A critique of the language of record in South African courts in relation to selected university language policies
- Authors: Docrat, Zakeera
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Language policy -- South Africa , Forensic linguistics -- South Africa , Communication in law -- South Africa , Language planning -- South Africa , Linguistic rights -- South Africa , Court interpreting and translating -- South Africa , Multilingual education -- South Africa , Language and education -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Social aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PHD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141394 , vital:37968
- Description: This interdisciplinary research located in the research area of forensic linguistics seeks to provide a critique of the monolingual language of record directive for courts in South Africa, while investigating how university language policies contribute the formulation of a monolingual language of record policy for courts, by graduating monolingual LLB students. The research commences with identifying the research problem, goals and objectives and how the language of record policy for courts is linked to university language planning. The research proceeds to an overview of scholarly literature concerning the historical developments of language planning in both the legal system and higher education in South Africa. The theoretical principles concerning the enacting of language legislation and policies is advanced in relation to the constitutional framework. This research furthermore provides a thorough critique of the constitutional framework where the language rights the other related language provisions are discussed in relation to the theory and the application thereof in case law. The research explicates that the language rights of African language speaking litigants is unfairly limited and that access to justice for these litigants is either unattainable or achieved to a lesser extent. The disparities between language, law and power are brought to the fore, where the relevant legislation and language policies fail to determine the language of record in courts as well as legislate the African language requirements for legal practitioners in giving meaning to the constitutional language rights. The language policies of six selected universities is discussed in relation to the legal system’s legislative and policy frameworks, outlining the need to transform the language of learning and teaching and develop the curriculum to support the legal system. In doing so, the shortcomings of the interpretation profession in South Africa are highlighted and the effects thereof on the language rights of litigants. This thesis advances seven African and international case studies, comprising Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Australia, Belgium, Canada and India. Each of the case studies provides an in-depth analysis of the language of record/proceedings in courts and the language competencies of legal practitioners and judicial officers in relation to their university education. The African case studies are illustrative that English on the African continent in courts and higher education is dominate and the resultant loss of indigenous languages marginalises people from mainstream society. The international case studies provide two models, Belgium and Canada, which South Africa can emulate, in enacting new legislation and policies and the amendment of current legislation, to ensure bilingual/ multilingual language policies are drafted for courts per province, where the language demographics present majority spoken languages alongside English. Furthermore, where courts interpret language rights and legislative and policy provisions in a purposive manner, where African language speakers are able to, fully realise their rights. Australia and India as multilingual models serve as important case studies where South Africa can learn from what to avoid, how to subvert challenges or adequately address these. These case studies highlight the dangers of a political elite who pursue an English only agenda at the expense of the indigenous languages and the speakers thereof. This thesis in conclusion provides interdisciplinary recommendations that need to be implemented in order to address the language question in South African courts and higher education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Docrat, Zakeera
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Language policy -- South Africa , Forensic linguistics -- South Africa , Communication in law -- South Africa , Language planning -- South Africa , Linguistic rights -- South Africa , Court interpreting and translating -- South Africa , Multilingual education -- South Africa , Language and education -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Social aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PHD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141394 , vital:37968
- Description: This interdisciplinary research located in the research area of forensic linguistics seeks to provide a critique of the monolingual language of record directive for courts in South Africa, while investigating how university language policies contribute the formulation of a monolingual language of record policy for courts, by graduating monolingual LLB students. The research commences with identifying the research problem, goals and objectives and how the language of record policy for courts is linked to university language planning. The research proceeds to an overview of scholarly literature concerning the historical developments of language planning in both the legal system and higher education in South Africa. The theoretical principles concerning the enacting of language legislation and policies is advanced in relation to the constitutional framework. This research furthermore provides a thorough critique of the constitutional framework where the language rights the other related language provisions are discussed in relation to the theory and the application thereof in case law. The research explicates that the language rights of African language speaking litigants is unfairly limited and that access to justice for these litigants is either unattainable or achieved to a lesser extent. The disparities between language, law and power are brought to the fore, where the relevant legislation and language policies fail to determine the language of record in courts as well as legislate the African language requirements for legal practitioners in giving meaning to the constitutional language rights. The language policies of six selected universities is discussed in relation to the legal system’s legislative and policy frameworks, outlining the need to transform the language of learning and teaching and develop the curriculum to support the legal system. In doing so, the shortcomings of the interpretation profession in South Africa are highlighted and the effects thereof on the language rights of litigants. This thesis advances seven African and international case studies, comprising Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Australia, Belgium, Canada and India. Each of the case studies provides an in-depth analysis of the language of record/proceedings in courts and the language competencies of legal practitioners and judicial officers in relation to their university education. The African case studies are illustrative that English on the African continent in courts and higher education is dominate and the resultant loss of indigenous languages marginalises people from mainstream society. The international case studies provide two models, Belgium and Canada, which South Africa can emulate, in enacting new legislation and policies and the amendment of current legislation, to ensure bilingual/ multilingual language policies are drafted for courts per province, where the language demographics present majority spoken languages alongside English. Furthermore, where courts interpret language rights and legislative and policy provisions in a purposive manner, where African language speakers are able to, fully realise their rights. Australia and India as multilingual models serve as important case studies where South Africa can learn from what to avoid, how to subvert challenges or adequately address these. These case studies highlight the dangers of a political elite who pursue an English only agenda at the expense of the indigenous languages and the speakers thereof. This thesis in conclusion provides interdisciplinary recommendations that need to be implemented in order to address the language question in South African courts and higher education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Exploring teaching and learning German as a foreign language at a South African institution of higher education: blended learning and collocations
- Authors: Ortner, Gwyndolen Jeanie
