WORLDS IN DIALOGUE
WÊRELDE IN DIALOOG - MAFATSHE A PUISANO
8-11 JULY 2009
ABSTRACTS
 Balfour, Prof. Robert J
St Austin College, Johannesburg
“The House of Fiction: the house as post-colonial trope in the fiction
of V.S. Naipaul”
Jan Mohamed (1992) in his work on the postcolonial literature of migrants argues that
their “positionality [as] specular border intellectuals” is not merely the combination of
initial dislocation, together with a western education, which rules out the possibility of
“gregarious acceptance” of any new home culture, but that “homelessness cannot be
achieved without multiple border crossings or without a constant, keen awareness of
the politics of borders” (1992: 112).
The fiction of VS Naipaul offers selected examples of characters who take the
form of migrant public intellectuals (as writers, poets, teachers, administrators or
journalists) who epitomise the possibilities of relocation after the binary and totalising
structures of power have been fractured and displaced. In other words, through their
migration as specular border intellectuals, a new form of community become possible,
a community of individuals Bhabha terms the "unhomely"; a new internationalism, a
gathering of people in the Diaspora. "To live in the unhomely world, to find its
ambivalences and ambiguities enacted in the house of fiction, or its sundering and
splitting performed in the work of art, is also to affirm a profound desire for social
solidarity”.
In this paper I offer an analysis of the house (of fiction) as a post-colonial trope
characteristically problematised by Naipaul, who shows that while offering some
intellectual and cultural possibilities of home, finds that these are nevertheless
endangered and delimited by the possibilities afforded in a globalised world.
 Blatchford, Mathew
University of Fort Hare
“The Narrative of Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zum of Nkandla”
A plot, according to Aristotle, is that which has a beginning, a middle and an end.
And, if we are to believe Jacob Zuma's publicists, the plot against Jacob Zuma was
precisely thus. However, few commentators have recognised that the narrative
presented by Jacob Zuma's publicists, because it does not rest on factual information,
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ought to stand or fall by its aesthetic merits. Does it possess, as W S Gilbert noted,
"artistic verisimilitude"?
It might seem strange to examine a political narrative through the use of literary
analysis. However, this estrangement is only due to the tragic intellectual divides
within academia today. In fact, since literature is meant to hold a mirror up to
humanity and politics is supposed to reflect the wishes of the electorate, the two
appear altogether analogous. Hence this paper will examine the narrative of the plot
against J G Zuma according to its relevance to artistic credibility -- or at least, since
this is arguably a work of fantasy, subjection to the notorious "willing suspension of
disbelief".
The template through which this political narrative will be examined, is that of
Edgar Allen Poe's only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, a
text (it will be recalled) concerning lost ships, mortal peril in southern regions, and the
eventual revelation of the hollowness of everything. It will be suggested that there are
intriguing aesthetic and intellectual connections between the doomed Pym and the farfrom-doomed Zum -- and that, indeed, "a chasm threw itself open to receive us. But
there arose in our pathway a shrouded human figure, very far larger in its proportions
than any dweller among men". Or, as Karl Marx observed, "the first time as tragedy;
the second, as farce".
 Szulia, Jagoda & Brits, Karien
Adam Mickiewicz University
“The classroom as a storytelling space where the Exotic meets and
greets the Domestic”
Learning about South Africa in Poland is a difficult task, most of our students will
say. Two different countries, two different continents and… a multitude of culture
differences. Can a legitimate dialogue between these two worlds take place when all
we have at our disposal is a distance of ten thousand kilometers, a set of preformed
(mis)conceptions and virtually no first-hand experience of Africa?
According to educational theorist David A. Kolb (1984: 22), personal experience
is key to giving “life, texture, and subjective personal meaning to abstract concepts”
and “learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation
of [such] experience” (Kolb 1984: 38). What does one do then, if already at the onset
of the learning process a vital element is missing?
Our responsibility as teachers (of Afrikaans and culture studies) is to establish an
effective learning environment, where one can develop a dialogue with the study
object and do more than just observe and register “the Exotic”. We aim at designing
an intellectual framework for creative, incorporative learning that would allow the
students to construct and partake in “the Exotic” thus making it their own,
“domesticating” it, so to speak.
In both our classes, language and culture, we make use of role playing and
storytelling – the two teaching devices that we believe best personalize learning.
Telling stories or narration is, according to Linde (2008: 3-4), one of the ways people
present who they are and their actions in the past in order to form their identity.
However, Polish students do not have a South African past and it is here that the two
worlds collide. One way to reconcile the cultural conflict is to rewrite the existing
dialogues in textbooks to make the students part of the story. As one other teacher
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said: “The classroom is a place where stories meet [and] [s]tories are places where
worlds meet” (Susanna Steele 2009).
 Byrne, Prof Deirdre
University of South Africa
“Ursula K. Le Guin’s Lavinia: a dialogue with Classical Roman epic
In Ursula K. Le Guin’s latest novel, Lavinia (2008), she writes a fictional biography
of a minor character in Virgil’s Aeneid. The protagonist and narrator is Aeneas’s
second wife, Lavinia, the daughter of a minor Italian king, who helps the Roman hero
found the city of Rome. In the novel, Le Guin sets Lavinia’s biography in dialogue
with Virgil’s epic, noting also that her protagonist is ‘contingent’ in the Roman text
and hence has no ‘body’ and no ‘voice’ in the earlier tale. The work therefore gives a
silenced but substantial woman a voice, which reconfigures notions of the male hero’s
contribution to the shaping of Western history. Lavinia is an addition and extension to
the last six books of The Aeneid, but it can be seen as a gesture of rehabilitating
women’s stories, and as a significant contribution to what Carolyn Heilbrun calls
'writing ... women's lives' (1988), or, to put it differently, an attempt to revise 'history'
so that it tells herstory as well. While Vigil's focus is on history-making through
dramatic actions by men, Le Guin’s focus is (as in many of her earlier works) on the
domestic preoccupations of a woman who is concerned with her family and home. My
paper will explore the multiple dialogues that Le Guin conducts in her text: a feminist
revision of a classical work; an interrogation of the figure of the hero/heroine in a
patriarchal historiography; and a postmodernist view of the way history is
constructed.
 Collins, Tonya
University of Mississippi
“Pulling It All Together”
The presenter will have open dialogue with the audience with hopes of sharing
valuable insight of good and bad Professional Development experiences.
Professional Development is such an important aspect of the educational system.
Many educators say PD is needed more and more. Others say their experience from
years of teaching do not require added PD. This presentation is geared to enlighten all
educators of the great opportunities that PD brings into the educational field. It gives
pointers that can easily be adopted into any setting. Effective, comprehensive, resultsdriven professional development is the key to increased student learning.
The Toolkit to be presented helps you focus not just on technical knowledge that
professionals need, but also process skills that may impact achievement of school
goals.
The schools and districts this Toolkit is based on all used PD to meet educational
goals for students, and they were rigorous about that.
The main difference between this and some other approaches is a focus on results.
Making professional development a priority makes high-quality teachers a priority.
And high-quality teachers make increased student achievement a reality.
Comprehensive, continuous, embedded professional development has been
identified as, perhaps, the most critical element in school reform.
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Unfortunately, high-quality professional development is not typically found in
most schools and districts today.
Professional development can no longer afford to be “sit and get.”
 Cornwell, Prof. Gareth
Rhodes University
“J.M. Coetzee’s Elizabeth Costello: Realism, Responsibility, and
“The Problem of Evil””
In the first part of this paper (the part that I shall deliver at the conference), I ask some
general questions of Elizabeth Costello relating to realism and representation, and to
the notion of authorial responsibility. In the second part I focus these questions in a
response to Lesson Six in Elizabeth Costello, “The Problem of Evil.”
