Pub Date : 2020-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10228195.2020.1717587
Medadi E. Ssentanda, Allen Asiimwe
Abstract Literacy in the early years is crucial but attained amidst various challenges, especially in the Global South. Based on fieldwork conducted in October 2018 in four primary schools in Gulu district, Acoli region, northern Uganda, this study investigates school characteristics and facilities available to learners and teachers to scaffold the acquisition of literacy in the early years of schooling. These are discussed within the framework of Uganda’s mother-tongue education programme with a focus on the challenges of literacy acquisition. Data were collected from four schools by means of questionnaires, classroom interactions, and interviews, and were analysed through triangulation. The findings suggest that there are difficulties to attaining literacy within the MT education programme. Some of the challenges relate to teachers’ attitudes and practices, lack of school materials, poor school conditions, and large learner numbers per class. The implications of the observed challenges to literacy acquisition are discussed.
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Pub Date : 2020-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10228195.2020.1726609
Hilde Gunnink, Bastian Persohn
While believed to be long extinct, the discovery of less than a handful of elderly rememberers of Kora led a team around the author, Menán du Plessis, to perform an “emergency documentation” (xix) of this language in late 2011 and early 2012. The data and analysis presented in the book are based on a synoptic compilation of this original fieldwork and older publications (Wuras 1920; Engelbrecht 1928; Meinhof 1930, among others) on Kora. The target audience of the book is not exclusively linguistic scholars: “we hoped to produce a book that would be accessible to all South Africans who care deeply about their history, and take a keen interest in the diverse and fascinating languages of their own country, but which at the same time would be accessible to the descendants of South Africa’s original inhabitants” (xvi).
虽然人们认为Kora早已灭绝，但由于发现了不到少数的Kora老年记忆者，围绕作者Menán du Plessis的一个团队在2011年末和2012年初对该语言进行了“紧急记录”（xix）。该书中提供的数据和分析基于对这一原始田野调查和旧出版物（Wuras 1920；Engelbrecht 1928；Meinhof 1930等）的概要汇编。这本书的目标读者不仅仅是语言学者：“我们希望出版一本书，让所有深切关心自己历史的南非人都能阅读，并对自己国家的多样性和引人入胜的语言产生浓厚兴趣，但同时也让南非原居民的后代能够阅读”（xvi）。
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Pub Date : 2019-09-02DOI: 10.1080/10228195.2019.1691634
Isaac Mumpande, L. Barnes
Abstract This article investigates the motivation behind the Tonga people’s initiation of the language revitalisation process. It is based on research conducted in the Binga District, which was the epicentre of the Tonga language revitalisation project in the Zambezi Valley. The participants in the study were purposively sampled from various stakeholders in the project, inter alia, traditional chiefs, officials from the education sector, former and serving employees of NGOs, members of the Tonga Language and Culture Committee (TOLACCO) and Chairpersons of the Zimbabwe Indigenous Languages Promotion Association (ZILPA). The article identifies a number of socio-cultural and religious factors that motivated and propelled the Tonga people to embark on a project of language revitalisation. Within the theoretical framework of Human Needs Theory, the article critically analyses how these factors motivated the Tonga community to embark upon their language revitalisation initiative.
{"title":"Revitalisation of the Tonga Language in Zimbabwe: The Motivational Factors","authors":"Isaac Mumpande, L. Barnes","doi":"10.1080/10228195.2019.1691634","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2019.1691634","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article investigates the motivation behind the Tonga people’s initiation of the language revitalisation process. It is based on research conducted in the Binga District, which was the epicentre of the Tonga language revitalisation project in the Zambezi Valley. The participants in the study were purposively sampled from various stakeholders in the project, inter alia, traditional chiefs, officials from the education sector, former and serving employees of NGOs, members of the Tonga Language and Culture Committee (TOLACCO) and Chairpersons of the Zimbabwe Indigenous Languages Promotion Association (ZILPA). The article identifies a number of socio-cultural and religious factors that motivated and propelled the Tonga people to embark on a project of language revitalisation. Within the theoretical framework of Human Needs Theory, the article critically analyses how these factors motivated the Tonga community to embark upon their language revitalisation initiative.","PeriodicalId":43882,"journal":{"name":"Language Matters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2019-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10228195.2019.1691634","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44624214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-09-02DOI: 10.1080/10228195.2019.1691633
Bertus van Rooy
Abstract This article reviews published research on South African learner corpora, focussing on available corpora and a synthesis of research themes and findings. Previous corpora for English amount to 4.2 million words of undergraduate writing and 1.85 million words for Afrikaans. Research yielded findings on cohesion, coherence, metadiscourse, grammatical features, vocabulary, spelling errors, and learner errors. Cross-cutting trends indicate the overuse of high frequency functional categories and high frequency lexical resources, and similarities between student writing and spoken conversation. Overall, this article documents the sizable body of research that has been conducted to date.
