Research Articles (African Languages)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/5632

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Modal expressions in Xhosa, Part I : Necessity
(Peeters Online Journals, 2024-12) Crane, Thera Marie; Savić, Stefan; Slater, Onelisa; Bernander, Rasmus
This study reports on an investigation of modal expressions of necessity in Xhosa, a Bantu language of South Africa. Combining analysis of occurrences in a small corpus and the native‑speaker intuitions of one of the paper’s authors, we describe patterns and restrictions in the distribution of two markers of necessity, auxiliary‑like fanele and funeka; we also give some notes on the necessity marker mele. The most significant differences in the meanings and uses of these markers are in the participant‑internal and epistemic domains, and the lexical meanings (still active in Xhosa, in addition to the markers’ modal functions) are evident in their usage distributions.
Doing things with grammar : presupposition accommodation across grammatical categories
(John Benjamins Publishing, 2024-12) Khachaturyan, Maria; Sandman, Erika; Crane, Thera Marie
This paper studies the way utterances project properties of the interactional context via the choice of grammatical indexicals. Our analysis is an original combination of existing theoretical developments including notions of grammatical indexicality (Silverstein 1976), of the relational structure of indexical reference (Hanks 2014) and of presupposition accommodation (von Fintel 2008; Heim 1982; Karttunen 1974, among others). While Silverstein (1976) suggested that different types of grammatical indexicals can be (relatively) context-creating or (relatively) context-presupposing, we argue that presupposition vs creativity is not a property of specific categories, but rather of tokens in a given context and that in natural interaction, they are subject to negotiation. While all indexicals are presupposing, there are two types of uses of pragmatic presupposition involved forming a scale (Mazzarella & Domaneschi 2018; Sbisà 1999): non-informative (when the presupposition is already part of common ground of the interlocutors) and informative (when the presupposition needs to be accommodated by the addressee). The theoretical analysis is grounded in a discussion of data on evidentiality, egophoricity, pronouns of address, demonstrative reference, and tense and is based on literature review, as well as first-hand recordings of conversations in Wutun (mixed Sinitic language, China) and Mano (Mande, Guinea).
Comparative analysis of black queer feminist isiXhosa and English poetry
(Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association, 2024-06-26) Chidi, Tsosheletso; Zondi, Nompumelelo; Mkhize, Gabi; u21767302@tuks.co.za
Black queer feminist literature remains under-researched. This reflects the societal marginalisation of black queer authors in South Africa. Our article offers a comparative analysis of the representation of black queer women by black queer and cisgender authors in selected isiXhosa and English poetry. The poems selected are from Unam Wena (2021) by Mthunzikazi Mbungwana and red cotton (2018) by vangile gantsho. Firstly, we explore how queer feminism is captured from a Xhosa perspective. Secondly, we explore how English is used to expose readers to black queerness, and, thirdly, we question how literary scholarship influences or limits black queer feminist literature and the functionality of queer feminist poetry as representations of black women. Discourse theory is used to examine how authors of the selected poetry construct knowledge about black queerness from a feminist perspective and shape how people understand it. In this article we adopt a narrative enquiry within the constructionism paradigm with qualitative textual analysis. Our analysis of the poetry reveals that, although the selected poets use two different languages, the same protest voice is foregrounded, with observable differences being primarily technical—namely how form, sound, and structure are employed to set the tone and mood in the issues addressed.
Geskiedenis van die Sepediskryfwyse
(South African Association for Language Teaching, 1999-12) Esterhuyse, C.J.; Groenewald, P.S. (Pieter Schalk)
The development of Sepedi as a written language extends over a period of 100 years, from 1870 to 1967 when the current orthography was finalised. The missionaries, who were to put Sepedi to writing, were members of the Berlin Missionary Society who arrived in South Africa in 1859. To fulfil their mission, they had to devise a writing system for Sepedi, because the translation of the Bible was their ultimate aim. In the development of Sepedi as a written language a clear distinction must be drawn between the period before October 1929 and the period thereafter. The period before October 1929 may be characterized as one of multiformity. Everyone wrote Sepedi as he thought best, since there was no coordinating body to control the development of the written form of Sepedi. The era after October 1929 is marked by the achievement of uniformity and standardisation. During this period an effort was made to create a uniform orthography for the written Sotho languages. At this point in time there were three written Sotho languages, namely, Sesotho (Southern Sotho), Setswana and Sepedi (Northern Sotho).