 De Kock, Elma
NWU
“Kunsdialoog: ‘n Interdissiplinêre tienergesprek”
In hierdie aanbieding word daar verslag gedoen oor die gesprek wat ontstaan tussen
literêre genres (prosa en drama) en kunsvorms (skryfkuns, dramauitvoering, fotografie
(of verfilming), boekskepping) in ‘n projek wat met leerders tussen die ouderdomme
van 12 en 14 jaar in die leerarea Kuns en Kultuur onderneem word, wat moet voldoen
aan die volgende asseseringstandaarde by verskeie geleenthede: 1) die skep van ‘n
oorspronklike teks, 2) die dramatisering van ‘n teks, 3) die omskakeling van ‘n
narratiewe na ‘n dramateks en 4) die bemarking van ‘n produk. Alhoewel hierdie
projek vanuit die leerarea Kuns en Kultuur onderneem word, is daar kruiskurrikulêre
dialoog met die taal, geletterdheid en kommunikasie leerareas en die eerste en derde
asseseringstandaarde hoort dan ook tot hierdie leerarea. Daar is in die bemarking van
die hele projek ook nog verdere kruiskurrikulêre dialoog met die leerarea Ekonomiese
en Bestuurswetenskappe.
Die leerders het aanvanklik inligting ontvang rakende die verloop van die
kreatiewe proses, waarna hulle hierdie kennis moes toepas gedurende die skryf van ‘n
kortverhaal, wat hulle moes skoei op temas wat deur die leerders self bepaal is tydens
‘n klasgeleentheid. Hierdie verhale is beoordeel aan die hand van hulle geskiktheid
vir die projekproses en daar sal nou voortgegaan word deur die onderwyser en
leerders om die gekose kortverhaal tot ‘n dramateks te omskep. Wanneer die
dramateks klaar gekryf is, sal die leerders die dramateks instudeer en dramatiseer.
Terwyl die leerders die drama opvoer, sal daar foto’s van die optrede geneem word.
Hierdie foto’s sal dan gebruik word in die samestelling van ‘n fotoverhaalboek, wat
deur die leerders elektronies en met die hand vervaardig sal word. Dit sal dan bemark
word as leesstof vir leerders wat naastenby in hulle ouderdomsgroep val.
 De Villiers, Mr. Rick
University of Pretoria
“Sparrow in the Gutter: The Sordid History of T.S. Eliot’s Poems
1920”
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In relation to the existing criticism of T.S. Eliot’s other works, Poems 1920 has
elicited relatively scant study. With the exception of ‘Gerontion’, of which detailed
analyses abound, the poems in this collection have been severely neglected. While
they are highly allusive and dense, they are no more so than the majority of Eliot’s
subsequent works; indeed, it may be argued that the foundation for the schematic
framework of The Waste Land finds its origins in the palimpsest techniques applied in
poems like ‘Sweeney Erect’ , ‘Mr. Eliot’s Sunday Morning Service’, ‘Sweeney
Among the Nightingales’, and the other English poems in the collection.
The paper aims to justify a revaluation of this neglected part of Eliot’s corpus, and
offers some biographical insight into the poems and essays produced between 19171921. Brief attention will be paid to the affinity between Eliot’s philosophical thesis
Knowledge and Experience in the Philosophy of F.H. Bradley and some of Jacques
Derrida’s texts.
 Dircksen, Prof Marianne
NWU
“Dialogue between an ancient language and the educational problems
in South Africa”
The teaching environment at South African universities has changed dramatically
over the past ten year. Many students enter university with hardly any knowledge of
grammar, they do not learn how to memorise properly and have had little training in
systematically analising and solving a problem. Since they have read less than
previous generations their spelling is notoriously bad, they cannot express themselves
clearly and have hardly any knowledge of the history of modern civilisation. The
problem in South Africa is exacerbated by the fact that many of the students who
enter university come from a previously disadvantaged background and have received
an education which is inferior to that of the privileged white minority. Today’s
students have grown up in the age of television and computers, they want to be
entertained. They do not like to sit and listen to talking heads but prefer to participate.
This paper illustrates how the discipline of learning a classical language such as
Latin provides the student with precisely those skills which today’ s students lack and
which they need to qualify as literate products of a university education. It also
demonstrates how Latin can be made attractive and enjoyable and meet the
requirements of students in the 21st century.
The paper focuses on the advantages of an inductive approach, using the Oxford
Latin Course. Teaching strategies to be discussed and demonstrated include:
integration, “outcomes based education”, the value of group work, online resources,
the acquisition of learning skills, and the unexpected spin off of an improved self
image.
Lecturers of classics in South Africa are weathering the threat to their subject by
creative and innovative teaching and by being responsive to changes in the
educational environment.
 Douglas, Lynette
University of South Africa
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“The masculine symbolic order in dialogue with ‘women’s magic’ in
Ursula le Guin’s fantasy worlds”
This paper explores the way in which language and the power of naming is used to
entrench the male symbolic order in Ursula Le Guin’s world of Earthsea, particularly
in the novels The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, The Other Wind and Tales of Earthsea])
and how women, who have been oppressed by being denied access to the language of
making, set up a dialogue emerging from their ‘magic’, the ability to bring about
transformation. This ‘magic’ arises from the connection women have to the roots of
the world, the Dark Powers feared by men. Through this discourse women reestablish their voice and challenge the Law of the Father through the values belittled
by a patriarchal society but which ultimately give structure and meaning to life. In the
Earthsea cycle Le Guin presents a world where those who control magic yield power
in society, and magic is seen as the ability to use words of power, words of making, to
establish societal structures. Men, male magicians, for there are no female magicians,
have hidden these words from women. Only a few village witches still guard and
treasure a few words which they share amongst themselves, but they have been
conned into believing that they cannot truly use the words of power. However, as the
dragons rise in the west, beings whose only language is the language of Making
through which Segoy spoke the world into existence, women find that this language
comes naturally to them. It is a language they can understand and which they too can
use with power. As men and women engage in dialogue using these words of power, a
new society is established and the ethical constructs which had been perpetuated by
the patriarchal imperative dissolve allowing the values traditionally considered merely
female to become the foundation for a new kind of discourse.
 Du Plessis, Dr, Marietjie
“Die immer teenwoordige, altyd ontwykende genre – die novelle”
Springer beklemtoon in Forms of the modern novella (1975:3,4) dat die novelle ’n
unieke genre is met sy eie onderskeibare kenmerke. Ook Leibowitz in Narrative
purpose in the novella (1974:9) en Caporello-Szykman in The Boccaccian novella:
the creation and waning of a genre (1990:1,2) wys op die eiesoortigheid van die
novelle.
Ongeag die magdom literatuurbronne oor die novelle wat die literêre teorie
opgelewer het, bestaan daar egter nog steeds verwarring oor die eiesoortigheid van die
novelle – dikwels vanweë die lengte van die novelle.
Die opbloei van Skryfkuns as onderrigbare dissipline die afgelope jare en die
vestiging daarvan as ’n universiteitsvak word gekenmerk deur Skryfkunsopleiding in
verskillende genres. Opleiding in die aard van die novelle en die beoefening van
hierdie genre in die skryfpraktyk toon egter leemtes.
Teen die agtergrond van bestaande literêr-teoretiese insigte oor die novelle word
daar in hierdie referaat gepoog om die novelle vanuit ’n praktiese Skryfkunsoogpunt
te belig. ’n Praktykgerigte skryfteoretiese novellebenadering sal aandag geniet vir
toepassing in Skryfkunsopleiding.
Hierdie herbesoek aan die novelle is dus daarop gemik om wanopvattings oor die
novelle uit die weg te ruim en om aan te dui dat die novelle ’n onderskeibare,
onderrigbare prosavorm is.
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 Foley, Prof Andrew
University of the Witwatersrand
“Liberalism in the new Millennium: Ian McEwan’s Saturday”
This paper presents Ian McEwan’s recent novel, Saturday (2005), as a liberal
response to the peculiarly modern conditions obtaining in the first years of the new
millennium. Written in the shadow of 9/11, and set on 15 February 2003, the day of
international protest against the proposed invasion of Iraq, the novel explores the
ways in which the liberal Western citizen can engage with the contemporary world.
Structured as a day-in-the-life narrative, the novel follows neurosurgeon Dr Henry
Perowne around London as he tries to come to terms with both the urgent global
issues and the problems of urban living which confront him. In so doing, Saturday
provides a candid and compelling account of some of the major political, social and
personal dilemmas of modern life.
The paper is written from an explicit liberal perspective in order to read Saturday
on its own terms of reference as a liberal political novel, where the core liberal
principles of individual liberty and social justice are taken seriously and debated
within the context of contemporary society. As one critic has noted, Saturday is an
example of the best kind of political novel, in which “the evidence and arguments are
distributed with careful ambiguity”. And thus the paper will suggest how McEwan’s
novel examines such critical questions as how to balance the desire for personal
liberty with the need for social security; how to maintain supranational justice while
combating the threat of terrorism; and how art and culture can play a role in the
development of mutual understanding and respect between people at both an
interpersonal and an international level.