{"title":"Learner Corpus Research in South Africa (1989–2019)","authors":"Bertus van Rooy","doi":"10.1080/10228195.2019.1691633","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2019.1691633","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article reviews published research on South African learner corpora, focussing on available corpora and a synthesis of research themes and findings. Previous corpora for English amount to 4.2 million words of undergraduate writing and 1.85 million words for Afrikaans. Research yielded findings on cohesion, coherence, metadiscourse, grammatical features, vocabulary, spelling errors, and learner errors. Cross-cutting trends indicate the overuse of high frequency functional categories and high frequency lexical resources, and similarities between student writing and spoken conversation. Overall, this article documents the sizable body of research that has been conducted to date.","PeriodicalId":43882,"journal":{"name":"Language Matters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2019-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10228195.2019.1691633","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46175269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-09-02DOI: 10.1080/10228195.2019.1704988
Theodorus du Plessis
{"title":"Editorial","authors":"Theodorus du Plessis","doi":"10.1080/10228195.2019.1704988","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2019.1704988","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43882,"journal":{"name":"Language Matters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2019-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10228195.2019.1704988","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43540867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-09-02DOI: 10.1080/10228195.2019.1684978
K. Spowage
Abstract This article uses a case study to interrogate the politics of French in Africa. It examines French involvement in the Rwandan Civil War (1990–1994), and argues that by conceptualising institutions such as La Francophonie as “cultural” bodies, we risk obscuring their properly political functions. Through a consideration of the history of language in French colonial thought, and the translation of that history into the post-colonial idea of francophonie, the article foregrounds the political and economic benefits that France has received as a result of the spread of its language and culture. The article also provides an account of the role played by language and culture in France's decision to support the Habyarimana government in a war that culminated in genocide. Ultimately, it argues for the importance of recognising linguistic organisations as political entities.
{"title":"Beyond “Fashoda Syndrome”: The Rwandan Civil War and the Politics of La Francophonie in Africa","authors":"K. Spowage","doi":"10.1080/10228195.2019.1684978","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2019.1684978","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article uses a case study to interrogate the politics of French in Africa. It examines French involvement in the Rwandan Civil War (1990–1994), and argues that by conceptualising institutions such as La Francophonie as “cultural” bodies, we risk obscuring their properly political functions. Through a consideration of the history of language in French colonial thought, and the translation of that history into the post-colonial idea of francophonie, the article foregrounds the political and economic benefits that France has received as a result of the spread of its language and culture. The article also provides an account of the role played by language and culture in France's decision to support the Habyarimana government in a war that culminated in genocide. Ultimately, it argues for the importance of recognising linguistic organisations as political entities.","PeriodicalId":43882,"journal":{"name":"Language Matters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2019-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10228195.2019.1684978","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41587271","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-08-02DOI: 10.1080/10228195.2018.1553993
Logan Cochrane, Y. W. Bekele
Abstract In 2018 there were demands for the creation of new regional states in Ethiopia by ethnolinguistic groups seeking greater self-determination. Two examples of this were the Sidama and Wolaita, with some members of the latter advocating for the creation of an “Omotic Peoples” regional state. The idea of Omotic unification is not new to southern Ethiopia. When the amalgamated language of Wogagoda was introduced in the 1990s, the peoples of the region rallied in opposition against government. This article explores the intersection of language, politics and power during that period, which resulted in the withdrawal of a language policy and the creation of new, disintegrated administrative structures. Drawing upon historical experiences, this article reflects on the role of ethno-linguistic identities and their implications for contemporary decision making about languages of instruction and administrative boundaries. The results provide insight into situational contexts that may enable or constrain bottom-up and top-down language policy processes.