Gender stereotyping in Indlela yababi and Kuxolelwa abanjani? : a corpus linguistics approach
(NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor & Francis Group), 2023) Mncwango, Lungile; Van Niekerk, Jacomien (Jacomina); Taljard, Elsabe (Elizabeth); lungile.mncwango@up.ac.za
In this article, we use corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis to examine gender stereotyping in three isiZulu novels, namely Indlela yababi (‘The path of the wicked’) by RRR Dhlomo, Inkinsela yaseMgungundlovu (‘The tycoon of Pietermaritzburg’) by CLS Nyembezi, and Kuxolelwa abanjani? (‘Who deserves to be forgiven?’) by NG Sibiya. Our investigation regarding Inkinsela yaseMgungundlovu failed to deliver significant results, therefore our analysis is centred around the other two novels. Our focus is on the ways in which the body parts of female and male characters are used and described in the chosen texts. The article focuses on the following body parts: isandla and izandla (‘hand’ and ‘hands’), amehlo (‘eyes’), ikhanda (‘head’) and ubuso (‘face’). We investigate whether the ways in which female and male characters use their body parts and the ways in which they are described represent male and female characters stereotypically, as well as whether they reveal aspects of power relations between men and women. Our study employs the theoretical framework of gender studies. The results reveal that female characters are depicted as caring and supportive, emotional and beautiful, whereas male characters are depicted as courageous, in control of their emotions, aggressive and dangerous.
Consumptive and non-consumptive uses of water beetles (Aquatic coleopterans) in sub-Saharan traditional rituals
(MDPI, 2023-09) Mnisi, Lucky Nhlanhla; Zondi, Nompumelelo B.; Pikirayi, Innocent; mpume.zondi@up.ac.za
The use of wild animals in customary rituals and as a sustenance resource is a longstanding tradition within sub-Saharan Africa. The emergence of commercial trade, has, however, created unattainable demands and has led to the overexploitation of animals. These demands are threatening the conservation of animal species exploited in this trade. Comparatively little research effort has been dedicated to invertebrate species, and, specifically, their non-commercial uses. We explored the uses of water beetles in traditional rituals. We investigate the extent to which each of the non-commercial uses of water beetles exhibits consumptive and non-consumptive use features. The concepts are contested as their application for describing human–animal interactions has been challenged because of insufficient physiological and conservation data on the implications for animals of such interactions. The inadequacy of the available data pertaining to the use of animal resources was particularly pronounced. Most research efforts are skewed towards vertebrates at the expense of invertebrates. Regardless, the study shows that most non-commercial exploitation and uses of water beetles were mainly non-destructive and, if consumptive, the uses could be described as mainly nonlethal consumptive or sub-lethal consumptive. Rituals that could be described as lethal-consumptive comprised a smaller fraction of the uses of water beetles.
Subtitling, semiotics and spirited away
(European Association for Studies in Screen Translation, 2022-03) Sanders, Lisa
When translating a film according to typical subtitling models, the focus is usually solely on the dialogue of the film. Furthermore, the resulting translations are often impoverished to a large extent due to the constraints of the medium. The combined effects of this result in a significant loss of equivalence between the subtitles and the original linguistic and extralinguistic information. A potential method of preventing this loss is the application of a semiotic model for translation during the subtitling process. To this end, an existing model for the semiotranslation of film was enhanced and applied to the subtitling of the wildly popular Japanese animated film Spirited Away (2001). The resulting subtitles were evaluated for equivalence with the source text (ST) against the existing subtitle track that was distributed on a DVD release of the film. It was found that much more information, both from dialogue and on-screen extralinguistic content, could be conveyed by the semiotic subtitles than those created following more traditional subtitling norms.