 Gaylard, Prof Gerald
University of the Witwatersrand
“Fossicking in the House of Love: Apartheid Masculinity in The
Folly”
This paper attempts to analyse a hitherto ignored aspect of Vladislavić’s The Folly,
and of Vladislavić’s writing more generally: that of sexuality and gender, masculinity
in particular. I argue that Vladislavić’s novella is innovative in its linking of
individual subjectivity and psycho-sexuality with the apartheid state and its
machineries. In this respect, Vladislavić was prepared to enter regions of the self and
psyche and to take the fictional risk of abstract surrealism that few of his
contemporaries were, and, I argue, the results were revelatory in their exhumation of
buried complexes. In this novel Vladislavić shows that a key mechanism that held the
apartheid state together was macho homosociality which soothed the troubled
conscience of the white majority via the prosthetic conscience of the leader whose
vision led the homosocial pack. The exteriorisation of conscience into the
architectonic vision of the highly masculine leader, a vision that involved warlike
masculinity and extreme male bonding, was the central psychological mechanism that
accompanied Apartheid social engineering in Vladislavić’s analysis. The vision of this
heroic leader was extremely structured and structural in every way, involving clear
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taxonomies, hierarchies and normative imperatives, because it was based upon
reactionary fears. Importantly, however, Vladislavić also embodied an alternative to
this Apartheid identity and its workings in the text.
 Gilani-Williams, Fawizia
University of Worcester, England
“Lifting the Veil: The emergence of British Islamic Holiday
Literature for Muslim Children”
This session seeks to inform scholars and students of children’s literature about
the Islamic holidays of Eid-ul-Adha and Eid-ul-Fitr. It seeks to lift the veil on a
number of issues relating to children’s Islamic holiday literature making it the latest
category of children’s holiday literature. This paper will:
 Briefly discuss the void in public libraries and school libraries on Eid
literature.
 Provide a brief survey of Eid literature available in public libraries in areas
with huge Muslim populations: Birmingham, England. Windsor, Canada.
Dearborn, USA.
 Discuss the emergence of children’s Islamic holiday fiction on Eid-ul-Adha
and Eid-ul-Fitr and the attempt the to thwart cultural repression.
 Offer a reading of “The Jilbab Maker’s Eid Gifts”, with illustrations, as an
example of children’s Islamic holiday literature.
 Discuss British cultural assimilation evident in children’s Islamic holiday
literature.
 Notify that Ramadan is not a ‘holiday’ but an observance. This is something
that not only educators, librarians but also publishers lack awareness of.
 Provide a booklist of children’s fiction and non fiction titles on Eid.
 Discuss cultural identity through Islamic children’s holiday literature.
 Discuss the changing attitude of Muslim publishers towards illustrations in
children’s literature.
 Discuss how Islamic holiday literature attempts to make the strange familiar.
 Greyling, Prof Franci
North-West University
“Die konkretisering van fiksionele wêrelde in kinder- en
jeugliteratuur deur middel van die kreatiewe gebruik van
paratekste”
Tegnologiese ontwikkeling bied nuwe moontlikhede vir skrywers – ook wat betref die
kreatiewe gebruik van parateks. Parateks, ‘n term wat gebruik word vir verskeie
middele wat die hoofteks aan die leser medieer, word deur Genette (1997) verdeel in
die periteks (die parates binne die boek soos die omslag, titelblad en inhousopgawe)
en die epiteks (die parateks buite die boek soos bemarkingsmateriaal en onderhoude).
As liminale middele en konvensies wat die boek aan die leser medieer, is parateks
inherent heteronoom en aanvullend tot die teks (Genette, 1997). Paratekstuele
elemente kan egter ook gelyktydig verskillende funksies vervul wat die teks op
verskeie wyses kan beïnvloed. ‘n Titel kan byvoorbeeld aanduidend van genre sowel
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as inhoud wees; grafiese elemente kan beide navigerende en narratiewe funksies
vervul (Genette, 1997; Drucker, 2008).
Die aard van kinder- en jeugliteratuur leen sigself tot eksperimentering met
paratekstuele elemente. Dit blyk egter dat beskikbare navorsing oor die parateks in
kinder- en jeugliteratuur grotendeels op die prenteboek en leesmediëring fokus
(Nikolajeva & Scott, 2001; Harris, 2009) en dat daar ‘n behoefte aan verdere
navorsing oor verskeie aspekte van die parateks is (Genette, 1997; Nikolajeva &
Scott, 2001). Hierdie referaat fokus op die konkretisering van fiksionele wêrelde in
kinder- en jeugliteratuur deur middel van die kreatiewe gebruik van paratekste. In die
drie tekste onder bespreking het die betrokke skrywer/illustreerder/boekontwerper
telkens ‘n bepaalde gedeelte van die parateks kreatief ontgin. Die skrywerillustreerder Emily Gravett brei die fiksionele wêreld van haar prenteboek Meerkat
Mail onder andere uit deur die kreatiewe gebruik van die periteks wat primêr as
uitgewersteks beskou word (soos die buiteblad en skutblaaie). In die jeugboek
Suurlemoen! (Jaco Jacobs) word grafiese elemente in die teksgedeelte inherent deel
van die narratief. Die Balkieboek (Martie Preller) illustreer die gebruik van
metafiksionele tegnieke in beide die peri- en epiteks om Balkie as fiksionele skrywer
te vestig. Aangesien die kreatiewe spel met parateks die grense tussen die teks en die
parateks laat vervaag, vereis dit waarskynlik ‘n groter mate van samewerking en
onderhandeling tussen al die partye (skrywer, illustreerder, boekontwerper en
uitgewer) wat betrokke is by die produksie van die boek.
 Grogan, Ms. Bridget
“The Anxiety of Empire: Reading Conrad, Kipling and Malouf”
It is common knowledge that the fear of unfamiliar physical and social landscapes and
the perpetual, often uncanny, sense that the colonial location is a space wherein the
colonist is unhomed and threatened enter colonial and settler writing. Such writing
dramatises the coloniser’ s attempt to diminish colonial anxiety via various rhetorical
strategies; in particular, an informing system of binary oppositions proclaiming the
coloniser as superior and the colonised as inferior. Bhabha argues that the binaries
colonial discourse constructs are inherently unstable: such discourse must posit the
colonised as radically other (external to Western culture) whilst simultaneously
attempting to construct an incontrovertible knowledge of the colonised (located within
Western understanding). Moreover, colonial discourse’s obsession with abjection,
dramatised by the dismissal of the colonised as inferior, disgusting and threatening,
further emphasizes the instability of colonial binaries. Kristeva argues that identity
formation occurs in conjunction with abjection, whereby that which threatens the
notion of a ‘clean and proper’ (in this case European) self is rejected. However, the
abject, never entirely expelled, hovers perpetually at the borders of the tenuous self,
constantly eliciting anxious, repetitive attempts to hold it at bay. The ambivalence and
ambiguity of colonial discourse, evident in its contradictions and abjection, make
possible the conditions of its own critique. Its apparent fixity (particularly in relation
to the racist notion of white superiority) is open to dismantling.
Colonial and white post-colonial literature, by virtue of the ambivalence of the
discourse it employs, its own deliberate narrative strategies, and its frequent concern
with processes of abjection, reveals the dubious confidence of colonialism. This paper
focuses on colonial anxiety as expressed by Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Kipling’s
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“The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes” and Malouf’s Remembering Babylon, and
read through the theoretical perspectives of Bhabha and Kristeva.
 Haire, Dr Karen
“Sol T. Plaatje (1876-1932), creative writer, linguist and researcher
and the Negotiation of a Motswana Identity”
The life of South African icon, Sol T. Plaatje, is considered in terms of our thesis, that
while he wore the outer trappings of an Englishman and Westerner, he bore the inner
sensibilities of a Motswana and an African. Much of the Plaatje scholarship to date
has examined his writings in English and the outside influences on them, namely,
Shakespeare and the Bible. By foregrounding links with subsequent generations of
Setswana literature as well as the cultural imprint and poetic idiom in his Setswana
translations of Shakespeare, we aim to balance the existing portrait of Plaatje, as the
impeccable Englishman. As we examine Plaatje’s life as creative writer, linguist and
researcher, we also highlight the present-day relevance of the tensions and
contradictions that characterized his life, a century ago.