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: German language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , German language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers -- South Africa , German language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- English speakers -- South Africa , Rhodes University -- Students , Rhodes University. German Studies
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167295 , vital:41465
- Description: German Studies students at Rhodes University have normally never studied the German language before enrolling for the first-year course and face the challenge of a fairly rapid linguistic advancement, in a context with very limited exposure to the foreign language outside the classroom. Free writing is an area which students find particularly challenging as it requires students to syndissertatione grammatical and vocabulary knowledge. Furthermore, South African students are often underprepared for the challenges they face at university regarding language, technology and finance, as they try to to assimilate to the academic environment and gain epistemological access to their various subjects, in this case, language acquisition and the attendant modules of translation, literature and cultural studies. The use of technology in teaching and learning, known as blended learning, is said to produce better results than face-to face teaching alone, through creating opportunities for more autonomous student learning. Scholars of instructed second-language acquisition also suggest using technology to improve language instruction. One particular area which is gaining ground is teaching students collocational structures through exploring large language corpora, to improve students’ language competencies such as writing fluency. However, both blended learning practices and corpus-based teaching practices suggested by scholars are often not reported on in a particular teaching and learning context, taking into account factors such as institutional infrastructure, student and staff backgrounds and preparedness, and larger socio-political factors. Thus, it remains unclear how these practices (blended learning and corpus-based teaching of collocations) may be integrated into standard urricula, particularly for languages other than English, which have been severely under-researched. The purpose of this research is to take a context-based approach to language teaching and thereby investigate current blended learning practices for German Studies at Rhodes University in South Africa and explore through an action research approach how to integrate collocational awareness into the curriculum, within the blended learning model. Insights from corpus linguistics guide an adaptation of teaching practice, helping students develop skills to aid with writing fluency, seeking to make the patterned nature of language salient to our students. This is undertaken in a scaffolded way, within the curriculum, making use firstly of the texts to which students are exposed in the textbook (comprehensible input) as a source of collocational examples, and following this by making use of reallife language data from an online German corpus, DWDS. Findings from the study reveal a number of best practices related to the use of blended learning and teaching collocations in context of the German foreign language curriculum at a South African institution of higher education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Ortner, Gwyndolen Jeanie
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: German language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , German language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers -- South Africa , German language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- English speakers -- South Africa , Rhodes University -- Students , Rhodes University. German Studies
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167295 , vital:41465
- Description: German Studies students at Rhodes University have normally never studied the German language before enrolling for the first-year course and face the challenge of a fairly rapid linguistic advancement, in a context with very limited exposure to the foreign language outside the classroom. Free writing is an area which students find particularly challenging as it requires students to syndissertatione grammatical and vocabulary knowledge. Furthermore, South African students are often underprepared for the challenges they face at university regarding language, technology and finance, as they try to to assimilate to the academic environment and gain epistemological access to their various subjects, in this case, language acquisition and the attendant modules of translation, literature and cultural studies. The use of technology in teaching and learning, known as blended learning, is said to produce better results than face-to face teaching alone, through creating opportunities for more autonomous student learning. Scholars of instructed second-language acquisition also suggest using technology to improve language instruction. One particular area which is gaining ground is teaching students collocational structures through exploring large language corpora, to improve students’ language competencies such as writing fluency. However, both blended learning practices and corpus-based teaching practices suggested by scholars are often not reported on in a particular teaching and learning context, taking into account factors such as institutional infrastructure, student and staff backgrounds and preparedness, and larger socio-political factors. Thus, it remains unclear how these practices (blended learning and corpus-based teaching of collocations) may be integrated into standard urricula, particularly for languages other than English, which have been severely under-researched. The purpose of this research is to take a context-based approach to language teaching and thereby investigate current blended learning practices for German Studies at Rhodes University in South Africa and explore through an action research approach how to integrate collocational awareness into the curriculum, within the blended learning model. Insights from corpus linguistics guide an adaptation of teaching practice, helping students develop skills to aid with writing fluency, seeking to make the patterned nature of language salient to our students. This is undertaken in a scaffolded way, within the curriculum, making use firstly of the texts to which students are exposed in the textbook (comprehensible input) as a source of collocational examples, and following this by making use of reallife language data from an online German corpus, DWDS. Findings from the study reveal a number of best practices related to the use of blended learning and teaching collocations in context of the German foreign language curriculum at a South African institution of higher education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
IsiXhosa as the language of teaching and learning mathematics in Grade Six: investigating the mother tongue based bilingual education mathematics pilot in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Authors: Mbude, Naledi Ntombizanele
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa , Education, Bilingual -- South Africa , Native language and education -- South Africa , Language policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PHD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143262 , vital:38215
- Description: This study is an investigation on lessons learnt when the language of learners is maintained for teaching and learning mathematics beyond Grade 3 for another 3 years. It is undertaken in Cofimvaba, a rural village of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. We investigate lessons that can be learnt from the Mother Tongue based- Bilingual Education (MTbBE) strategy, that can be replicated. South Africa post-1994 has a Language-in-Education Policy (1997) that provides for the use of all official languages as Languages of Teaching and Learning (LoLT), this has remained on paper as the schooling system focusses on an early –exit model of three years of the Mother Tongue Education (MTE) for the Foundation Phase (FP) then exit to English instruction in Grade 4; this applies to African language learners only. English and Afrikaans speakers have mother tongue education from cradle to university; a benefit they have enjoyed pre- and post-apartheid. Various studies have been conducted to understand the relationship between language and mathematics learning as it is crucial to design mathematics instruction for students who are English Learners (ELs) and/or bilingual. However, in South Africa, there had not been a direct exploration of the achievement of learners in mathematics when their mother tongue is used and sustained throughout the first six years of learning mathematics, while English is a supportive resource. This is the focus of this study. The study lends itself to the adoption of a mixed methods design (QUALT+QUANT), while also employing documents, observation