{"title":"Politics and Power in Southern Ethiopia: Imposing, Opposing and Calling for Linguistic Unity","authors":"Logan Cochrane, Y. W. Bekele","doi":"10.1080/10228195.2018.1553993","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2018.1553993","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In 2018 there were demands for the creation of new regional states in Ethiopia by ethnolinguistic groups seeking greater self-determination. Two examples of this were the Sidama and Wolaita, with some members of the latter advocating for the creation of an “Omotic Peoples” regional state. The idea of Omotic unification is not new to southern Ethiopia. When the amalgamated language of Wogagoda was introduced in the 1990s, the peoples of the region rallied in opposition against government. This article explores the intersection of language, politics and power during that period, which resulted in the withdrawal of a language policy and the creation of new, disintegrated administrative structures. Drawing upon historical experiences, this article reflects on the role of ethno-linguistic identities and their implications for contemporary decision making about languages of instruction and administrative boundaries. The results provide insight into situational contexts that may enable or constrain bottom-up and top-down language policy processes.","PeriodicalId":43882,"journal":{"name":"Language Matters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2019-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10228195.2018.1553993","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45771118","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-20DOI: 10.1080/10228195.2019.1690556
N. Mollema
(2019). New Frontiers in Forensic Linguistics: Themes and Perspectives in Language and Law in Africa and Beyond. Language Matters: Vol. 50, Language Politics in Africa, pp. 90-92.
{"title":"New Frontiers in Forensic Linguistics: Themes and Perspectives in Language and Law in Africa and Beyond","authors":"N. Mollema","doi":"10.1080/10228195.2019.1690556","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2019.1690556","url":null,"abstract":"(2019). New Frontiers in Forensic Linguistics: Themes and Perspectives in Language and Law in Africa and Beyond. Language Matters: Vol. 50, Language Politics in Africa, pp. 90-92.","PeriodicalId":43882,"journal":{"name":"Language Matters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2019-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10228195.2019.1690556","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45129457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-04DOI: 10.1080/10228195.2018.1551924
Olusanmi Babarinde, Elizabeth T. Babarinde, K. Obitube
Abstract This article examines the effectiveness of computer-assisted language instruction using Mavis Computel’s English–Yoruba talking books and pen. Using a developmental design, 21 children, aged 10, from highly educated Yoruba families were divided into an experimental and a control group. The groups were subjected to a study session in the same venue and at the same time but in different classes for three academic terms. Both groups wrote the Yoruba paper in the compulsory National Primary School Leaving Examination written along with other students. Though the experimental group did well in the examination, the control group performed much better. The contents of the books are structured according to the NERDC curriculum. This methodological approach the talking books adopt to the teaching of Yoruba enables the users to teach themselves through imitation, repetition, and audio-visual content. This article encourages government collaboration in the further development of the talking books.
{"title":"Computer-Assisted Instruction and Language Learning: Evidence from Mavis Computel’s English–Yoruba Talking Books","authors":"Olusanmi Babarinde, Elizabeth T. Babarinde, K. Obitube","doi":"10.1080/10228195.2018.1551924","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2018.1551924","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article examines the effectiveness of computer-assisted language instruction using Mavis Computel’s English–Yoruba talking books and pen. Using a developmental design, 21 children, aged 10, from highly educated Yoruba families were divided into an experimental and a control group. The groups were subjected to a study session in the same venue and at the same time but in different classes for three academic terms. Both groups wrote the Yoruba paper in the compulsory National Primary School Leaving Examination written along with other students. Though the experimental group did well in the examination, the control group performed much better. The contents of the books are structured according to the NERDC curriculum. This methodological approach the talking books adopt to the teaching of Yoruba enables the users to teach themselves through imitation, repetition, and audio-visual content. This article encourages government collaboration in the further development of the talking books.","PeriodicalId":43882,"journal":{"name":"Language Matters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2019-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10228195.2018.1551924","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42528658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-04DOI: 10.1080/10228195.2019.1635306
L. Barnes
From a sociolinguistic perspective, Namibia is a fascinating country. Under the peace agreement following World War I, South Africa was given a mandate to govern the former German colony of Southwest Africa. During this period of South African hegemony, Afrikaans became entrenched as the country’s dominant language. After independence, one of the steps in the attempt to bring Namibia, the former satellite state of South Africa, into the global arena was to change its language policy radically by introducing English as the only official language of the country and of education. Despite these changes, the roots of the historical legacy of Afrikaans are deeply embedded in the country’s language ecology. Another significant aspect of Namibia’s linguistic legacy is that it boasts a number of still-thriving indigenous languages from a language family that long ago became extinct in South Africa. For this reason, it seems appropriate to foreground Gerald Stell’s article on code-switching practices in Namibia, which can be read against this sociohistorical backdrop. His article takes the form of a case study involving informal intra-ethnic interactions featuring five Namibian ethnicities. He addresses the question of whether these multilectal behaviours can become stylistically functional and, subsequently, whether this stylistic potential translates into sociolinguistic indexicalities.
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