Our theoretical framework explains the relationship between bogosi and the
Batswana sensibilities. The strong identification historically and culturally, in life, is
carried forward in Setswana language, proverb and creative works, and resonates with
our thesis that the outer trappings of Westernization that Plaatje exhibited camouflage
the inner soul of a Motswana. Our close textual analysis demonstrates affinities
between the lion metaphor in Mhudi and metaphors commonly found in praises for
dikgosi in modern Setswana poetry; cultural allusions and language that betrays a
Motswana worldview in Antony’s praise/eulogy of Marcus Brutus in Setswana as
well as sound repetition and rhyme that echo the Setswana poetic and musical
sensibilities. In Plaatje we find a deep cultural rootedness in the respect he has for
bogosi (the chieftaincy/kingship), even if he is simultaneously critical of blind
adherence to hereditary leadership.
 Hashemi, Masoud
Islamic Azad Universityof Toyserkan
“E-mail as a tool for improving University students’ writing skill”
Nowadays, there is a growing tendency among the language learners and teachers of
English as well in the use of online technology along with their traditional classes.
The term “Online technology” refers to reading, writing, and communication via
INTERNET. Writing via Internet to date has been proved to be useful in getting
students to practice their writing assignments. Nowadays, writing instructors have
their students write their projects while surfing the net, rather than old-fashioned
writing styles.
World wide web is providing a great amount of information that, without any
doubt, can be of great benefit to both teachers and students of English especially those
in foreign language settings in which it is not always easy to find enough chance to
learn natural use of language. Nowadays, teaching and learning foreign languages is
mostly limited to traditional classes. But, www has provided the users with lots of
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new possibilities such as: e-fax, e-book, electronic libraries, electronic mail (e-mail)
and much more.
Today millions of people are using e-mail to send and receive a huge mass of
information just in seconds. Now interaction with all the people around the world is
getting easier and easier and that is why today we talk about “global village’’ .Today ,
there are a lot of new possibilities to learn a language in more natural settings . Thus,
the present article is trying to show the benefits of using one of the new learning
opportunities of (e-mail) electronic mail, in an EFL writing class for both students and
teacherar ni We want to see how and why e-mail may give the students better
chances to improve their writing skill and in what ways e-mail may help instructors
make their students more interested in writing assignments.
 Hashemi, Masoud
Islamic Azad Universityof Toyserkan
“The impact(s) of teaching word-formation knowledge in increasing
the EFL learner’s reading comprehension skill”
Nowadays there is an increasing attention to the teaching and learning of vocabulary
in order to facilitate the learners' reading comprehension ability. For many years the
programs that prepared the learners for their future reading tasks offered little or no
attention to the effective teaching of the relevant lexicon by the instructors and the
one hand and the learning and acquiring a sufficient bank of lexicon by the learners on
the other hand. The ability to learn new words easily and effectively appears to have
vanished. Word-formation knowledge which is one of the most systematic ways of
enhancing word power will increase the learner's ability to read difficult texts without
continual reference to unabridged sources. It will also offer the pure pleasure of
adding to their store of useful knowledge.
During the present research, the researcher has tried, hopefully, to investigate
whether teaching word-formation knowledge would have any impact/s on increasing
the computer students ' reading comprehension skill or not . So, 50 computer students
in the form of two groups (each 25 students) were chosen from among many other
students. Both groups (experimental and control) received a pre-test and a post-test.
But the experimental group received a treatment on word-formation knowledge and
the other did not.
The results obtained through various statistical methods such as T-test and
matched T-test confirmed high rate of progress in experimental group and the
rejection of the null hypothesis.
This study shows the effective role that word-formation knowledge played in
increasing the computer students' reading comprehension ability at Islamic Azad
Touyserkan branch.
 Hashemi, Masoud
Islamic Azad Universityof Toyserkan
“The Role of Gender in Language Learning Strategies of EFL
Learners”
Learning style is defined as the manner in which and the conditions under which
learners most efficiently and effectively perceive, process, store, and recall what they
11
are attempting to learn. Gender is among a number of factors that has been found to
influence student learning style and learning strategies.
Language learning strategies are specific actions or techniques that learners use to
assist their progress in developing second or foreign language skills (Oxford, 1990).
For example, Lazlo seeks out conversation partners. Strategies are the tools for active,
self-directed involvement needed for developing L2 communicative ability (O'Malley
& Chamot, 1990). Research has repeatedly shown that the conscious, tailored use of
such strategies is related to language achievement and proficiency.
Language learning strategies are believed to play a vital role in learning a second
language, as they may assist learners in mastering the forms and functions required
for reception and production in the second language and thus affect achievement
(Bialystok, 1979). Many researchers have suggested that the conscious use of
language learning strategies makes good language learners (Naiman, Frohlich &
Todesco, 1975; Oxford, 1985; Wenden, 1985). Researchers believe that strategies of
successful language learners can provide a basis for aiding language learners (Rubin,
1975; Reiss, 1983). O ’Malley, Chamot, Stewner-Manzanares, Russo & Kupper
(1985) asserted that the learning strategies of good language learners, once identified
and successfully taught to less proficient learners could have considerable effects on
facilitating the development of second language skills. Therefore, if language teachers
know more about effective strategies that successful learners use, they may be able to
teach these effective strategies to less proficient learners to enhance these learners’
language
skills.
During the present research , the researcher has tried , hopefully , to show the
important role that gender factor plays among the Persian native speakers who use
some strategies in the process of language learning .
 Havenga, Ms. Kirstin
University of Johannesburg
“Casey Motsisi - the neglected son of the Drum decade”
“It is not easy to say something new; it is not enough for us to open our eyes, to pay
attention, or to be aware, for new objects to suddenly light up and emerge out of the
ground.” - Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge (1972)
Many critics and authorities on the writers of the Drum decade - these include
Michael Chapman, Dorothy Driver, Mike Nicol and Tim Couzens - would perhaps
argue that the amount of work on this period and these writers has reached saturation.
Much analysis on the works of Can Themba, Nat Nakasa, Es’kia Mphahlele, Lewis
Nkosi, Bloke Modisane, Henry Nxumalo, Todd Matshikiza and Arthur Maimane is
available to scholars of South African literature, but there is one writer that has been
critically neglected. Karabo Moses Motsisi (known as Casey Motsisi) is the single
most important reason for undertaking this paper. Casey Motsisi, though mentioned as
a member of the Drum circle, remains on the periphery and has never been the object
of a major study (whether article, dissertation or book). The scant attention that has
been paid to Motsisi’s work means that assessments of the Drum period are deficient.
Based on original preliminary research on various aspects of Motsisi’s writing, this
paper will aim to make a start in restoring him to his rightful place as an exciting and
innovative writer in a fascinating period. In the process of demonstrating his place in
the ‘canon’ of African writers, I will look at some prominent issues including aspects
such as social identity, repression and cultural values presented in his writing during
12
the Drum decade. Specifically this presentation will focus on social representation in
Casey Motsisi’s lesser-known short fiction.
 Hove, Mr. Muchativugwa Liberty
North-West University, Mafikeng
“Imagining the nation: autobiography and (un)homed identities”
This paper locates autobiography and memoir within the broad definition and study of
identity formation and narrating the nation. The validation of autobiography and
memoir is to inscribe identity and project voice, through recourse to selective
memory, so that the (re)positioning of the self emerges not only as interrogating the
period of becoming but also revealing the fragility and elusiveness of that identity.
In examining Peter Godwin’s memoirs – Mukiwa and When a Crocodile Eats the
Sun – this study insists on the elusiveness of mediated identity relative to the
privileges, authority and systems of power articulated by the nation state. In narrating
a genealogical self and inscribing its position relative to social, power and political
spaces, autobiography and memoir insist on transitory rather than permanent identities
that cumulatively shape the narratorial identity. This narratorial and mediated identity
is crucial in its very ambivalent location relative to the nation and those that wield and
regulate authority in the same nation space. What emerges is a conflictual version to
the grand and authorised narratives of the nation.