and test scores of learners to obtain data. Content analysis and thematic analysis approaches were used in analyzing the qualitative-type data while a statistical approach was used in the analysis of quantitative data. The main aim of the study was to establish whether in the Cofimvaba pilot, there is any evidence to make a case for extending Mother Tongue Based-bilingual Education (MTBBE) beyond Grade 3 for black African children. Another aim, was to highlight and document the effort that was the first of its kind in South Africa, undertaken in a small rural area to develop isiXhosa as language of Mathematics and Science. The most salient of this effort was the fact that it was underpinned by deliberate theoretical and empirical foundations central to language policy and planning. The finding of this study is that the use of isiXhosa for MTbBE was effective for boosting mathematical and science skills in the mother tongue and English in Grade 6 as demonstrated in Chapter 7 and 8. Lastly, this study demonstrates the power of political will and how a decision backed by financial investment can transform the wider system despite the challenges of transformation. For the first time in the history of education; a poor department has stuck to its guns; unwearied by the negativity surrounding the development of African languages. It committed to the cause of improving the academic achievement of the poorest of the poor. Historically, in implementing a Mathematics Curriculum, the Department of Education (both officials and teachers) has never efficiently implemented the LiEP (1997) in the manner spelt out in its policy documents viz, multilingualism as the norm. The focus has been on a perspective of learners who are learning and must English, then mathematics and ways to get them to know English at all costs. This view creates inequities in the classroom because it places emphasis on what learners don’t know or can’t do. In contrast, this study proposes a sociocultural perspective that shifts away from deficiency models of bilingual learners and instead focuses on describing the resources bilingual students use to communicate mathematically (Moskovich, 1988). Without this shift we will have a limited view of these learners and will design instruction that neglects the competencies they bring to mathematics classrooms. If, instead, we learn to recognize the mathematical ideas these students express in spite of their accents, code-switching, or missing vocabulary, then instruction can build on students’ competencies and resources (Moskovich, 1998). This study recommends a plethora of strategies that must be taken by the Department of Education to widen epistemological access to mathematics for African language learners using MTbBE as a viable strategy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Mbude, Naledi Ntombizanele
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa , Education, Bilingual -- South Africa , Native language and education -- South Africa , Language policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PHD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143262 , vital:38215
- Description: This study is an investigation on lessons learnt when the language of learners is maintained for teaching and learning mathematics beyond Grade 3 for another 3 years. It is undertaken in Cofimvaba, a rural village of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. We investigate lessons that can be learnt from the Mother Tongue based- Bilingual Education (MTbBE) strategy, that can be replicated. South Africa post-1994 has a Language-in-Education Policy (1997) that provides for the use of all official languages as Languages of Teaching and Learning (LoLT), this has remained on paper as the schooling system focusses on an early –exit model of three years of the Mother Tongue Education (MTE) for the Foundation Phase (FP) then exit to English instruction in Grade 4; this applies to African language learners only. English and Afrikaans speakers have mother tongue education from cradle to university; a benefit they have enjoyed pre- and post-apartheid. Various studies have been conducted to understand the relationship between language and mathematics learning as it is crucial to design mathematics instruction for students who are English Learners (ELs) and/or bilingual. However, in South Africa, there had not been a direct exploration of the achievement of learners in mathematics when their mother tongue is used and sustained throughout the first six years of learning mathematics, while English is a supportive resource. This is the focus of this study. The study lends itself to the adoption of a mixed methods design (QUALT+QUANT), while also employing documents, observation and test scores of learners to obtain data. Content analysis and thematic analysis approaches were used in analyzing the qualitative-type data while a statistical approach was used in the analysis of quantitative data. The main aim of the study was to establish whether in the Cofimvaba pilot, there is any evidence to make a case for extending Mother Tongue Based-bilingual Education (MTBBE) beyond Grade 3 for black African children. Another aim, was to highlight and document the effort that was the first of its kind in South Africa, undertaken in a small rural area to develop isiXhosa as language of Mathematics and Science. The most salient of this effort was the fact that it was underpinned by deliberate theoretical and empirical foundations central to language policy and planning. The finding of this study is that the use of isiXhosa for MTbBE was effective for boosting mathematical and science skills in the mother tongue and English in Grade 6 as demonstrated in Chapter 7 and 8. Lastly, this study demonstrates the power of political will and how a decision backed by financial investment can transform the wider system despite the challenges of transformation. For the first time in the history of education; a poor department has stuck to its guns; unwearied by the negativity surrounding the development of African languages. It committed to the cause of improving the academic achievement of the poorest of the poor. Historically, in implementing a Mathematics Curriculum, the Department of Education (both officials and teachers) has never efficiently implemented the LiEP (1997) in the manner spelt out in its policy documents viz, multilingualism as the norm. The focus has been on a perspective of learners who are learning and must English, then mathematics and ways to get them to know English at all costs. This view creates inequities in the classroom because it places emphasis on what learners don’t know or can’t do. In contrast, this study proposes a sociocultural perspective that shifts away from deficiency models of bilingual learners and instead focuses on describing the resources bilingual students use to communicate mathematically (Moskovich, 1988). Without this shift we will have a limited view of these learners and will design instruction that neglects the competencies they bring to mathematics classrooms. If, instead, we learn to recognize the mathematical ideas these students express in spite of their accents, code-switching, or missing vocabulary, then instruction can build on students’ competencies and resources (Moskovich, 1998). This study recommends a plethora of strategies that must be taken by the Department of Education to widen epistemological access to mathematics for African language learners using MTbBE as a viable strategy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Journeying home, exile and transnationalism in Noni Jabavu and Sisonke Msimang’s memoirs
- Authors: Masola, Athambile
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Home in literature , Exile (Punishment) in literature , Women authors, Black -- South Africa -- History and criticism , Jabavu, Noni -- Criticism and interpretation , Msimang, Sisonke -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/166529 , vital:41376