The future of metalexicography : reaching for the mesosphere
(Bureau of the WAT, 2023-06) De Schryver, Gilles-Maurice
In this research article, a quantified look is taken at the metalexicographic endeavours of the past half century, starting in 1971. It is argued that the year 2021 represents a tipping point, and for that reason, when illustrations are needed in the article, those are preferably taken from the work of Sue Atkins, who passed away in 2021. It analyses the formation of the various continental lexicography associations, as well as their conferences and linked proceedings, and ends with the current and future role of the global lexicographic alliance. In addition, a comparative bibliometric study is undertaken of the four main journals of our field. It is shown that the number of metalexicographic studies and the impact these have continued to grow, to the point where dedicated tools and databases are currently needed for the efficient examination and use of the now many thousands of conference papers, journal articles, and other publications. A brief section also deals with modern dictionary user research, which is, according to current thinking, subsumed under metalexicography. With and from this vast amount of data, the future direction of metalexicography is extrapolated. The undertaken research is thus very much data-driven, and refrains from thought experiments to arrive at that future.
Generative AI and lexicography : the current state of the art using ChatGPT
(Oxford University Press, 2023-12) De Schryver, Gilles-Maurice
In this article, all ten papers and talks that have been devoted to the use of ChatGPT in lexicography so far are critically analysed, their results tabulated and cross-compared, from which the leading trends are determined. Extrapolating from the trendlines, a single short but robust new prompt is fine-tuned with which articles from different word classes are generated fully-automatically for a dictionary which compares favourably to the best practice in dictionary compilation. The conclusion is that a new age, that of the successful application of generative AI in lexicography, has dawned.
Optical character recognition and text cleaning in the indigenous South African languages
(Stellenbosch University, Library and Information Service, 2022) Prinsloo, Danie J. (Daniel Jacobus), 1953-; Taljard, Elsabe (Elizabeth); Goosen, Michelle; danie.prinsloo@up.ac.za
This article represents follow-up work on unpublished presentations by the authors of text and corpus cleaning strategies for the African languages. In this article we provide a comparative description of cleaning of web-sourced and text-sourced material to be used for the compilation of corpora with specific attention to cleaning of text-based material, since this is particularly relevant for the indigenous South African languages. For the purposes of this study, we use the term “web-sourced material” to refer to digital data sourced from the internet, whereas “text-based material” refers to hard copy textual material. We identify the different types of errors found in such texts, looking specifically at typical scanning errors in these languages, followed by an evaluation of three commercially available Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tools. We argue that the cleanness of texts is a matter of granularity, depending on the envisaged application of the corpus comprised by the texts. Text corpora which are to be utilized for e.g. lexicographic purposes can tolerate a higher level of ‘noise’ than those used for the compilation of e.g. spelling and grammar checkers. We conclude with some suggestions for text cleaning for the indigenous languages of South Africa.
Male perpetrators of violence against women in Achilles Tatius' Leucippe and Clitophon
(Classical Association of South Africa, 2022) Haskins, Susan L.; susan.haskins@up.ac.za
No study of violence against women in Achilles Tatius’ Leucippe and Clitophon has yet focussed on the male perpetrators of that violence. I contend that the novel depicts male perpetrators as failing to live up to the masculine ideal, ‘othering’ them from traditional masculinity, and accompanying positions of power, within the novel. This allows the perpetrators to represent a male whose masculinity is conflicted due to shifting notions of masculinity, resulting in a sense of insecurity and powerlessness that is sometimes compensated for with violence against women. The novel invites male readers to identify with these perpetrators temporarily, thus allowing them a brief respite from their own concerns about masculinity and power by enjoying the effects of this violence.
Towards a monitor corpus for a Bantu language : a case study of neology detection in Lusoga
(European Association for Lexicography, 2022) De Schryver, Gilles-Maurice; Nabirye, Minah
This paper looks at whether, after two decades of corpus building for the Bantu languages, the time is ripe to begin using monitor corpora. As a proof-of-concept, the usefulness of a Lusoga monitor corpus for lexicographic purposes, in case for the detection of neologisms, both in terms of new words and new meanings, is investigated and found useful.
Metalexicography : an existential crisis
(European Association for Lexicography, 2022) De Schryver, Gilles-Maurice
While there was arguably a need for multi-authored, multi-volume, metalexicographic handbooks three decades ago – when the field of metalexicography was still ‘young’ – it is a bit puzzling to make sense of the current output-flurry in this field. Is it simply a matter of ‘every publisher trying to fill its shelves’? or is there really a need in the scientific community for more and (continuously) updated reference works? And once available, are such works also consulted? Which parts? By whom? How often? For what purposes? In this paper we look at an ongoing, real-world metalexicographic handbook project to answer these questions.