Mukiwa, for instance, interrogates white Rhodesia – the colonial and colonised
space – its legislature and war against the black liberation movements. In this period,
power and privilege reside in whiteness because of colonial appropriation. At the end
of this autobiography, independence emerges to erase and sanitize the colonial
disease; dissenting voices take to reconciliation and prosperity and enterprise are
celebrated. In the sequel, When a Crocodile Eats the Sun, the inexorable struggle for
independence has shifted power and privilege to black majority. Peter Godwin inserts
himself into the political furore of land acquisition in Zimbabwe and adopts a voice
and identity whose difference with those in Mukiwa is phenomenal.
This paper therefore seeks to examine the (in) consistencies of imagining self and
the appropriation of identities in autobiography and memoir. It re-conceptualises the
critical dimension of the selectivity of memory in scripting self and seeks to
interrogate the multivalent identities that emerge. The dictum that history is scripted
from the position of those in power and authority is explored to establish the
dynamics of domination and subordination: the spatial, moral, social and political
location of the dissident narrator relative to the constituent events of the narrative is
crucial to an understanding of the veracity and historicity of autobiography.
 Hove, Mr. Muchativugwa Liberty
North-West University, Mafikeng
“Polyphony and polygraphy: African first-language speakers at a
private schook in South Africa”
As part of its social and corporate marketing, The Telkom Foundation has funded
twenty learners from previously disadvantaged schools to enrol at a private school
called the International School of South Africa (ISSA). The results of the proficiency
test the learners took upon enrolment indicated they were lacking in cognitive
13
academic language proficiency (CALP) skills, especially reading and writing. The
current qualitative study involved the use of a questionnaire for the participants,
consultations with the learners’ parents and guardians, an examination of the ISSA
entry and exit syllabuses, and my own observations to assess the participants’
language needs. This analysis was linked to the literature on mother tongue instruction
and English second language acquisition. One of the findings was that the
participants’ change-over from mother-tongue instruction to using English as the
language of learning and teaching had been done prematurely when the learners had
not yet acquired sufficient academic cognitive skills. This practice emasculated the
learners’ academic potential. In the transposition o fhte learners from disadvantaged
schools, the pedagogic discourses priviledged second language over mother tongue.
Univocal modalities of monologue in implementing syllabus specifications
thereatened processes and possibilities of dialogue with learners’ previous
experiences. However, the findings also indicated that intervention that could
empower the participants and accommodate transcultural experiences was possible
through, for instance, the use of a relevant and efficient syllabus. In the present study,
such a syllabus allows for the use of the mother tongue as a resource to access CALP
skills the participants lacked. The study could be used to facilitate easy transition of
learners from government to private schools, and in the process enhance the
acquisition of the higher skills needed in English language pedagogy.
 Kleyn, Ms. Leti & Snyman, Prof. Maritha
Universiteit van Pretoria
“Haai, Jaco Jacobs, wanneer skryf jy ’n regte boek? Die kanonisering
van Afrikaanse kinder- en jeugliteratuur”
Die verskyning van die eerste literatuurgeskiedenis van die Afrikaanse kinder- en
jeugboek , Van Patrys-hulle tot Hanna Hoekom (2005), was op sigself reeds ’n
aanduiding dat die genre kinder- en jeugliteratuur in bekende Afrikaanse
literatuurgeskiedenisse soos die van Kannemeyer (1978; 1983; 1988, 1990 en die
bygewerkte, opgedateerde uitgawe van 2005) en Van Coller (1998, 1999 en 2006) nie
genoegsame aandag geniet het nie.
Die ontvangs van hierdie werk was egter in drie opsigte kommerwekkend.
Eerstens het dié omvangryke publikasie (hulpmiddel wat volgens die persverklaring
geskik is vir “vakspesialis soos biblioteekkundiges, navorsers op die terrein van
kinder- en jeugliteratuur en voor- en nagraadse studente aan tersiêre inrigtings, maar
ook vir die algemene leser soos ouers, onderwysers en ander belangstellendes”)
bykans geen aandag in boekeblaaie geniet nie. Slegs één resensie het in die breë
media verskyn, die van Hennie van Coller in Volksblad (November 2005). Die tweede
kommerwekkende aspek is dat die ontvangs ’n (her)bevestiging van heersende
persepsies onder akademici, literêre navorsers en geskiedskrywers was; en in die
derde plek die voortgesette verwydering toon tussen “literêre rolspelers” en die breë
publiek (die teikengroep).
In hierdie referaat sal daar aandag gegee word aan kanoniseringspraktyke in die
Afrikaanse literatuur met spesifieke verwysing na die (beperkte) plek van die kinderen jeugboek in literatuurgeskiedenisse. Ander relevante kwessies wat aandag sal
geniet, is die bekroning van kinder- en jeugliteratuur, probleme in die boekbedryf met
betrekking tot volhoubare ontwikkeling en publikasie van Afrikaanse titels sowel as
die nagevolge van ’n apatiese houding jeens ’n genre wat nie “genoegsame status” het
14
om as deel van die groter Afrikaanse literêre kanon oorweeg te word nie. Die
bekendmaking van enkele verkoopsyfers, uitgewerspraktyke en ontvangs van hierdie
genre(s) beloof om toehoorders regop te laat sit …
 Kruger, Ms. Haidee
North-West University
“Narratology meets translation studies (again): Developing a
cognitive- contextualist narratological approach for the analysis of
translated South African children’s books”
While some scholarly work (see Bosseaux, 2007; Hermans, 1996; Kruger, 2001;
Levenston & Sonnenschein, 1986; May, 1994; O ’Sullivan, 2006; Van Leuven-Zwart,
1989, 1990) has been done on the interface between narratology and translation
studies, much of this work has proceeded from a structuralist paradigm which
discounts both context and reader. This paper proposes to develop an alternative
translation studies / narratology interface that may account for both these elements, in
addition to the textual elements. The more specific aim of this is to provide a set of
narratological tools useful for the textual analysis of translated children’s books, and
which may also be usefully extended outwards to investigations of how contextual
forces and readers’ responses shape and are shaped by the textual elements of
translated narrative.
With this aim in mind, the approach developed draws on structuralist narratology,
as the narratological nucleus, but gives preference to contemporary postclassical
narratologies, such as contextualist narratology and cognitive narratology. It extends
Bortolussi and Dixon’s ( 2003) argument for a clear distinction between textual
features and reader constructions into the domain of translation. In this, the focus is
particularly on narration, and on the process of reader identification, as well as the
fact that much existing research in the borderspace between narratology and
translation studies is focused on narration. The arguments draws on an analysis of two
translated South African picture books: Waar’s Jamela? (Daly, 2005) and Lekker
verjaar, Jamela! (Daly, 2007).
 Labuschagne, Ms. Dalene
University of Johannesburg
“Deconstructing utopia in science fiction: irony and the resituation of
the subject in Iain M. Banks’s The Player of Games”
A common perception of SF is that it consists of unproductive texts that fail to offer
incisive comment on the social conditions of existence. Such a perception is largely a
result of the singular function of utopia in SF. SF is habitually associated with the
utopian, which presents a causal structure of either/or logic in which predetermined
definitions of the subject matter restrict the position of the individual subject. Whether
it envisages the creation of an ideal or forewarns of the apocalyptic, the utopian is
teleological; therefore the subject (both the individual and the subject matter) has no
choice but to be what has already been decided for it to be. However, I wish to argue
that through SF’s ironic deployment of utopia’s fixation with ends, the subject
(matter) is liberated. Irony offers a both/and kind of logic that transgresses the bounds
15
of predetermined definitions, allowing room for the suspension of choice so that the
genre may continually interrogate the possibilities of its own existence. The process of
interrogation describes a deconstructive trajectory in which the text evades
termination, a procedure that amounts to an infinite series of self-deconstructive
moves, resulting in the recurrent resituation of the subject matter in discourse. Implicit
here is the continual renegotiation of the traditional view of SF, a reconsideration that
discerns a difference between utopia and SF. This article considers the notion that
there are, indeed, certain SF texts that consciously perform this difference, of which
Iain M. Banks’s The Player of Games is an example. References to this text will
demonstrate that, in a coincident gesture, irony both preserves the utopian fixation
with ends and abolishes it, presenting an affirmative moment that allows the genre to
survive through contestation.
