp van metodes ontwikkel binne die teoretiese raamwerk van Gespreksanalise (Conversation Analysis (CA)) (sien Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson, 1974), ondersoek hierdie studie die organisatoriese elemente onderliggend aan die opeenvolging van taalhandelinge ten einde herhalende patrone te herken op grond waarvan generiese kenmerke van pre-toets MIV beradingsgesprekke geïdentifiseer kan word. Die manier waarop beraders deurentyd die rol van spreker inneem en gesprekke oorheers deur die meerderheid taalhandelinge te sentreer en orden rondom die oordrag van inligting, verseker ’n ongelyke verdeling van spreekbeurte. Aan die pasiënte wat nie met die konteks en prosedures vertroud is nie word dan ’n passiewe luisteraarsrol in die gesprek toegeken. In só ’n geval waar die pasiënt primêr ʼn luisteraarsposisie inneem, bestaan hoorderbydraes tipies uit betekenisvolle tekens wat as “hoordertekens” aan die spreker gerig is. Aangesien hierdie gesprekstipe kenmerkend ʼn hoë konsentrasie van sulke hoordertekens bevat, word hierdie tekens gekarakteriseer met verwysing na hulle vorm en funksie. Binne dié hoordertekens word verbale en nie-verbale kategorieë onderskei wat op kontekstuele, pragmatiese en intuïtiewe vlak op verskeie maniere bydra tot die gesprek. Die meerderheid van hierdie tekens is nie-verbaal (soos kopknikke of kort spraakklankuitings) en word meestal geproduseer ter erkenning of bevestiging van die sprekerbydraes, in aanmoediging van die voortsetting van die gesprek of in reaksie op spesifieke taalstimuli van die spreker/berader. Om op te som: sowel die analises van die generiese eienskappe van VBT-gesprekke as van die hoordertekens wat in die pre-toets MIV-beradingsgesprekke voorkom, bevestig dat hierdie gesprekke oorweldigend beradergesentreerd is. Beraders se rigiede strukturering van hierdie gesprekke om protokol na te kom, plaas beperkinge op die gesprek wat die pasiënte tot passiewe deelnemers reduseer wat almal eenders behandel word ten spyte van waargenome diversiteit in terme van kennis en behoeftes. Hulle word byvoorbeeld selde ’n spreekbeurt gegun, word maklik in die rede geval of verplig om hulle beurt vinnig te beëindig. Gevolglik is bevind dat beraders nie die kommunikatiewe doelwitte van die gesprekstipe ten volle verwesenlik nie. Hierdie studie bied ’n gespreksanalitiese karakterisering van VBT-konsultasies en ’n pragmatiese karakterisering van hoordertekens wat voorkom in VBT. Dit kan bydra tot beter begrip en bestuur van ’n area in MIV-sorg waar die behandeling van kwesbare pasiënte afhanklik is van wedersydse begrip tussen gespreksdeelnemers. Die bevindinge kan toegepas word in byvoorbeeld die ontwikkeling van nuwe opleidingsprogramme met die oog op toerusting van VBT-beraders om ’n pasiëntgesentreerde benadering in konsultasies te volg. Dit sal behels dat die fokus van die konsultasies verskuif van ’n geroetineerde vorm van inligtingoordrag na die skep van geleenthede waarbinne pasiënte op bevryde wyse meer onafhanklike bydraes tot die gesprek kan maak.
- ItemLiteracy practices in and out of school in multilingual Kenya : an ethnographic study of Tana River County(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-03) Abiyo, Rehema Bona; Oostendorp, Marcelyn; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.ENGLISH ABTRACT: This dissertation investigated the literacy practices in the multilingual context of Tana River County, Kenya. It aimed to understand the types of literacy practices children are exposed to, and engaged in, both in and out of school. The study was guided by the theoretical framework of ‘Critical Literacy’ (Freire, 1996). Within this broader framework of critical literacy, two specific theoretical concepts were used to understand the specific context, namely ‘Multiliteracies’ (The New London Group, 1996) and ‘Linguistic Citizenship’ (Stroud, 2001). The research was conducted in the Tana River County of Kenya, specifically within the Tsana village of the Pokomo language speakers’ community. The research used a qualitative design and the methodology used was linguistic ethnography. The participants in the study included teachers, grade 3 students and their parents. Data collection instruments for this included in-depth interviews, observations, documents analysis, children’s written narratives, and collection of literacy artifacts and linguistic landscapes. Data were collected over six months and analysed through thematic analysis. Findings from this study revealed that in this community the children are exposed to different literacy practices within the school and the community. The literacy resources in school are available in English which is the language of school. Within the community, the literacy practices are mostly articulated in the local languages. The literacy practices in this community are complex and presented themselves in a way that local languages can be appreciated. While the Pokomo language was missing in the school, it was used extensively for local practices such as village public announcements. In addition, Pokomo was present in the linguistic landscape of the village such as on murals, and traditional artifacts. This shows that the members of the Tsana village still value their local language and showcase it in unique places. The study also revealed that on one hand, teachers were not giving access to all available literacy materials (such as the tablets and mother tongue storybooks) for the learners in the classroom despite their availability in the school. The homes of the children were mostly literacy poor, and there was minimal parental involvement in the learning of the children. Through the children’s narrative writing activity, the study also revealed that children are very resourceful. Their relationship in meaning-making has an emotional link to their homes, to their out-of-school literacy experiences, and their relationship to writing is intimately linked to their experiences of schooling. By acknowledging the value of what learners bring from their informal learning from their homes to school, teachers can tap into the strengths of the learners and build them in the classroom as a way of multimodal learning that utilizes local resources.
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