- Description: This thesis examines the memoirs of two South Africa female writers: Noni Jabavu and Sisonke Msimang. In analysing their memoirs, this thesis sets out to contribute to the scholarship which centres the voices of Black women writers. It explores how both writers interrogate the concepts of home, exile and transnationalism. My focus is on the ways in which the writers theorise questions of belonging, and the extent to which their writing provides the opportunity to give voice to the complex nature of belonging. I read the narratives from these two writers alongside each other, as Noni Jabavu is Sisonke Msimang’s literary ancestor. By looking at their works alongside each other, this thesis becomes an intergenerational conversation between the past and the present. Using Black feminist thought and migratory subjectivity, this thesis examines the ways in which these writers connect the personal and the political. Noni and Sisonke navigate the private spaces of home in conversation with the political experience of exile and the nation. In the second chapter, I explore home as ekhaya, isizwe and an imaginary homeland. Ekhaya is the isiXhosa word denoting the family home, where there is a network of family rather than a nuclear family. Home is also isizwe: the isiXhosa word which evokes the nation state, which takes on layered meanings in the context of colonialism and apartheid. Home can also be an imaginary homeland, which is an imagined version of home after a long absence such as exile. In the third chapter, I examine three forms of exile: internal exile, estrangement and political exile. Finally, in chapter four, I analyse transnationalism: a border-crossing which raises questions of power, mobility and kinship. Looking at home, exile and transnationalism together allows for an exploration which challenges taken-for-granted ideas about place and identity. These memoirs illuminate the ways in which Black women constitute and reconstitute their identities according to the places which they access through travel.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Masola, Athambile
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Home in literature , Exile (Punishment) in literature , Women authors, Black -- South Africa -- History and criticism , Jabavu, Noni -- Criticism and interpretation , Msimang, Sisonke -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/166529 , vital:41376
- Description: This thesis examines the memoirs of two South Africa female writers: Noni Jabavu and Sisonke Msimang. In analysing their memoirs, this thesis sets out to contribute to the scholarship which centres the voices of Black women writers. It explores how both writers interrogate the concepts of home, exile and transnationalism. My focus is on the ways in which the writers theorise questions of belonging, and the extent to which their writing provides the opportunity to give voice to the complex nature of belonging. I read the narratives from these two writers alongside each other, as Noni Jabavu is Sisonke Msimang’s literary ancestor. By looking at their works alongside each other, this thesis becomes an intergenerational conversation between the past and the present. Using Black feminist thought and migratory subjectivity, this thesis examines the ways in which these writers connect the personal and the political. Noni and Sisonke navigate the private spaces of home in conversation with the political experience of exile and the nation. In the second chapter, I explore home as ekhaya, isizwe and an imaginary homeland. Ekhaya is the isiXhosa word denoting the family home, where there is a network of family rather than a nuclear family. Home is also isizwe: the isiXhosa word which evokes the nation state, which takes on layered meanings in the context of colonialism and apartheid. Home can also be an imaginary homeland, which is an imagined version of home after a long absence such as exile. In the third chapter, I examine three forms of exile: internal exile, estrangement and political exile. Finally, in chapter four, I analyse transnationalism: a border-crossing which raises questions of power, mobility and kinship. Looking at home, exile and transnationalism together allows for an exploration which challenges taken-for-granted ideas about place and identity. These memoirs illuminate the ways in which Black women constitute and reconstitute their identities according to the places which they access through travel.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Making South African tertiary education multilingual: the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of SANTED Multilingualism Projects 2007 – 2010
- Authors: Nosilela, Bulelwa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South Africa-Norway Tertiary Education Development Programme , Language policy -- South Africa , Multilingual education -- South Africa , Language and education -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Social aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PHD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140513 , vital:37895
- Description: This thesis focuses on multilingualism as it applies to education, particularly higher education in South Africa. The thesis suggests that language must be seen as critical in education (Obanya, 2004; Wolff, 2006). This thesis also suggests that there is a link between a person’s general competence in an educational environment, and that person’s language competence. In support of other scholars, this thesis also finds that learners from low social classes in society have a restricted linguistic code and therefore the learners from these social classes lack the ability to express themselves in an elaborative manner in a cognitive situation while learners from upper social class have an elaborate linguistic repertoire in the language of instruction, namely English. Even though general policy in South Africa and Africa as a whole recognises this relationship between language and education, this thesis finds that very little is being done to implement these well-meaning policies. The SANTED (South Africa-Norway-Tertiary-Education) programme, which forms the focus of this thesis, is seen as an exception. While there is an increase in the number of learners and students accessing centres of learning, especially those from historically-disadvantaged backgrounds (CHE Higher Education Monitor, 2008), there is at the same time rigorous debate in South Africa at the moment as to whether these learners and students benefit optimally from knowledge offered in centres of learning, and are therefore, not accomplishing success expected from them (Boughey, 2008). This thesis suggests that at the centre of this debate is the understanding that, while there are a variety of factors that might affect their success, for example social and economic status, schooling background in case of students in higher education, language plays a pivotal role. This thesis analyses the challenges and successes which faced the SANTED programme at a number of South African institutions where language issues were brought to the centre of the learning process. The thesis also assesses best practices in various African countries and makes recommendations regarding language-use in Higher Education, as part of a transformationprocess. The collaboration between the South African and Norwegian governments provided impetus to policy implementation. It also had other focus areas such as capacity building, access, success and retention and collaboration with Southern African Developing Countries (SADC). This thesis shows, through a critical analysis of SANTED, that it represented an important intervention regarding the promotion of multilingualism.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Nosilela, Bulelwa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South Africa-Norway Tertiary Education Development Programme , Language policy -- South Africa , Multilingual education -- South Africa , Language and education -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Social aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PHD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140513 , vital:37895
- Description: This thesis focuses on multilingualism as it applies to education, particularly higher education in South Africa. The thesis suggests that language must be seen as critical in education (Obanya, 2004; Wolff, 2006). This thesis also suggests that there is a link between a person’s general competence in an educational environment, and that person’s language competence. In support of other scholars, this thesis also finds that learners from low social classes in society have a restricted linguistic code and therefore the learners from these social classes lack the ability to express themselves in an elaborative manner in a cognitive situation while learners from upper social class have an elaborate linguistic repertoire in the language of instruction, namely English. Even though general policy in South Africa and Africa as a whole recognises this relationship between language and education, this thesis finds that very little is being done to implement these well-meaning policies. The SANTED (South Africa-Norway-Tertiary-Education) programme, which forms the focus of this thesis, is seen as an exception. While there is an increase in the number of learners and students accessing centres of learning, especially those from historically-disadvantaged backgrounds (CHE Higher Education Monitor, 2008), there is at the same time rigorous debate in South Africa at the moment as to whether these learners and students benefit optimally from knowledge offered in centres of learning, and are therefore, not accomplishing success expected from them (Boughey, 2008). This thesis suggests that at the centre of this debate is the understanding that, while there are a variety of factors that might affect their success, for example social and economic status, schooling background in case of students in higher education, language plays a pivotal role. This thesis analyses the challenges and successes which faced the SANTED programme at a number of South African institutions where language issues were brought to the centre of the learning process. The thesis also assesses best practices in various African countries and makes recommendations regarding language-use in Higher Education, as part of a transformationprocess. The collaboration between the South African and Norwegian governments provided impetus to policy implementation. It also had other focus areas such as capacity building, access, success and retention and collaboration with Southern African Developing Countries (SADC). This thesis shows, through a critical analysis of SANTED, that it represented an important intervention regarding the promotion of multilingualism.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Performance, functionalism and form in Ịzọn oral poety