 Layton, Ms. Delia
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
“‘Talk deep to write deeper’: an exploration of the value of talk in
developing Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP)”
First year university students, for whom English is an additional language, face the
dual challenge of having to master English to the required level and to learn how to
function in a new (academic) discourse community. The extent to which students
gradually adapt to a new identity in learning the language of the academy or
‘academic literacy’, is reflected firstly in the ways in which they engage in lively
debate (dialogue) in the classroom and thereafter in their writing.
This paper presents the findings of a research project conducted in 2007 on a
group of first year university students at the University of Johannesburg, for whom
English was not a first language. The research findings showed that the process of
‘deep’ talk enabled students cognitively to challenge and engage with each other’s
ideas as a means towards developing their own arguments. In doing so, they began to
‘mimic’ academic discourse, moving from what Cummins (1996) has termed ‘basic
interpersonal communication skills’ (BICS) in the direction of ‘cognitive academic
language proficiency’ (CALP). The research also found that giving background
reading material prior to holding a group discussion helped inform and deepen the
talk, which in turn helped students develop stronger positions and acknowledge
opposing viewpoints, thus strengthening the arguments in their academic essays.
The research suggests that first year students in South African universities, the
majority of whom come from a socio-cultural background wherein the oral tradition is
strongly emphasized, can enhance the development of their academic literacy by
frequent and regular opportunities to engage in interactive group discussion.
 Lindfors, Prof. Bernth
University of Texas
“Audience Responses to a BBC Broadcast of Wole Soyinka's THE
LION AND THE JEWEL”
The paper will examine audience responses to a BBC radio broadcast of Wole
Soyinka's THE LION AND THE JEWEL in May 1966. At this time Soyinka was
16
rapidly gaining a reputation in Britain as a major African playwright, and though THE
LION AND THE JEWEL is among his most accessible plays, some British listeners
had difficulty following the action and understanding cultural nuances in the drama.
However, most listeners responded favorably to the production, enjoying the humour
in the situations depicted.
 Lindfors, Prof. Judith
University of Texas
“Children’s Oral and Written Language Acquisition: Dialogue or
Disconnect?”
Dialogue in this paper is the interaction of two language systems -- oral language and
written language -- as 5- and 6-year olds living at a domestic violence shelter begin to
read and write. These children's early literacy engagements, recorded in the author's
journal over a 5-year period, show that the children brought into active and continuing
dialogue the oral language system they already had and the written language
system they were learning. Three features of the children's oral/written language
dialogue were especially noteworthy: (1) authenticity (communication purpose), (2)
meaning-orientation, (3), individuality. The author contrasts this dialogic early
literacy with educational approaches which serve to disconnect the child's oral and
written language acquisition.
 Mabeqa, Thokozile
University of the Western Cape
“Translation of proper names in children’s literature from English
into isiXhosa”
This study aims to investigate proper names of characters in children’s literature
translated texts from English into isiXhosa. It has been realized that some translators
opt to retain English proper names of characters in their translated texts. This seems to
be confusing to the target readers since they cannot connect the names with their
culture, and also of the fact that it becomes difficult for them to remember and to
pronounce the words since they are in a foreign language to them.
The functionalist or skopos theory proposed by Vermeer suggests that in order to
have a translation that addresses the needs of the target readers one has to realize the
culture and the living conditions of the target readers. It also suggests that a
translation should perform a particular function to the target readers and have an aim
as well. This suggests that if the issue of proper nouns in translated children’s
literature is not taken cognizance of, the translation could not perform its function to
the target readers.
It is important as well to take cognizance of the cognitive level of children as far
as written texts are concerned. Cultural and social issues have an impact on the
cognitive level of children, and that should be the stepping stone of any translator of
children's literature.
 Makalela, Dr. Leketi
17
University of Limpopo
“Black South African English in
institutionalized inter-ethnic features”
Limpopo:
A
study
of
The past fifteen years of research on Black South African English (BSAE) have seen
a proliferation of studies documenting BSAE as an emerging outer circle variety with
distinctive features. As a result, arguments for internal codification and influence
toward existing standards were also advanced. However, it is noteworthy that there
are no studies as yet, which systematically compared BSAE features across ethnic
groups that speak various indigenous African languages. The aim of this study was to
draw a profile of inter-ethnic features of BSAE among speakers of Sepedi, Tshivenda,
and Xitsonga of a three years period, using oral and written speech protocols.
Analysis of frequencies (Chi-square) and correlation measures (co-efficients) show
common salient features which were observed with high frequency modes across an
ethnic spectrum of the participants involved in the study. Given this finding,
arguments for BSAE as a stabilizing variety with (i) geographical strength, (ii) interAfrican language base, and (iii) institutionalization trends are discussed within the
World Englishes paradigm. In the end, suggestions for further research and classroom
implications for English language teaching are made for adaptation in comparable
situations.
 Makalela, Dr. Leketi
University of Limpopo
“Narrative interpretation of HIV/AIDS messages: A study of
multimodal communication in rural Limpopo”
The increasing spread of HIV/AIDS pandemic in rural areas of South Africa despite a
plethora of messages directed at the youth has come to cast doubt on the efficacy and
relevance of these messages in these remote areas. Empirically, there is a dearth of
research on alternative multimodal communication strategies, inspired by local and
culturally germane modes of information transmission to inform material design and
expand comprehension opportunities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the
effects of manipulated narratives into available HIV/AIDS content aimed at low
literate and rural target population in Limpopo. Experiments with six modal
conditions, each combined with the manipulated narrative text were conducted among
grade 10 learners. Both One-Way ANOVA and correlations analyzes of the learner
responses show differential treatment of the message content protocols among the
participants, according to different dimensions of the narrative text in the six
conditions. Using cognitive load model, I argue for the need to pay closer attention to
the rhetoric styles used by local communities and a bottom-up approach to advertising
materials for these communities. Although the results are inconclusive, larger
implications for health communication for rural and comparable low literate
communities are discussed for consideration in other relevant contexts such as life
orientation classes.
 Makapan, Mr. Makena
North-West Provincial Legislature
18
“Setlhogo: Maikarabelo a Tlhabololo le tlhabololo le tiriso ya puo ya
diatla e e neng e ikgatholositswe, e bile e kgaphetswe kgakala ke
bokoloniale tota le puso ya jaanong ya demokerasi ”
PUO ke mokgwa wa tlhaeletsano magareng ga babuisani ba babedi, ba bararo go ya
kwa godimo le tlhaeletsano magareng ga ditlhopha tsa batho. Tlhaeletsano ga e felele
magareng ga batho ka nosi. Motho o kgona go tlhaeletsana le diphologolo, dinonyane
le ditshedi tsotlhe tse di farologaneng.
Ka jalo, rona gompieno fa, jaaka re kopane jaana re tsile go buisana le go thusana
ka dikakanyo mabapi le tlhabololo ya dipuo tse di farologaneng tsa semmuso. Nna ke
batla go leba seabe sa Puso mo tlhabololong le tshomarelo ya Puo ya Diatla ya
Aforika Borwa [South African Sign Language].
Ka ntata ya pitso kgotsa kokano e e rulagantsweng e, ke tsile go leba mokgwa wa
tlhaeletsano o o sa tlwaelegang. Mokgwa o ke batlang re o leba ke: “POIFO YA SE
SE SA ITSIWENG” Ka ntata ya gore ke tsile go tsepamisa puo ya me mo go poifo ya
se se sa itsiweng, kgotsa poifo ya se se sa tlwaelegang nna ke tsile go bua ka ga sone
se nna ke sa se itseng, e bile ga ke dumele fa ke tla tsoga ke itse se ke batlang gore
nna le wena, rona rotlhe re bue ka ga sone.
Ka fa tlase ga setlhogo se sa Dithekenosekeipi ke tsile go leba mokgwa wa
tlhaeletsano o bontsi jwa rona re sa o tlwaelang, e bile bangwe ba rona re tshaba go
dirisa mokgwa o wa tlhaeletsano ka ntata ya gore re sa o itse. Bangwe ba rona, ebile
re tshaba le go ithuta one. A yone e ka se dirwe nngwe ya Dipuo tsa Semmuso tsa
Aforika Borwao?
