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COPYRIGHT AND CITATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR THIS THESIS/ DISSERTATION o Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. o NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. o ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. How to cite this thesis Surname, Initial(s). (2012) Title of the thesis or dissertation. PhD. (Chemistry)/ M.Sc. (Physics)/ M.A. (Philosophy)/M.Com. (Finance) etc. [Unpublished]: University of Johannesburg. Retrieved from: https://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za (Accessed: Date). POLITICAL SONGS by MARTHA DOLLY MENDISI Mini-Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in AFRICAN LANGUAGES in the (3)•;;ZZ FACULTY OF ARTS r- at the RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY 782 .42 \ FEND SUPERVISOR: DR. H.C. GROENEVVALD CO-SUPERVISOR: MR. W.J. PRETORIUS OCTOBER 1998 UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG UNIVERSITEIT VAN JOHANNESBURG AUCKLAND PARK KINGSWAY CAMPUS / KAMPUS POSBUS 524 BOX 524 AUCKLAND PARK 2006 Tel: (011) 489-2165 23 OCT 2007 2011 -69- 23 This item must be returned on or before the last date stamped. A renewal for a further period may be granted provided the book is not in demand. Fines are charged on overdue items. 1 1 1 1 1 1 II I 3006700789 RAU BIB POLITICAL SONGS by MARTHA DOLLY MENDISI Mini-Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in AFRICAN LANGUAGES in the FACULTY OF ARTS at the RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY SUPERVISOR: DR. H.C. GROENEWALD CO-SUPERVISOR: MR. W.J. PRETORIUS OCTOBER 1998 DEDICATION Dedicated to my late husband Vusumuzi Hamilton Dennis Mazibuko Mendisi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to acknowledge and thank the following people for the assistance they gave me during my studies . Dr. KC. Groenewald my supervisor and Mr. W.J. Pretorius my co-supervisor for the assistance and the support they gave me during my study. Mrs. Ria Uys who patiently and neatly typed my work. To Mother and Father (Mr. and Mrs. Mazive) who gave me encouragement and support throughout my studies My daughters Yolanda. Penelope and Euginia. Busisiwe my niece who took care of my children whilst studying. My sisters Othah and Masefako. My brother Simon and all the friends and relatives who were supportive and cared for my children during my studies. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1. 1 Aim, scope and outline of the study 2 1.2 Outline of the study 2 1.3 Theory 2 1.3.1 Performance approach 2 1.3.2 Feminism 3 1.3.3 Marxism 4 1.3.4 Other studies on political songs 6 1.3.5 Application of theories 6 1.3.6 Collection of data 6 CHAPTER 2: CONTEXT 8 2.1 Socio-political context 8 2.1.1 First phase 9 2.1.2 Second phase 10 2.1.3 Third phase 11 2.1.4 Fourth phase 12 2.2 Songs and language context 13 2.3 Places of performance 14 2.4 Specific locations 15 2.4.1 Schools 15 2.4.2 Churches 15 2.4.3 Graveyards 15 2.4.4 Stadiums 15 2.4.5 Police stations 15 2.4.6 Prisons 16 Page 2 4 7 Work-place 16 2.5 Participants 16 2.6 Performance 16 2.7 Conclusion 17 CHAPTER 3: FUNCTION AND CONTENT OF POLITICAL SONGS 18 Conclusion 36 CHAPTER 4: POETIC FEATURES 37 4.1 Linguistic features 37 4.1.1 Directive verbs and their function in text 37 4.1.2 Verbs with corresponding emotive values 41 4.1.3 Interactions of verbs in opposite actuality: Positive versus negative 45 4.1.4 Semantic parallelism 46 4.1.5 Semantic contrast 46 4.1.6 Onomatopoeia 47 4.1.7 Use of slang 48 4.1.8 Interjections 49 4.1.9 Dramatic nature by means of rhetorical questions 51 4.1.10 Addressing a supposed audience 52 4.2 Poetic features 54 4.2.1 Rhythm 54 4.2.2 Repetition 57 4.2.2.1 Repetition of syllables 57 4.2.2.2 Repetition of words 58 4.2.2.3 Initial linking 59 4.2.2.4 Oblique line linking 59 4.2.2.5 Repetition of phrases 60 4.2.2.6 Refrain 60 iv Page 4.2.3 Imagery 61 4.2.3.1 Metaphor 61 4.2.3.2 Simile 64 4.2.3.3 Personification 65 4.3 Conclusion 66 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 67 REFERENCES 69 APPENDIX: POLITICAL SONGS 71 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The origin of freedom songs can be traced back to the resistance movements within the Black population of South Africa. Therefore thz.,, sc, lys date back to the early 1900 s through the 1994 April elections and beyond. Groenewald and Makopo in Sienaert (1991:79) speak of their origin as follows: The rise of hard political songs must be sought in the peculiar foundations of Apartheid. namely in the way the