- Authors: Armstrong, Imomotimi
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Ijo (African people , Ijo language , Folk poetry, Ijo , Folk poetry -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140641 , vital:37906
- Description: Since the publication of Ruth Finnegan’s influential Oral Literature in Africa, way back in 1970, scholars have been paying earnest attention to oral traditions on the African continent. That seminal book pointed out to Africanist scholars the need to urgently collect and document the oral literatures of their various ethnic groups before they die out. However, it is the verbal arts of the major ethnic groups on the continent that very often benefit from this collection and documentation, as it were. Therefore, this study sought to examine the oral poetry of the Ịzọn, a minority ethnic nationality, located in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The study employed unstructured interviews and participant observations to collect the data for the research. The transcribed and translated data was examined through three eclectic theories to the study of folklore: Russian formalism, performance and functionalism. The study found out that Ịzọn oral poetry is a combination of songs and one person’s praise chants. Moreover, it revealed that praise chanting is a recent practice amongst the Ịzọn that was introduced into Ịzọnland by Chief Adolphus Munamuna from the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria. Furthermore, the study established that oral poetry plays important roles amongst the people. Besides, it ascertained that the performance of some sub-categories of the poetry is highly dramatic and theatrical. It also discovered that stylistic techniques such as formula, parallelism, proverb, ideophone, praise title, metaphor, repetition, alliteration, assonance, vowel lengthening, amongst others, give the poetry the quality of “literariness.” In addition, the study found out that the poetry, like oral poetry in other ethnic groups, demonstrates the three qualities of change, adaptability and survival. The study has contributed to existing scholarship on African oral traditions in the sense of collecting, documenting and generating awareness on Ịzọn oral poetry, most importantly pointing out the existence of praise chanting amongst a people who had no such culture and the conditions that gave rise to that practice.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Armstrong, Imomotimi
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Ijo (African people , Ijo language , Folk poetry, Ijo , Folk poetry -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140641 , vital:37906
- Description: Since the publication of Ruth Finnegan’s influential Oral Literature in Africa, way back in 1970, scholars have been paying earnest attention to oral traditions on the African continent. That seminal book pointed out to Africanist scholars the need to urgently collect and document the oral literatures of their various ethnic groups before they die out. However, it is the verbal arts of the major ethnic groups on the continent that very often benefit from this collection and documentation, as it were. Therefore, this study sought to examine the oral poetry of the Ịzọn, a minority ethnic nationality, located in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The study employed unstructured interviews and participant observations to collect the data for the research. The transcribed and translated data was examined through three eclectic theories to the study of folklore: Russian formalism, performance and functionalism. The study found out that Ịzọn oral poetry is a combination of songs and one person’s praise chants. Moreover, it revealed that praise chanting is a recent practice amongst the Ịzọn that was introduced into Ịzọnland by Chief Adolphus Munamuna from the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria. Furthermore, the study established that oral poetry plays important roles amongst the people. Besides, it ascertained that the performance of some sub-categories of the poetry is highly dramatic and theatrical. It also discovered that stylistic techniques such as formula, parallelism, proverb, ideophone, praise title, metaphor, repetition, alliteration, assonance, vowel lengthening, amongst others, give the poetry the quality of “literariness.” In addition, the study found out that the poetry, like oral poetry in other ethnic groups, demonstrates the three qualities of change, adaptability and survival. The study has contributed to existing scholarship on African oral traditions in the sense of collecting, documenting and generating awareness on Ịzọn oral poetry, most importantly pointing out the existence of praise chanting amongst a people who had no such culture and the conditions that gave rise to that practice.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Students’ perspectives on the language question in South African Higher Education: the expression of marginalized linguistic identities on Rhodes University students’ Facebook pages
- Authors: Resha, Babalwa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Language policy -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Language and education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Sociolinguistics -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Language and languages -- Study and teaching -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Linguistic rights -- South Africa , Translanguaging (Linguistics) , Multilingual education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Educational change -- South Africa -- Makhanda , South Africa – Makhanda -- Language and languages -- Political aspects , Student movements -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Online social networks -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Rhodes University -- Sociological aspects , Facebook (Firm) , UCKAR
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/119813 , vital:34785
- Description: The study analyses students’ engagement with the language question in South African Higher Education (HE) and their use of African languages on the institutional Facebook pages, namely UCKAR and RHODES SRC, during the student protests of 2015 to early 2017. Extensive use of social media is a salient feature of the protests as indicated by the hashtag prefixes such as #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall. On these platforms, disgruntled students use their multiple languages to interact, establish a sense of belonging and power to challenge different forms of exclusionary institutional culture, including language policies and practices in HE. The research examines and explores students’ perspectives on the language question in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on the two institutional Facebook pages, and how mother tongue speakers of indigenous African languages use these languages to express their marginalized linguistic identities in HEIs in South Africa. Theoretically, the study uses the notion of linguistic imperialism to provide a broad context for understanding the language question in South African HE and its significance in transformation. The engagement with the language question on the UCKAR and RHODES SRC Facebook pages is carried out from the lenses of citizen sociolinguistics while the new theory of translanguaging offers the analysis on language usage and alternative ways of addressing linguistic hegemony in educational environments. The translanguaging approach has the capacity to demonstrate multi-layered linguistic practices and reflections on the UCKAR and RHODES pages. It is the interest of the researcher to investigate how students with various linguistic and other backgrounds engage the language question and perform linguistic identities. Language usage on the two Rhodes University institutional Facebook pages and its implications on students’ engagement with issues, is used to provide insight towards the implementation of multilingualism in the university. The study is