 Malatji, Ms. Shirley
Central University of Technology, Free State
“ Digital folklore storytelling in human resource management? An
m-learning breakthrough”
After different deliberations at seminars concerning teaching and learning, some
lecturers still cannot strike the right cord in making teaching and learning to be
mobile. Mobile learning, referred to as “M-Learning” in this work, is able to pick up a
folklore story from Humanity’s faculty, break it into a sizeable method of teaching
with the aim of accelerating understanding of Human Resources Management as a
learning content, in an unforgettable way. One essential feature of folklore stories is
that animals are personified as HR managers who occupy offices of authority. In
framing this presentation, a folklore story has been chosen and DVDeed to illustrate
the m-learning breakthrough, believing that competent teaching is about going extra
mile digitally.
 Mamet, Ms. Claudia
University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
“Translating Afrikaner disillusionment with the Boer War: An
analysis of dialogic expression in Elsa Silke’s English translation of
Ingrid Winterbach’s Niggie”
19
The central concern of this paper is to uncover how Afrikaner disillusionment with the
Anglo-Boer War is transferred into the English translation of Winterbach’s Niggie.
Tha author focuses on the translation strategies Silke utilizes to translate this uniquely
Afrikaans experience into the English version, To Hell with Cronje. Disillusionment
with the war is depicted in numerous ways in the novel but I am interested specifically
in the way in which disillusionment is expressed through dialogue. This is particularly
because of the intensity of anger and disappointment that is captured in the characters’
conversations about the war. Selected dialogue between the characters, referring
directly or indirectly to their disillusionment with the war, will be analysed to
determine which translation strategies have been chosen. Through such an analysis,
the way in which Silke depicts Afrikaner disillusionment with the Anglo-Boer War in
To Hell with Cronje can be established.
Since the 1990s translation strategies have increasingly shifted away from source
orientation towards target orientation. In an attempt to appeal to a wide Englishspeaking South African readership, this paper will begin with the assumption that
Silke’s To Hell with Cronjé tends towards a target-oriented translation. It must be
noted that from the 1990s in South Africa there was a growing interest amongst
Afrikaans writers to portray the futility of the Anglo-Boer War in their fiction. The
desire of Afrikaans authors to have such Afrikaans literary works translated into
English has also risen sharply primarily due to market demands. At this time when
Afrikaans novels with a similar theme of Afrikaner disillusionment during the AngloBoer War are being translated into English, hopefully my research can contribute to
the debate around contemporary translation trends of these literary works and
stimulate further studies of cultural translation of Afrikaner war experience in South
Africa and even abroad.
 Manase, Dr. Irikidzayi
University of Venda
“Imagining post-2000 Zimbabwean perceptions of land and notions
on identities in Catherine Buckle’s African Tears: The Zimbabwe
Land invasions and Beyond Tears: Zimbabwe’s Tragedy”
The paper considers representations of contestations over societal perceptions of land
and identities between some farmers and the nationalist elite in post-2000 Zimbabwe
as represented in Catherine Buckle’s African Tears: The Zimbabwe Land Invasions
(2000) and Beyond Tears: Zimbabwe’s Tragedy (2002). It examines the experiences
that Buckle, a white commercial farmer near Marondera, faced during the early phase
of the land invasions in relation to the nationalist dialogue on land and identities
dominating the represented government’s post-2000 anti-imperialism project and
politics of land invasions and occupations. Traditional postcolonial perspectives on
imagined and national identities postulated by Anderson (1983) and Gellner (1983),
and discussions on the centrality of land in the formation of personal and social
belonging and other identities, as postulated by Alexander, McGregor and Ranger
(2000), Ranger (2005) and Alexander (2007) are considered in relation to the specific
historical and social conditions influencing the competing perceptions of land and the
re-imagining of contemporary identities in post-colonial Zimbabwe. Therefore, the
nature of Buckle’s representations of her experiences under siege on her farm and its
impact on perceptions of the space of the farm and social and national identities, are
examined in relation to the state’s post-2000 dialogue seeking to fossilise a singular
20
political history, national memory of land and hegemonic determinations of who
belongs and does not belong in contemporary postcolonial Zimbabwe.
 Mba, Mrs. Nonyelum Chubuzo
University of Abuja
“Generations and Gender Discourse in Nigerian Drama: An x-ray of
Culture in Selected Works”
Nigeria is a federation with a conglomeration of cultures which evidently subjugates
the woman to a second fiddle. Its traditional norms and parental interference in the
lives of youth form the basis of generation conflict in homes and society at large. The
developmental trend in the global world demands reform in certain obnoxious
traditions that affect the lives of women and youth in Nigerian society. There is
interplay of generation incompatibility and social prejudices which generate a lot of
argument. Feud, whether inter-communal or family based, is global based and
manifest into social strata, cultural prohibitions, and developmental deterioration.
Value standard is stigmatized with societal identity and tagged to culture which is a
projection of people’s way of life. The summation of the interactive discourse of the
above topic is the effective manipulation of language by the authors in question in
their x-ray of culture and its implication for globalization. Selected works of J.P.
Clark, Tess Onwueme, James Ene Henshaw, Femi Osofisan, and Zulu Sofola were
explored in this paper.
 McCabe, Dr Rose-marie
“Introducing an intercultural dialogue in mainly rural ESL and EAP
classrooms by means of language learning materials”
This paper argues for the application of an integrated approach to the design and
development of English second language teaching materials with regard to the cultural
content of the reading passages and general language activities. The need for a
supportive area or bridge between the home environment and the academic
environment was indicated in a study involving mainly rural first-entering rural
university students at the University of Limpopo. Pertinent to this study is Sapir’s
statement that “no two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as
representing the same social reality” (Sapir 1949: 162) and so people speaking
different native languages pay attention to different aspects of reality
(Kumaravadivelu 2008: 18). Hence, the reality described in the language textbook and
its activities may be so distant from the reality of the language learner that it hinders
language learning instead of promoting it. Hence this paper investigates the idea of a
so-called ‘third space’ into which the concept interculturality and dialogue about
interculturality is slotted. The paper also examines the role of English as an
international language because it also influences decisions on what and how to teach
English as a second or foreign language and particularly in a tertiary environment
where disadvantaged rural students require English for Academic Purposes.
21
 McKenzie, Mr. John
“The Real in the Reel: Negotiating the dialogue between the referent
and the represented”
This paper explores the different types of discourse evident in a range of film
documentaries based on the Galapagos Islands, especially drawing attention to the
educational value of films like SharkWater that, both in form and content, empower
learners to believe that the individual is not simply subject to discourse but also is
invited to be an active constructor of knowledge and action. This paper supports the
arguments of Tallis who both defends realism as a genre (1998) and who also
identifies radical post-structuralists as the "enemies of hope" (1999). As the loss of
hope is a critical factor in youth suicide, it is arguable by analogy, that a collective
loss of hope produces a dangerous dystopia.
There is an urgent necessity to recuperate the referent from the radical poststructuralist position which, in asserting that there is nothing outside language and the
notion that the signified is forever deferred, potentially undermines, in an educational
context, learners' belief in the efficacy of literature and film to represent the real and
their capacity to exercise agency in the world as part of their responses to text. Whilst
critical literacy necessitates the problematising of the representation of the referent,
there is also the need for learners to have some faith in the truth value of
environmental discourse and its relationship to nature itself, and in the context of
global challenges to the environment, to believe that they can make a difference.
Consequently, this paper challenges documentary makers to consider the ethical
implications of the act of documentary film-making and further invites educators to
select resources and teaching strategies that enable hope. Eco-criticism above all must
signify for learners the hope of being involved in the recuperation of nature itself as
part of their response to its representation.
 Meyer, Ms. Susan
Noordwes-Universiteit
“Heterotopiese ruimtes van krisis en die natuur se genesende invloed
in Chinchilla (Nanette van Rooyen)”
Michel Foucault’s concept crises heterotopia is used to interpret and describe the
main character’s unique experience of particular places in Chinchilla (2007). The
study focuses on the manner in which nature becomes part of the experience of crises
heterotopias, and how the natural environment creates a space conducive to the
overcoming of trauma within the novel. Images and experiences of nature offer the
main character a bridge to a verbal expression of traumatic events of the past that
otherwise could not initially be expressed; contact with and influences from nature
contribute to a new spiritual calm, energy, and perspective. Care of nature’s creatures
leads to the recognition of aspects of the main character’s own situation, and provides
the associative stimuli for reliving the suppressed traumatic events, thereby helping to
lift the silence, which aids the healing of the novel’s traumatised character.