Reduplication in Lusoga
(Peeters Online Journals, 2022) Marlo, Michael R.; Nabirye, Minah; De Schryver, Gilles-Maurice
This paper provides an in‑depth description of reduplication of verbs, nouns, and other word categories in Lusoga, drawing on introspected and elicited data, along with data from dictionaries and corpus texts, as well as material presented in the literature in research by Larry Hyman. Our description focuses on phonological details like vowel length, as both shortening and lengthening processes are found, as well as similarities and differences across the categories. Reduplication is generally total in that the entire stem is copied. CVCV verb stems show lengthening of the final vowel of the first half of the reduplicated stem, though this lengthening is generally not found with nominal reduplication. Across categories, V‑initial stems appear with an initial y, except before an i‑initial stem. Verb reduplication does not copy prefixes, but nominal reduplication finds cases of nasal overcopy, the overcopying of CV prefixes with V‑initial stems. In addition, nominal reduplication includes some examples of tripling of CV stems, which is not found with verbs. The reduplication of quantifiers, numerals, and adverbs differ from verbs and nouns in generally involving whole‑word doubling which copies prefixes in addition to the stem.
Cultural adaptation and Northern Sotho translation of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers
(AOSIS, 2022-01-13) Vorster, Carlien; Kritzinger, Alta M. (Aletta Margaretha); Lekganyane, Enniah Matemane; Taljard, Elsabe (Elizabeth); Van der Linde, Jeannie
BACKGROUND : In recent reviews of autism spectrum disorder screening tools, the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised with Follow-Up (M-CHAT-R/FTM) has been recommended for use in lower middle-income countries to promote earlier identification AIM : The study aim was to culturally adapt and translate the M-CHAT-R/FTM into Northern Sotho, a South African language. SETTING : An expert panel was purposively selected for the review and focus group discussion that was conducted within an academic context. METHOD : The source translation (English) was reviewed by bilingual Northern Sotho-English speech-language therapists who made recommendations for cultural adaptation. A double translation method was used, followed by a multidisciplinary expert panel discussion and a self-completed questionnaire. RESULTS : Holistic review of test, additional remarks and grammar and phrasing were identified as the most prominent themes of the panel discussion, emphasising the equivalence of the target translation. CONCLUSION : A South African culturally adapted English version of the M-CHAT-R/FTM is now available along with the preliminary Northern Sotho version of the M-CHAT-R/FTM. The two versions can now be confirmed by gathering empirical evidence of reliability and validity
‘Go beka’: Legato le bohlokwa la lenyalo la setšo
(NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor and Francis Group), 2021) Sefoka, Moipone Magdalina; Mojalefa, Mawatle Jeremiah (Jerry); jerry.mojalefa@up.ac.za
Nepokgolo ya nyakišišo ye ke go tsinkela lenyalo la setšo sa Bapedi go hlokometšwe kudu setšhaba sa ba Matlala ba tikologo ya Moutse. Go bile le dinyakišišo tšeo di dirilwego mabapi le lenyalo la setšo sa Bapedi. Le ge go le bjalo dinyakišišo tšeo di lebane le lenyalo la Bapedi ka kakaretšo leo le sa hlalošego magato a lenyalo ao ka Sepedi le ona a amogelegago mo lenyalong, bjalo ka legato la ‘Go beka’. Ge go lekolwa lenyalo la setšhaba se sa ba Matlala, go lemogwa gore sona se na le magato a lenyalo a go fapana le tšeo tše dingwe. Phapano ye kgolo ya lenyalo la setšo sa ba Matlala e theilwe godimo ga tshepedišo ya kgato ya go ikgetha ya go bitšwa legato la ‘Go beka’, leo ge le ka se phethagatšwe go thwego lenyalo la setšo ga se le felelele.