virtual ethnographic in nature. Virtual ethnography is an online research method that employs ethnographic research to study online social interactions. To analyse data, the study used a textual analysis technique as it looks at any analysis of texts broadly. Critical Discourse Analysis approach was used to analyse language debates. Purposive sampling was also used to select Facebook posts and comments on the language question and those written in African languages, and interviews were conducted with key members of Rhodes University, to bring forth their perspectives on the institution’s language policy and to figure out what plans are put into place to engage students in debates on the language question because students are important stakeholders of the university, and at the same time some of these students are also speakers of indigenous African languages. In general, the research findings have shown that students as users of languages in HEIs are capable of engendering debates that could be used as solutions to the language question and transformation in the South African HEIs. Thus, this study offers a different approach into engaging with students, their perspective and debates through institutional Facebook pages. In addition, it offers students’ perspectives on the curriculum of the university and how the university can go about its transformation. This study provides evidence that the use of indigenous African languages by mother tongue speakers of these languages in institutes of higher learning and their related institutional Facebook pages and social media in general, is an expression of marginalized linguistic identities of these language speakers. Sometimes these identities are multiple, and students use different modalities to express them, hence the notion of translanguaging.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Resha, Babalwa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Language policy -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Language and education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Sociolinguistics -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Language and languages -- Study and teaching -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Linguistic rights -- South Africa , Translanguaging (Linguistics) , Multilingual education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Educational change -- South Africa -- Makhanda , South Africa – Makhanda -- Language and languages -- Political aspects , Student movements -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Online social networks -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Rhodes University -- Sociological aspects , Facebook (Firm) , UCKAR
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/119813 , vital:34785
- Description: The study analyses students’ engagement with the language question in South African Higher Education (HE) and their use of African languages on the institutional Facebook pages, namely UCKAR and RHODES SRC, during the student protests of 2015 to early 2017. Extensive use of social media is a salient feature of the protests as indicated by the hashtag prefixes such as #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall. On these platforms, disgruntled students use their multiple languages to interact, establish a sense of belonging and power to challenge different forms of exclusionary institutional culture, including language policies and practices in HE. The research examines and explores students’ perspectives on the language question in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on the two institutional Facebook pages, and how mother tongue speakers of indigenous African languages use these languages to express their marginalized linguistic identities in HEIs in South Africa. Theoretically, the study uses the notion of linguistic imperialism to provide a broad context for understanding the language question in South African HE and its significance in transformation. The engagement with the language question on the UCKAR and RHODES SRC Facebook pages is carried out from the lenses of citizen sociolinguistics while the new theory of translanguaging offers the analysis on language usage and alternative ways of addressing linguistic hegemony in educational environments. The translanguaging approach has the capacity to demonstrate multi-layered linguistic practices and reflections on the UCKAR and RHODES pages. It is the interest of the researcher to investigate how students with various linguistic and other backgrounds engage the language question and perform linguistic identities. Language usage on the two Rhodes University institutional Facebook pages and its implications on students’ engagement with issues, is used to provide insight towards the implementation of multilingualism in the university. The study is virtual ethnographic in nature. Virtual ethnography is an online research method that employs ethnographic research to study online social interactions. To analyse data, the study used a textual analysis technique as it looks at any analysis of texts broadly. Critical Discourse Analysis approach was used to analyse language debates. Purposive sampling was also used to select Facebook posts and comments on the language question and those written in African languages, and interviews were conducted with key members of Rhodes University, to bring forth their perspectives on the institution’s language policy and to figure out what plans are put into place to engage students in debates on the language question because students are important stakeholders of the university, and at the same time some of these students are also speakers of indigenous African languages. In general, the research findings have shown that students as users of languages in HEIs are capable of engendering debates that could be used as solutions to the language question and transformation in the South African HEIs. Thus, this study offers a different approach into engaging with students, their perspective and debates through institutional Facebook pages. In addition, it offers students’ perspectives on the curriculum of the university and how the university can go about its transformation. This study provides evidence that the use of indigenous African languages by mother tongue speakers of these languages in institutes of higher learning and their related institutional Facebook pages and social media in general, is an expression of marginalized linguistic identities of these language speakers. Sometimes these identities are multiple, and students use different modalities to express them, hence the notion of translanguaging.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Transgression and transcultural blending: reading the work of Adelaide Fassinou
- Authors: Ishaya, Nandi Salome
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955- -- Criticism and interpretation , Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955- -- Jeté en pâture , Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955- -- Modukpè, le rêve brisé. , African literature (French) -- History and criticism
- Language: French , English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7500 , vital:21266
- Description: In Adelaide Fassinou’s novel Jete en pature (“Thrown to the lions/wolves”), the female character Fifame declares that “novels/books have sides that one is attached to. The lives of people roll pass our eyes. Some stories resemble ours” (JP, 147). Fassinou herself says: By reading this book dear friend, the stories of all these women who lived nowhere except in my imagination, may be like yours. But the fiction in which they themselves moved makes it so close and we share in their tragedy (MRB, 7). The above comments reflect the idea of sociocriticism which opines that a literary work could be a representation of the society of its author. This goes to say that real events can feed literary imagination more and more. Also, Fifame continues that “a book/novel is a path marked by steps, falls, and races towards a future that is bright or a bleak” (JP, 147). The verbs which connote ‘bright’ and ‘bleak’ in this comment unveil the writing idea/conception which Fassinou adheres to. “Bright” in our opinion could connote the gains of cross cultural blending, the precise outcome/result of modernity. “Bleak” on the other hand could refer to the violation of certain cultural values and or better still to transgressive attitudes in a society that is in the process of radical transformation. As such, transgression and cross cultural blending are the focal points of our discussion in this research. We have chosen to analyse some literary works of Adelaide Fassinou, a beninoise who came into the literary scene at the threshold of the new millennium, in 2000. It could then be said that Fassinou belongs to a new generation of African writers, the writers of the new millennium. The title of her first novel is revealing. Its title, Modukpe, le reve brise could imply that man