There is a dearth of reading-material in Sepedi for children and youths because the written and reading language in Sepedi is relatively young. Any written texts for children and youths must therefore be in such a way as to be of interest to them. Madiba was a pioneer in such writing.
In view of this dearth of reading-material in Sepedi for children and youths, some attempts have been made to translate certain books from other languages in order to fill this gap. However such attempts have proved to be a far outcry to satisfy the existing need of such reading-material. To compound this alarming problem, parents at home do not teach their children how to read. This parental failure is more evident in rural areas where literacy is at its lowest ebb.
The thesis outlines the different reader groups and the kinds of the different reader groups as an illustration of the extant deficiency of Sepedi reading-material for children and youths. Though in the Sepedi traditional life there is a spoken or oral literature, the thesis focuses not thereon but on the written form of the literature for children and youths. The method of discussion is descriptive in nature and embarks on social-literacy approach with a strong educational flavour to prepare readers for life and enable the youths to adjust to social and cultural levels in life. In order to prickle the reading interest, pictures, colour, book cover, page lay-out, the letter type and size as well as the easy-to-handle size of the book are all of vital importance.
For interest sake, the stories in the books should be read to children not only in class but also at home. The contents of the book should also be appropriate for the particular age group. The structuring of the information should also promote the logical sequence of events. The sentences must be fluent in reading and the vocabulary be appropriate. The title of the book should also stimulate reading interest. Women should venture into the writing of books for children and youths since Sepedi books with stories for daughters are still lacking. Possible steps are suggested to encourage this waiting of reading-material for children and youths.
As a written and reading language, Sepedi is a relatively young language and the backlog that exists in this language in respect of child and youth reading-material is ascribable to this. The first written texts of this nature must therefore serve two purposes: in the first place it is used at school as reading-material, and at the same time the reading passages must be so composed and written that they serve as interesting reading-material for the children. School books written on this by Madiba serve as examples of these. These literacy works have therefore been graded in order to provide for those in the different educational levels. It goes without saying that there is a tremendous shortage of the reading-material of this nature. In order to cater for this shortage in some instances attempts have even been made to translate suitable works from other languages so as to provide these to children as supplementary reading-material. In spite of all attempts to overcome this problem, the progress that has been made in this regard so far is praiseworthy although it is far from being enough to satisfy the existing need. The reason for this is, among others, that the sale enjoyed by the written word in Sepedi is determined by the school market. It is also true that the role which the parent must play at home in the teaching of reading is not played especially in rural areas where literacy is not yet established.
In order to properly illustrate the existing deficiency in respect of child and youth reading-material in Sepedi, it is essential to outline the different (a) reader groups and (b) the kinds of the different reader groups. An important aspect which the researcher must not lose sight of is that in the Sepedi traditional life dispensation there is literature for the children which however is known as spoken or oral literature which is, as a result thereof, of a different kind especially in respect of the kinds which must be distinguished. A discussion hereof is not undertaken in this thesis; only the written form of the literature for the children and the young people is relevant here. The method in terms of which it is done is mainly descriptive in nature and only where it becomes necessary the information is subjected to interpretation.
The approach in terms of which the research is undertaken, is social-literary in nature with a strong educational flavour in order that these works should introduce the readers to and prepare them for life, it must better equip the youth for adjustment to social as well as cultural levels. In order to do that, there exist various strategies which not only make it easier for the reading of texts but also to whet the reading appetite. The reading of the text is expedited by presenting the book in a captivating manner.
In the subsequent chapters the extant Sepedi texts are taken through the magnifying glass. Conspicuous inclinations and tendencies are highly-lighted and discussed, since stories for daughters are still lacking and that women should venture into the writing of books for children and youths. Reasons for this are sought and possible steps are suggested to encourage the writing of reading-material for children and youths.
As skryf-en-leestaal is Sepedi n betreklike jong taal, en die agterstand wat in die taal t.o.v. kinder-en-jeuglektuur bestaan, kan hieraan toegeskryf word. Die eerste geskrewe tekste van die aard moes dus n dubbele doel dien: vereers is dit as leesmaterial op skool gebruik, en terselfdertyd moes die leesstukke so saamgestel en geskryf word dat dit interessante leesstof vir die kinders kon dien. Die skoolboekies wat daarom deur Madiba geskryf is, is dan ook voorbeelde hiervan. Die werkies is derhalwe so gegradeer dat hulle vir die in die verskillende opvoedkundige vlakke voorsiening maak. Dat daar n geweldige tekort aan leesstoff van die aard bestaan, spreek vanself. Ter aanvulling van die tekort is daar by geleenheid selfs gepoog om geskikte werkies uit tale te verhaal, en as bykommende leesstof vir die kinders daar te stel. Ten spyte van al die pogins om hierdie problem die hoof te bied, is die voordering wat hiermee gemaak is, wel prysenswaardig, maar nie by benadering voldoende om aan die bestaande behoefte te voldoen nie. Die rede hiervoor is o.a. dat die afset wat die geskrewe woord in Sepedi geniet, deur die skoolmark bepaal word. Ook is dit waar dat die rol wat die ouer tuis met die leesopvoeding moet speel, nie plaasvind nie, veral in die landelike gebiede waar geletterdheid nog nie behoorlik gevistig was nie.
Om die leemte wat t.o.v kinder-en-jeug-lektuur in Sepedi bestaan, behoorlik toe te lig, is dit nodig om die verskillende (a) lesergroepe en (b) genres vir die onderskeie lesergroepe uiteen te sit. n Belangrike saak wat die ondersoeker egter nie uit die oog mag verloor nie, is dat daar in die traditionale lewensbestel van die Sepedi wel n letterkunde bekend is, as gevolg waarvan dit ook ondersoortig is veral t.o.v. die genres wat onderskei word. n Bespreking hiervan word nie in hierdie proefskrif onderneem nie, slegs die geskrewe vorm van die literatuur vir die kinders en jong mense is hier ter sake. Die metode waarvolgens dit geskied, is hoofsaklik beskrywend van aard, en slegs waar dit nodig is, word die gegewens aan interpretasie onderwerp. Dir werkwyse waarbinne die ondersoek onderneem word, is sosiaal-literer van aard met n sterk opvoedkundige inslag daar hierdie werke die lesers daarvan moet inlei en voorberei vir die lewe; dit moet die aanpassing van die jeug op sowel sociale as kulturele vlak vergemaklik. Om dit te kan doen, bestaan daar verskillende strategee vat nie net die lees van tekste moet vergemaklik nie, maar ook n leesgierigheid moet aanwakker. Die lees van die teks word aangehelp deurdat die boek aantreklik aangebied word.
In die hieropvolgende hoofstrukke word die bestande Sepedi tekste onder die vergrootglas geneem. Opvallende neigings en tendense word uitgelig en besprek soos dat verhale vir dogters nog ontbreek en dat vroue hulle nog aan die skrywe van kinders en jeug boeke moet waag. Redes hiervoor word gesoek, en moontlike stappe word aan die hand gedoen om die skrywe aan kinder-en-jeuglektuur aan te moedig.