A writing assistant en route to a full computational grammar for Sepedi
(NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor and Francis Group), 2021) Prinsloo, Danie J. (Daniel Jacobus), 1953-; Prinsloo, Daniel; danie.prinsloo@up.ac.za
A detailed user study and observations by lecturers indicate that the correct compilation of sentences in the eight verbal moods as well as for a number of similar grammatically complicated constructions in Sepedi poses a challenge in any text production situation. Feedback from target users indicated that there is a need for a computational writing assistant for the compilation and verification of correct constructions. To address this need, an extended computational sentence builder for verbal moods, adjectives and possessive constructions in Sepedi was designed and built to assist in text production and to serve as a model for other African languages. This article introduces a prototype of such an extended computational sentence builder for verbal moods, adjectives and possessive constructions in Sepedi. The emphasis throughout is on the grammatical complexity of Sepedi and how the Sepedi Helper can assist users to produce correct sentences. In contrast to typical traditional grammars of Sepedi, the tool also provides the required cognitive information through basic clickable help screens. The Sepedi Helper is a dynamic lightweight tool aimed at combining user knowledge with a text production tool, i.e. user-involved, step-by-step production of Sepedi phrases. The emphasis in the design is on simplicity.
Lexicographic treatment of salient features and challenges in the creation of paper and electronic dictionaries
(European Association for Lexicography, 2021) Prinsloo, Danie J. (Daniel Jacobus), 1953-; danie.prinsloo@up.ac.za
This paper focuses on the need for lexicographers to study and to treat the salient features of languages satisfactorily and the challenges faced by lexicographers. The focus is on the challenges facing compilers of African language dictionaries and the lack of dictionaries for these languages. It will be argued that lexicographers are expected to fulfil the role of mediators between complicated grammatical structures, on the one hand, and the target users’ needs and expectations, on the other. Dictionaries are expected to be inclusive, e.g., providing for and fulfilling user expectations by giving all the required information in the dictionary in order to reduce the need for consultation of external sources. Expectations for future compilation of paper and electronic dictionaries are discussed. It is expected that paper dictionaries will be used in Africa for many years to come but that paper and electronic dictionaries of high lexicographic quality should be compiled simultaneously. The discussion is presented against the background of the transition of African lexicography from Euro-centred dictionary compilation to Afro-centric compilation. African language dictionaries are continuously compiled in Africa, by Africans for Africans.
A cross-linguistic study of blood metaphors in Afrikaans and Northern Sotho
(Routledge, 2021) Bosman, Nerina; Taljard, Elsabe (Elizabeth); nerina.bosman@up.ac.za
Although a considerable body of corpus-based metaphor research—with Conceptual Metaphor Theory as theoretical framework and heuristic tool—has been published internationally, South African studies in this field are lagging behind. This article aims to demonstrate how cross-linguistic metaphor research within a cognitive semantics framework can benefit from lexical and corpus-linguistic methodologies, with specific reference to two lesser-resourced languages, namely, Afrikaans and Northern Sotho. Criticism against the so-called lexical approach that characterised the early work on conceptual metaphor has led to an increase in corpus-based investigation. Corpus-based research into metaphor has many advantages, but it depends on the availability of large, annotated corpora, which is not a resource that indigenous South African languages, including Afrikaans, can rely upon. Our article demonstrates how metaphor research can benefit from both methodologies. Relying also on another conceptual tool, metonymy, we identified three conceptual metaphors, namely LIFE IS BLOOD, EMOTIONS ARE BLOOD, and INHERITANCE IS BLOOD.
Lexicographic data boxes. Part 2. Types and contents of data boxes with particular focus on dictionaries for English and African languages
(Buro van die WAT, 2021) Prinsloo, Danie J. (Daniel Jacobus), 1953-; Gouws, Rufus H.; danie.prinsloo@up.ac.za
This article, the second in a series of three on lexicographic data boxes, focuses pri-marily on the types and contents of data boxes with particular reference to dictionaries for English and African languages. It will be proposed that data boxes in paper and electronic dictionaries can be divided into three categories and that a hierarchy between these types of boxes can be distin-guished, i.e. (a) a bottom tier — data boxes used as mere alternatives to other lexicographic ways of presentation such as the bringing together of related items and/or to make entries visually more attractive, (b) a middle tier — addressing more salient features e.g. range of application, contrast, register, restrictions, etc. and (c) a top tier — vital salient information, e.g. warnings, taboos and even illegal words. A distinction is made between data boxes which are universal in nature, i.e. applicable to any language, data boxes pertaining to a language family and data boxes applicable to a specific language.

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