always has a dream but in the course of time, this dream could be broken due to one factor or the other. In Fassinou, the lack of the realization of dreams could be the result of our vision of the world where new ideas oppose tradition to the extent that modernity is seen simply as a transgression of the laws of tradition. Admittedly, it is transgression in the fictional novel, a transgression against tradition and or nature because “nature has its laws”. The life experiences of man especially the female gender, “A whole lifetime is not enough to speak about it” And the story of being “Thrown to the lions” is one of such experiences. Reading Fassinou’s work, one vi could note that she presents enough social problems which reflect the notion of transgression. As a result, for the woman to liberate herself, the author who represents the woman, resorts to writing “Poems of love and brambles” of “Her exiles and her loves” because it is needful to speak so as to feel better within oneself. This action of breaking the silence by the woman constitutes in itself a transgression because, in the culture of the author, the woman should be reduced to silence. Fassinou has the urge to show that cruelty in the home, inflexible will, excessive masculinity and insensibility could lead to rebellion, dissatisfaction and violence which could affect the whole society. In view of this, to love one child above the others could compromise family cohesion. It is in this regard that suicide formed part of the theme of this research. This could represent the image of national violence provoked by tribalism and geopolitics which could be noticed in many countries on the African continent. For most critics, the transgression of traditional values is due to cultural blending because this blending is seen as the evolution of the society and the culture which represent a society that finds itself at the cross roads. Transgression in Fassinou’s works is the demystification of certain traditional beliefs. The transgression of some characters leads to bitter and traumatic experiences. Be that as it may, the author recommends/advocates, through her writing, a way of escape: hope. It shows through the representations made by the author that determination to overcome the challenges faced and the decision to put a cross on past bitter experiences are strong indications for individual transformation which would lead to the desired transformation and development of Africa. Transgression and cultural blending in the works of Fassinou are not limited to thematic study; it is also about the transgression of standard language codes and the mixing of languages. The second part of this thesis is devoted to the stylistic study of Fassinou’s works. As such, we are going to equally study formal aspects of Fassinou’s writing as a symbol of transgression and transcultural blending. , Dans le roman Jete en pature d’Adelaide Fassinou, le personnage feminin, Fifame, declare que « les livres ont un cote attachant. Ils deroulent sous nos regards la vie de personnes qui nous semblent si proches que nous nous identifions a elles. Certaines histoires ressemblent a la notre » (JP, 147). Fassinou elle-meme dit : En lisant ce livre, chere amie, tu feras egalement tienne I ’histoire de toutes ces femmes qui n ’ont vecu nulle part, sauf dans mon imagination. Mais la fiction dans laquelle elles se meuvent nous les rend encore plus proches st nous faitpartager leurs drames (MRB, 7). Ces propos refletent l’idee de la sociocritique qui indique qu’une reuvre litteraire pourrait etre une representation de la societe de son auteur(e). Ceci revient a dire que des evenements reels peuvent alimenter de plus en plus l’imagination litteraire. Aussi, poursuit-elle, « un livre est un chemin jalonne de marches, de chutes et de courses vers des lendemains qui chantent ou qui dechantent » (JP, 147). Les verbes « chanter » et « dechanter » dans ces propos devoilent la conception de l’ecriture a laquelle Fassinou adhere. « Chanter », a notre avis, pourrait denoter les gains des croisements des cultures, le resultat meme du modernisme. « Dechanter » pour sa part pourrait renvoyer a la violation de certaines valeurs traditionnelles et ou mieux encore aux attitudes transgressives dans une societe en pleine mutation. Ainsi donc la transgression et le metissage culturel constituent le point central de la discussion de cette recherche. Nous avons choisi d’analyser quelques reuvres litteraires d’Adelaide Fassinou, une ecrivaine beninoise qui est entree sur la scene litteraire au seuil du nouveau millenaire, en 2000. Par ce fait, on dirait que Fassinou appartient a une nouvelle generation d’ecrivains : les ecrivains du nouveau millenaire. Le titre du premier roman de Fassinou est revelateur. Il s’institule Modukpe, le reve brise, qui implique que l’homme a toujours un reve mais au cours du temps, ce reve pourrait etre brise. Chez Fassinou, ce manque de materialisation de reves serait le resultat de notre vision du monde ou les conceptions nouvelles rivalisent avec la tradition au point que la modernite soit simplement vue comme une transgression de lois de la tradition. C’est certes la transgression dans l’univers romanesque, une transgression contre la tradition et / ou la nature car « la nature a ses lois ». Et les experiences vecues par l’homme et surtout par la femme, Toute une vie ne viii suffirait pas pour en Parler. Et l’histoire d’etre Jete en pature est l’une de ses experiences. En lisant l’reuvre de Fassinou, on peut constater qu’elle presente assez de problemes sociaux qui renvoient a la notion de la transgression. Il en resulte que, pour se liberer, l’auteure qui represente la femme, recourt a ecrire des Poemes d ’amour et de ronces, de [S]es exiles, [s]es amours car il faut parler pour se sentir bien en soi-meme. Cette action de briser le silence par la femme constitue aussi en elle, une transgression car dans la tradition de l’auteure, la femme devrait etre reduite au silence. Fassinou a besoin de montrer que la cruaute au foyer, la volonte inflexible, la masculinite excessive et l’insensibilite conduisent a la revolte, au mecontentement et a la violence pouvant affecter toute la societe. Eu egard a cela, aimer un enfant au-dessus des autres compromettrait la cohesion familiale. C’est ainsi que le sujet du suicide fait partie de cette recherche. Ceci pourrait representer l’image de la violence nationale provoquee par le tribalisme et la geopolitique qu’on pourrait remarquer dans plusieurs pays sur le continent africain. Pour la plupart des critiques, la transgression des valeurs traditionnelles est due au metissage culturel car ce metissage est vu comme une evolution de la societe et de la culture qui represente une societe qui se trouve a la croisee des chemins. La transgression dans l’reuvre de Fassinou est la demystification de certaines croyances traditionnelles. La transgression de certains personnages conduit aux experiences ameres et traumatisantes. Quoi qu’il en soit, l’auteure preconise toujours, au moyen de son ecriture, une voie de sortie : l’espoir. Il transparait des representations que fait l’auteure que la determination pour surmonter les defis et la decision de mettre une croix sur les experiences ameres du passe sont des indications fortes pour la transformation individuelle qui amenera a la transformation et au developpement tant desire de l’Afrique. La transgression et le metissage culturel dans l’reuvre de Fassinou ne se limitent pas aux etudes thematiques ; il s’agit egalement de la transgression du code langagier standard et du melange des langues. La deuxieme partie de cette these est consacree a une etude stylistique de l’reuvre de Fassinou. Pour cela, nous avons etudie egalement les aspects des aspects formels de l’ecriture de Fassinou comme symbole de la transgression et du metissage culturel.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Ishaya, Nandi Salome
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955- -- Criticism and interpretation , Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955- -- Jeté en pâture , Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955- -- Modukpè, le rêve brisé. , African literature (French) -- History and criticism
- Language: French , English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7500 , vital:21266
