A multidimensional analysis of student writing in Black South African English

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 268-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertus van Rooy
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Multidimensional Analysis ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Student Writing ◽  
Multidimensional Model ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Processing Strategies ◽  
Reference Corpus

Evidence for the status of Black South African English (BlSAfE) as a variety of English is ambiguous. This paper examines 67 linguistic features of a corpus of BlSAfE student writing, the Tswana Learner English Corpus (TLE), in comparison to a Standard English reference corpus, the Louvain Corpus of Native English Speaking Students (LOCNESS), within the framework of Biber’s (1988) multidimensional model, to determine if evidence for indigenisation and systematicity exists. Linguistic features that occur more frequently in LOCNESS than the TLE suggest that LOCNESS is characterised by greater elaboration of information and information density, more syntactically complex subordination, more reference cohesion and more specialised meanings. The TLE shows evidence of greater involvement of reader and writer of the text, although some features of informality also occur in LOCNESS. Based on comparison of the coefficients of variation in the two corpora, it is concluded that they exhibit similar ranges of variation and that variety status cannot be denied to BlSAfE on the grounds of variability. The application of the multidimensional model shows that the reference corpus, LOCNESS, is similar to academic writing in four of the six dimensions, but differs in being more involved in style and more overtly persuasive. Superficially, the TLE appears to be quite similar to LOCNESS in terms of the various dimensions, but closer examination reveals a number of differences, which largely confirm the findings that were made on the basis of individual feature comparisons: The TLE carries a lower informational density, and information is more often presented in hypothetical ways. It shows a number of similarities with the style and the information processing strategies attributed to spoken registers, but it still remains very clearly distinguishable from spoken language. Many similarities between the corpora are observed, which should be attributed to the register features of student writing. The paper concludes that there is sufficient evidence to acknowledge BlSAfE as a variety of English, on the ground of the stylistic differences between the TLE and LOCNESS, particularly its greater interpersonal as opposed to informational focus, as well as discourse-functional differences in the use of linguistic forms.

Xhosa English as an institutionalised variety of English

2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian de Klerk
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Black Language

This paper aims to examine the English of Xhosa speakers (a significant proportion of speakers of Black South African English, since Xhosa is the second largest indigenous black language in South Africa), in terms of Williams’ (1987) criteria for Non-native Institutionalised Varieties of English (NIVEs). Using a corpus-based approach, the article reports on the results of analyses of a range of linguistic features in the newly-developed corpus of spoken Xhosa English (over 500 000 words), in an effort to go some way towards providing the evidence so necessary for the endorsement of newly established norms, and to counteract the pull of native English norms, “which tend to result in the stigmatisation of some of the major indexical markers of the non-native varieties” (Bamgbose 1998:3).

scholarly journals Revealing Disciplinary Variation in Pakistani Academic Writing: A Multidimensional Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 258
Author(s):  
Musarrat Azher ◽  
Rabia Faiz ◽  
Ayesha Izhar ◽  
Riffat-un Nisa ◽  
Samina Ali
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
Multidimensional Analysis ◽  
Linguistic Variation ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
British English ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
Different Levels

Pakistani English as a non-native variety exhibits variation at different levels of language. Early quantitative studies on Pakistani English have compared individual linguistic features of Pakistani English with their counterparts in British English and claimed about the distinctive identity of Pakistani English as an indigenous variety. Pakistani English need to be compared at the level of register to further highlight its unique features and strengthen its distinct identity. Based on a special purpose corpus, the present research paper endeavors to investigate linguistic variation across disciplines in Pakistani academic writing as a register. Disciplinary variation is explored along with five new textual dimensions identified and labeled through the technique of Multidimensional analysis (Azher & Mehmood, 2016). The ANOVA results reveal that statistically significant differences are found among disciplines on all the new dimensions of Pakistani Academic Writing. The findings underline the implications for discipline-specific and register-based pedagogies with special reference to Pakistani English.

scholarly journals Linguistic Variation across Research Sections of Pakistan Academic Writing: A Multidimensional Analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Musarrat Azher ◽  
Muhammad Asim Mehmood ◽  
Syed Imran Shah
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Language Variation ◽  
Multidimensional Analysis ◽  
Linguistic Variation ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Linguistic Patterns

With the concept of language variation, it has become utmost important to analyze linguistic patterns across register. Pakistani academic writing like other registers in Pakistan is an area that still seeks the attention of the researchers and linguists. This target register needs to be fully described in terms of linguistic characteristics to strengthen the distinct identity of Pakistani academic writing as a register. The present research strives to explore linguistic variation across research sections of Pakistani academic writing as a register along with five new textual dimensions explored through the technique of Multidimensional analysis (Azher & Mehmood, 2016). The research is based on the corpus of 235 M. Phil and PhD research dissertations taken from different universities all over Pakistan. The corpus was further divided into five research sections and was tagged for 189 linguistic features. The ANOVA results on variation among research sections indicate that there lie statistically significant differences among research sections of Pakistani Academic Writing on all the new textual dimensions.

