Sociolinguistic Variation in Spoken and Written Sesotho: a Case Study of Speech Varieties in Qwaqwa
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SOCIOLINGUISTIC VARIATION IN SPOKEN AND WRITTEN SESOTHO: A CASE STUDY OF SPEECH VARIETIES IN QWAQWA by NTAOLENG BELINA SEKERE submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the subject AFRICAN LANGUAGES at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF R FINLAYSON JOINT SUPERVISOR: PROF RMH MOEKETSI June 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration .............................................................. vi Acknowledgements ....................................................... vii Summary ............................................................... viii Sociolinguistic variation in spoken and written Sesotho Chapter 1: Introduction 1.0 Overview ...........................................................1 1.1 Aim of study ........................................................1 1.2 Research scope and methodology .....................................3 1.3 Research site and research tools .......................................5 1.3.1 Questionnaires in schools ......................................12 1.4 Organisation of the study .............................................15 Chapter 2: Geographical, Historical and Economic Background 2.0 Background information .............................................17 2.1 Geographical description ............................................17 2.2 Historical background ...............................................19 2.3 Economic background ...............................................25 2.4 Summary ..........................................................26 Chapter 3: Language contact and language varieties in Qwaqwa 3.0 Introduction ........................................................27 3.1 Language contact and varieties .......................................27 3.1.1 Language variation ...........................................29 3.1.2 Language and dialect .........................................32 ii 3.1.3 Regional dialects and the standardisation of Sesotho ..............34 3.1.4 Social dialects ...............................................37 3.2 Sesotho vs Sekgolokwe and Setlokwa .................................38 3.2.1 Phonological variations between Sesotho, and Sekgolokwe/ Setlokwa. ....................................................38 3.2.1.1 Juxtaposed vowels .....................................39 3.2.1.2 Plosivation ..........................................40 3.2.1.3 Elision .............................................41 3.2.1.4 Pronunciation .......................................41 3.2.1.5 Assimilation ........................................42 3.3 Morphological variations between Sesotho, Sekgolokwe and Setlokwa .....42 3.3.1 Reflexive verbs ...............................................43 3.3.2 The demonstrative ............................................43 3.3.3 Passive forms ................................................45 3.3.4 Causative variants ............................................46 3.4 Lexical variations between Sesotho, Sekgolokwe and Setlokwa ...........47 3.5 Syntactic variations between Sesotho and Sekgolokwe/Setlokwa ..........48 3.6 Summary ..........................................................50 Chapter 4: Interference, Codeswitching and Borrowing in Sesotho 4.0 Introduction ........................................................51 4.1 Language interference ...............................................51 4.1.1 Grammatical interference ......................................52 4.1.2 Lexical interference ...........................................54 4.2 Codeswitching .....................................................55 4.2.1 Intersentential codeswitching ...................................55 4.2.2 Intrasentential codeswitching ...................................56 4.2.3 Social motivation for codeswitching ..............................58 4.3 Borrowing .........................................................62 4.3.1 Motivation for borrowing .......................................66 iii 4.3.2 Types of borrowing ............................................69 4.3.2.1 Cultural borrowing ...................................69 4.3.2.2 Lexical borrowing ....................................70 4.3.3 Similarities and differences between codeswitching and borrowing ...................................................71 4.3.3.1 Similarities .........................................71 4.3.3.2 Differences .........................................72 4.4 Summary ..........................................................74 Chapter 5: Spoken Sesotho versus Written Sesotho 5.0 Introduction ........................................................75 5.1 Distinction between the spoken and written language .....................77 5.1.1 Differences in form ...........................................78 5.1.2 Phonetic differences ..........................................79 5.1.3 Phonological differences .......................................80 5.1.3.1 Pronunciation .......................................80 5.1.3.2 Intonation ...........................................80 5.1.3.3 Elision ................................................81 5.1.4 Morphological differences ......................................84 5.1.5 Syntactic differences ..........................................85 5.1.6 Differences in the manner of presentation .........................87 5.1.7 Differences in function .........................................87 5.2 The relationship between spoken and written language ...................90 5.3 Problems of spoken and written Sesotho among learners in Qwaqwa schools ...................................................91 5.3.1 Word division ................................................94 5.4 Contributing factors to the influence on spoken and written Sesotho .........97 5.4.1 Types of influences ............................................97 5.4.2 Tsotsitaal ....................................................97 5.4.3 Dialectal influence ............................................98 iv 5.4.4 Colloquial influence ...........................................99 5.4.5 Influence from European languages ............................ 101 5.4.6 Media ..................................................... 102 5.4.7 Peer group influence ........................................ 104 5.4.8 Lack of motivation .......................................... 106 5.5 Observations ..................................................... 107 5.6 Summary ........................................................ 107 Chapter 6: Conclusion, Findings and Recommendations 6.0 Introduction ...................................................... 109 6.1 Observations ..................................................... 110 6.2 Recommendations ................................................ 114 Bibliography .......................................................... 116 Appendix 1 ........................................................... 125 Appendix 2 ........................................................... 136 Appendix 3 ........................................................... 142 Table 1 ..................................................................11 Table 2 ..................................................................23 Table 3 ..................................................................24 Map 1 ...................................................................18 Map 2 ...................................................................49 Diagram 1 ...............................................................22 v Diagram 2 ...............................................................36 vi DECLARATION I declare that SOCIOLINGUISTIC VARIATION IN SPOKEN AND WRITTEN SESOTHO: A CASE STUDY IN QWAQWA, is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ___________________ NB Sekere vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I wish to thank God Almighty for making all things possible for me, for giving me the strength and wisdom to undertake this study to its completion. I extend my thanks to my promotors, Professors Rosalie Finlayson and RMH Moeketsi, for their generous and professional guidance and their patience and willingness to assist during the course of the research. To Professor J.M. Lenake, my mentor colleague, I express my gratitude for the guidance in locating areas where Sekgolokwe and Setlokwa are spoken outside Qwaqwa. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my late parents, Keletso and Tlou Molisana, I know that you are always with me, I am truly grateful. To the late Ntate Chabedi Sekere, who has been my inspiration in all I have done. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my children, Lemohang, Mosele, Seetsa and Moeketsi, for their support, understanding and the sacrifices they have had to make during the research period. I cannot exclude my sisters, Mmakalaele, Mmasenaeta and Mookho, who supported me during the most difficult times. I am also grateful to my colleagues in the Department of African Languages at UNISA for the fruitful discussions I had with them. I wish to thank most heartily the subject librarian, Mrs Hleziphi Napaai, for placing library material with very valuable sociolinguistic publications at my disposal and for drawing my attention to a number of relevant publications which would have otherwise eluded my attention. I am also indebted to the Makgolokwe in Qwaqwa for all they did in making this work possible. I wish to acknowledge also the editorial assistance given by Linda Parkes. My thanks