- Description: In Adelaide Fassinou’s novel Jete en pature (“Thrown to the lions/wolves”), the female character Fifame declares that “novels/books have sides that one is attached to. The lives of people roll pass our eyes. Some stories resemble ours” (JP, 147). Fassinou herself says: By reading this book dear friend, the stories of all these women who lived nowhere except in my imagination, may be like yours. But the fiction in which they themselves moved makes it so close and we share in their tragedy (MRB, 7). The above comments reflect the idea of sociocriticism which opines that a literary work could be a representation of the society of its author. This goes to say that real events can feed literary imagination more and more. Also, Fifame continues that “a book/novel is a path marked by steps, falls, and races towards a future that is bright or a bleak” (JP, 147). The verbs which connote ‘bright’ and ‘bleak’ in this comment unveil the writing idea/conception which Fassinou adheres to. “Bright” in our opinion could connote the gains of cross cultural blending, the precise outcome/result of modernity. “Bleak” on the other hand could refer to the violation of certain cultural values and or better still to transgressive attitudes in a society that is in the process of radical transformation. As such, transgression and cross cultural blending are the focal points of our discussion in this research. We have chosen to analyse some literary works of Adelaide Fassinou, a beninoise who came into the literary scene at the threshold of the new millennium, in 2000. It could then be said that Fassinou belongs to a new generation of African writers, the writers of the new millennium. The title of her first novel is revealing. Its title, Modukpe, le reve brise could imply that man always has a dream but in the course of time, this dream could be broken due to one factor or the other. In Fassinou, the lack of the realization of dreams could be the result of our vision of the world where new ideas oppose tradition to the extent that modernity is seen simply as a transgression of the laws of tradition. Admittedly, it is transgression in the fictional novel, a transgression against tradition and or nature because “nature has its laws”. The life experiences of man especially the female gender, “A whole lifetime is not enough to speak about it” And the story of being “Thrown to the lions” is one of such experiences. Reading Fassinou’s work, one vi could note that she presents enough social problems which reflect the notion of transgression. As a result, for the woman to liberate herself, the author who represents the woman, resorts to writing “Poems of love and brambles” of “Her exiles and her loves” because it is needful to speak so as to feel better within oneself. This action of breaking the silence by the woman constitutes in itself a transgression because, in the culture of the author, the woman should be reduced to silence. Fassinou has the urge to show that cruelty in the home, inflexible will, excessive masculinity and insensibility could lead to rebellion, dissatisfaction and violence which could affect the whole society. In view of this, to love one child above the others could compromise family cohesion. It is in this regard that suicide formed part of the theme of this research. This could represent the image of national violence provoked by tribalism and geopolitics which could be noticed in many countries on the African continent. For most critics, the transgression of traditional values is due to cultural blending because this blending is seen as the evolution of the society and the culture which represent a society that finds itself at the cross roads. Transgression in Fassinou’s works is the demystification of certain traditional beliefs. The transgression of some characters leads to bitter and traumatic experiences. Be that as it may, the author recommends/advocates, through her writing, a way of escape: hope. It shows through the representations made by the author that determination to overcome the challenges faced and the decision to put a cross on past bitter experiences are strong indications for individual transformation which would lead to the desired transformation and development of Africa. Transgression and cultural blending in the works of Fassinou are not limited to thematic study; it is also about the transgression of standard language codes and the mixing of languages. The second part of this thesis is devoted to the stylistic study of Fassinou’s works. As such, we are going to equally study formal aspects of Fassinou’s writing as a symbol of transgression and transcultural blending. , Dans le roman Jete en pature d’Adelaide Fassinou, le personnage feminin, Fifame, declare que « les livres ont un cote attachant. Ils deroulent sous nos regards la vie de personnes qui nous semblent si proches que nous nous identifions a elles. Certaines histoires ressemblent a la notre » (JP, 147). Fassinou elle-meme dit : En lisant ce livre, chere amie, tu feras egalement tienne I ’histoire de toutes ces femmes qui n ’ont vecu nulle part, sauf dans mon imagination. Mais la fiction dans laquelle elles se meuvent nous les rend encore plus proches st nous faitpartager leurs drames (MRB, 7). Ces propos refletent l’idee de la sociocritique qui indique qu’une reuvre litteraire pourrait etre une representation de la societe de son auteur(e). Ceci revient a dire que des evenements reels peuvent alimenter de plus en plus l’imagination litteraire. Aussi, poursuit-elle, « un livre est un chemin jalonne de marches, de chutes et de courses vers des lendemains qui chantent ou qui dechantent » (JP, 147). Les verbes « chanter » et « dechanter » dans ces propos devoilent la conception de l’ecriture a laquelle Fassinou adhere. « Chanter », a notre avis, pourrait denoter les gains des croisements des cultures, le resultat meme du modernisme. « Dechanter » pour sa part pourrait renvoyer a la violation de certaines valeurs traditionnelles et ou mieux encore aux attitudes transgressives dans une societe en pleine mutation. Ainsi donc la transgression et le metissage culturel constituent le point central de la discussion de cette recherche. Nous avons choisi d’analyser quelques reuvres litteraires d’Adelaide Fassinou, une ecrivaine beninoise qui est entree sur la scene litteraire au seuil du nouveau millenaire, en 2000. Par ce fait, on dirait que Fassinou appartient a une nouvelle generation d’ecrivains : les ecrivains du nouveau millenaire. Le titre du premier roman de Fassinou est revelateur. Il s’institule Modukpe, le reve brise, qui implique que l’homme a toujours un reve mais au cours du temps, ce reve pourrait etre brise. Chez Fassinou, ce manque de materialisation de reves serait le resultat de notre vision du monde ou les conceptions nouvelles rivalisent avec la tradition au point que la modernite soit simplement vue comme une transgression de lois de la tradition. C’est certes la transgression dans l’univers romanesque, une transgression contre la tradition et / ou la nature car « la nature a ses lois ». Et les experiences vecues par l’homme et surtout par la femme, Toute une vie ne viii suffirait pas pour en Parler. Et l’histoire d’etre Jete en pature est l’une de ses experiences. En lisant l’reuvre de Fassinou, on peut constater qu’elle presente assez de problemes sociaux qui renvoient a la notion de la transgression. Il en resulte que, pour se liberer, l’auteure qui represente la femme, recourt a ecrire des Poemes d ’amour et de ronces, de [S]es exiles, [s]es amours car il faut parler pour se sentir bien en soi-meme. Cette action de briser le silence par la femme constitue aussi en elle, une transgression car dans la tradition de l’auteure, la femme devrait etre reduite au silence. Fassinou a besoin de montrer que la cruaute au foyer, la volonte inflexible, la masculinite excessive et l’insensibilite conduisent a la revolte, au mecontentement et a la violence pouvant affecter toute la societe. Eu egard a cela, aimer un enfant au-dessus des autres compromettrait la cohesion familiale. C’est ainsi que le sujet du suicide fait partie de cette recherche. Ceci pourrait representer l’image de la violence nationale provoquee par le tribalisme et la geopolitique qu’on pourrait remarquer dans plusieurs pays sur le continent africain. Pour la plupart des critiques, la transgression des valeurs traditionnelles est due au metissage culturel car ce metissage est vu comme une evolution de la societe et de la culture qui represente une societe qui se trouve a la croisee des chemins. La transgression dans l’reuvre de Fassinou est la demystification de certaines croyances traditionnelles. La transgression de certains personnages conduit aux experiences ameres et traumatisantes. Quoi qu’il en soit, l’auteure preconise toujours, au moyen de son ecriture, une voie de sortie : l’espoir. Il transparait des representations que fait l’auteure que la determination pour surmonter les defis et la decision de mettre une croix sur les experiences ameres du passe sont des indications fortes pour la transformation individuelle qui amenera a la transformation et au developpement tant desire de l’Afrique. La transgression et le metissage culturel dans l’reuvre de Fassinou ne se limitent pas aux etudes thematiques ; il s’agit egalement de la transgression du code langagier standard et du melange des langues. La deuxieme partie de cette these est consacree a une etude stylistique de l’reuvre de Fassinou. Pour cela, nous avons etudie egalement les aspects des aspects formels de l’ecriture de Fassinou comme symbole de la transgression et du metissage culturel.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
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