colour bar is expressed, being both in terms of difference and negativity. The division between Blacks and Whites in South Africa was caused by the laws which deprived Blacks of the rights human beings are perceived to have by virtue of their inherent dignity. Human rights imply freedom of religion, the right to vote and freedom of association. Every individual is entitled to such rights but in South Africa these were privileges, which the Government gave to some citizens only. According to Ne! and Bezuidenhout (1995:2), the aim of human rights is to attain As a result of these inhuman laws which the South African Government imposed on Blacks, the latter were dissatisfied and founded resistance movements. This was the origin of political songs. 2 1.1 AIM, SCOPE AND OUTLINE OF THE STUDY The aim of this study is to look at the context, function and content of political songs. where possible with reference to the South Sotho group in South Africa. The meaning. structure and stylistic features of political songs will also be examined. 1.2 OUTLINE OF THE STUDY In chapter two, context will be discussed. The history of resistance movements within the black population will be highlighted. Secondly, situation, in other words where and how the songs were performed. will be discussed. Chapter three will concentrate on the function and content of freedom songs. In chapter four attention will be given to the form and stylistic features of political songs 1.3 THEORY In this dissertation notion of the performance approach, Feminism and Marxism will be followed. 1.3.1 Performance approach The performance approach examines the relationship between text and context. This approach is interested in the situation, i.e. time, place, event and the wider socio-political context. It studies the whole process of communication. This is illustrated/emphasised by Okpewho (1990:139) when he says: 3 Oral narrative performance. like other speech acts is communication in which social discourse takes place principally between narrator/performer and audience. In Groenewald (1990 . 6) Bauman also says: Each performance has a definite limited time span. a beginning and an end, an organised programme of activity, a set of performers. an audience and a place and occasion of performance. 1.3.2 Feminism The main aim of Feminism is to expose the political, social and economical oppression of women. Feminists question the traditional male notions of authority and truth. For example. the Latin saying "Tote mulier in utero" (Woman is nothing but a womb) seems to suggest that a woman's body is her destiny. In the past men regarded women as inferior. According to Feminism, only women can speak about women's lives with authority, because they undergo specific female life experiences such as ovulation, menstruation and parturition. Selden and Widdowson (1993:211) point out that: Some radical feminists celebrate women's biological attributes as source of superiority, while others appeal to the special experience of women as the source of positive female values in life and in act. They continue: 4 A woman's experience includes a different perceptual and emotional life, women do not see things in the same way as men, and have different ideas and feelings about what is important or not important. Eagleton in Feminist Literary Criticism (1991) therefore opposes male theory and replaces it with female experience. Feminism thus seeks to: Challenge complacent certainties of patriarchal culture: assert a belief in sexual equality: and eradicate sexist domination by transforming society. The South African Apartheid system engineered by males, produced the sexual division of labour. Examples of this division include men at the mines staying in hostels and women working as domestic servants and staying in back rooms of their employers' yards. far removed from their spouses. These systems constituted the material and economic oppression of South African Black women. There was no economic household to speak of. 1.3.3 Marxism Rigby (1987 - 28) describes Marxism's basic point of departure as follows: The first premise of all human's existence and therefore all history ... (is) that men must be in a position to live in order to make history. But life involves, before everything else. eating and drinking, housing, clothing and various other things. The first historical act is thus the production of the material life itself. And this is indeed a historical act which today, as thousands of years ago must daily and hourly is fulfilled merely in order to sustain human life.