Issues in the development of the British Academic Written English (BAWE) corpus

Corpora ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sian Alsop ◽  
Hilary Nesi
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Student Writing ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Master's Students ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Writing Tutors ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Given

The British Academic Written English (BAWE) corpus is a collection of texts produced by undergraduate and Master's students in a wide range of disciplines, for assessment as part of taught degree programmes undertaken in the UK. The majority of the contributors to the corpus are mother tongue speakers of English, but, in order to be included in the corpus, each assignment had to be judged proficient by assessors in the contributor's discipline, regardless of the writer's mother tongue. The corpus contains, therefore, only texts that have met departmental requirements for the given level of study. University writing programmes are typically aimed at undergraduate and Master's students, and it would be useful for writing tutors to know more about student assignment genres and the linguistic features of successful writing at undergraduate and Master's level. However, most large-scale descriptive studies of academic writing focus on published or publicly accessible texts, or learner essays on general academic topics, probably because there are practical difficulties associated with collecting large amounts of well-documented student output. This paper charts the experience of collecting data for the BAWE corpus, highlighting the problems we encountered and the solutions we chose, with a view to facilitating the task of future developers of academic student writing corpora.

The Socio-Economic Challenges of South African Indigenous Musicians: A Case Study of Venda-Based Vho-Ntshengedzeni Mamphodo

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N G Mugovhani ◽  
Lebogang Lance Nawa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Arts Management ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Indigenous Music ◽  
Entire Country

This article discusses and raises awareness about the socio-economic plight of indigenous musicians in South Africa. Through a qualitative case study of the Venda musician, Vho-Talelani Andries Ntshengedzeni Mamphodo, dubbed the “Father of mbila music,” the article highlights the fact that the welfare of Black South African artists, particularly indigenous musicians in South Africa, is generally a precarious affair. Their popularity, at the height of their careers, sometimes masks shocking details of exploitation, neglect, and the poverty they are subjected to, which are exposed only after they have died. Empirical data identifies this as a symptom of, among other things, cultural policy and arts management deficiencies in the promotion of indigenous music. The article aims to find ways to redress this unfortunate situation, which is partially a product of general apathy and scant regard that these artists have perennially been subjected to, even by their own governments, as well as some members of their societies. All these factors mentioned are compounded by ignorance on the part of South African artists. Part of the objective of this study was to establish whether the exposition of the Vhavenda musicians is a typical example of all Black South African indigenous musicians and, if this is the case, whether the suggested ways to redress this unfortunate situation could contribute to or play a role in alleviating the plight of such artists in the entire country.

Disclosing Child Sexual Abuse during Forensic Assessments of the Black South African Child

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jabulani Makhubele ◽  
Selelo Frank Rapholo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
South African ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
African Child ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Forensic Assessments ◽  
South African Child ◽  
Forensic Interviewers

Child sexual abuse is a social and health issue that affects citizens across the globe. It has a number of physical, psychological and emotional consequences. Children are reluctant to talk about their involvement in sexual abuse owing to various reasons. Therefore, forensic interviewers need to understand the process of disclosure when conducting forensic assessments. They also need to be watchful of various dynamics that are likely to have an impact on the disclosure rate. The aim of this study was to describe the dynamics during forensic assessments in the context of the black South African child when disclosing child sexual abuse. A descriptive design using stratified random, purposive and convenient sampling techniques to select the participants was employed, resulting in 14 participants (13 were females and only one was male). The data were collected by means of semi-structured in-depth interviews and were thematically analysed using the Nvivo program. The findings reveal that personal characteristics of the child and the interviewer, their communication abilities, blind assessments and informed allegation interviews have an impact on forensic assessments of black South African children. It is concluded that the dynamics of disclosing child sexual abuse during forensic assessments in terms of the variables of the study are not unique, except in terms of sociocultural value systems, beliefs and customs. As a result, it is recommended that the forensic interviewers come to the developmental level of the child, speak his/her language or use translators for him/her to understand, and to follow blind assessments interviews as opposed to informed allegation interviews. However, informed allegations interviews are recommended when assessing very young children.

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