 Mohamadi, Hiwa & Nilipour, Dr Reza
22
Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Shahid Beheshti
Blvd, Kermanshah, Iran & Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, Teheran,
Iran
“The influence of language dominance on stuttering severity in
Kurdish-Persian bilingual students who stutter”
Objective: The manifestation of stuttering in bilinguals is interesting and important
from clinical and theoretical point of views. There are controversial reports about
factors that affected severity and type of dysfluencies in native and second languages
of bilingual stutterer. This study is examined the effect of language proficiency on
stuttering severity in Kurdish-Persian bilingual stutterer.
Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, 31 Kurdish-Persian bilingual students
who stutter, ages 10-12 years were selected. We assessed two 10-min of spontaneous
speech in Kurdish and Persian by Stuttering like Dysfluencies Scale to diagnose the
stutterer students. These two samples were analyzed also for language complexity and
lexical diversity indexes to obtain the language proficiency.
Results: All participants acquired Kurdish as native language at home and learned
Persian as second language at school. They began to learn Persian from 5. The
language complexity in Persian was higher than Kurdish significantly. Lexical
diversity in Persian was higher than Kurdish but there difference not significant. The
severity of stuttering in Kurdish was lower than Persian.
Conclusion: According to this study Kurdish was native language of participants
but Persian was dominant because the language proficiency in Persian was higher
than Kurdish. This condition may be due to educational system in Iran that only use
Persian in school and media and omit any other language such as Kurdish. The
severity of stuttering in dominant language is Higher than Kurdish as non-dominant
language. The social-psychological factors such as negative experiences by Persian as
educational language may be play an important role. The emotional and motivational
factors such as positive emotional relationship to native language are the other
explains to this condition.
 Mojalefa, Prof. MJ
University of Pretoria
“Depiction of Johannes Mokgwadi’s divinatory poems”
Although praise poetry by black South Africans has received some critical attention,
there are still some researchers (discussed below), who find it difficult to understand
the structure of this poetic form. Opland (1983:159), for example, assumes that every
poem has to have a structure similar to that of poetry written in one of the languages
of the West, such as English, and finds the absence of such structure in praise poetry
worrying. The same criticism raised by Opland, writing on isiXhosa oral, is also
voiced by some critics (e.g. Rycroft, 1960) with regard to modern Sepedi poetry,
saying that it is no longer oral, but rather written, and so should have more in common
with Western poetry. However, Groenewald (1993:12-31) states the opposite view,
namely, that traditional oral and modern written Sepedi poetry are similar in many
respects to each other and to Western modes (especially where the Western mode in
question is that of oral Anglo-Saxon poetry), differing only in content, as this paper
attempts to show.
23
Comparable to Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse, African oral poetry is largely not
based on meter, where meter is defined in terms of the recurrence of stressed and
unstressed syllables. African languages, in general, and poetry in the African
languages, in particular, are not characterized by stress, but rather by such aspects as
tone, length, patterns of repetition, and unusual grammar (Shipley, 1972:102).
This paper explores the depiction of Johannes Mokgwadi’s divinatory poems with
special reference to the structure, role and tools of performance of divinatory poetry.
In this exploration the art of divination as practiced by the Bapedi is briefly examined
by referring to the divinatory apparatus (i.e. the set of ditaola ‘divinatory bones’, the
principal ones being knuckle bones, plus a few totemic bones) and to the process of
divination in order to depict the position of a traditional healer as an intermediary
figure between the gods and his people. Cultural verse forms in ‘the poetry of
divinatory bones’ will be outlined through a discussion of (a) metrical compositions,
(b) long-measure verse, (c) long-measure 'echo' verse, (d) divinatory poems with
linked hemistichs, (e) divinatory poems with repeated segments, (f) long-measure
triplet verse, and (g) verses of four, five or more hemistichs. Form designs in poetry
of the divinatory bones are bound up with what they were intended for, as well as the
manner in which they were recited. Divinatory poems are intended for listening and
not reading, for communication with ancestors and not for performance before an
audience in public gatherings.
 Mostert, Dr. Annamarie
Sacred Heart College Research and Development Unit
Poster Presentation “Informal and formal language learning and
teaching in multilingual contexts: an exploration of worlds in
dialogue”
The first poster presents Cummins’ (1982) metaphor of an iceberg to illustrate the
continuum between the development of learners’ basic interpersonal communication
skills (BICS) and their cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). The
continuum is organized around 4 quadrants overlaid onto the iceberg image. The
vertical axis represents the cognitive demands of language that ranges from nonacademic to academic tasks. The horizontal axis highlights the role of context in
learners’ language development. It represents the range from context-embedded to
context reduced content. This framework initiates dialogues between language
learning and teaching content and context as a technoscape of language teaching.
A copy of the English as LoLT Course demonstrates a practical application of this
technoscape in four primary schools in Phuthaditshjaba in the Thabo Mofutsanyana
District of the Free State. A baseline study conducted in 2002 informed the
development of the course. The course was implemented for 18 months and evaluated
at the end of 2004. The original English as LoLT Course material will be displayed on
a table below the poster.
The framework further highlights the importance of context to support learners’
language development . Three posters that follow briefly present three diverse,
multilingual language learning and teaching contexts in three Free State education
districts: Phuthaditsjhaba (Thabo Mofutsanyana District); Jacobsdal (Xhariep District)
and Virginia (Lejweleputswa District). Each context offers unique opportunities for
dialogues between cultures and identities (ideoscapes); places (landscapes); different
24
languages, art forms and technologies (mediascapes) and economic conditions for
language learning (financescapes). These dialogues are briefly described.
Relevant course material that reflects the application of these worlds in dialogue
to diverse multilingual contexts since 2007 to date will also be on display.
 Munro, Prof. Allan John
Tshwane University of Technology
“Teaching Playwriting in a Research Environment: Dialogues in
Practice-based Research”
The writing of plays is supposed to be a creative process that comes about through
creative writing practice, and its outcome is an artistic artefact. Research is supposed
to be an analytical/reflective process that comes about through accepted (or emergent)
research practice, and its outcome is a publication. Practice-based research (also
known as “practice as research,” or “studio-based” research) is supposed to argue that
the discoveries made “in” practice can only be made “through” practice, but what is
its outcome?
Methodologically, the connection between the two processes lies in “exegesis” or
“ discourse analysis,” I believe.
But the problem/dialogue lies in the
tensions/discussions between the exegesis of character, plot, theme, and the like (as
shaped and formed by the demands of the theatrical medium) and the exegesis of the
creative output (process and practice) as shaped and formed by the demands of the
“research medium.” Experience shows, however, that in the “practice as research”
domain one ends up “writing plays” in such a way that the process and product are
conducive to be effectively analysed exegetically or through other appropriate
research methods – a potentially skewed creative process in terms of the play, because
one is writing for “two audience types.” Although the two processes (of creative
writing and research writing) are in dialogue, the demands of university outcomes
have the potential to unbalance the process. Indeed, there is a strong element of
conflict in this dialogue.
This paper will attempt to traverse the terrain of this conflict, drawing on
Sawyer’s sociocultural understanding of the creative process, with specific attention
paid to the dialogue between evaluation and elaboration. It will then engage with
some useful exegetical discourse practices that are shared in the conflict moment and
suggest ways where both creativity and research in practice can “talk.”
 Nel, Prof. Adele
NWU
“Marlene van Niekerk in gesprek met Marlene Dumas: ‘n
metatekstuele lesing van Memorandum: ‘n verhaal met skilderye”
Words and images drink the same wine. There is no purity to protect. Marlene Dumas
Die doel van hierdie referaat is om ‘n metatekstuele dialoog tussen Marlene van
Niekerk, in haar roman Memorandum: ‘n verhaal met skilderye (2005), en die
beeldende kunstenaar Marlene Dumas se oeuvre te identifiseer. Memorandum word
gekenmerk deur multitekstualiteit, sodat die leser noodwendig betrek word in ‘n “spel
van verwysing en dekonstruksie van verwysing, van herkenning en vervreemding”
25
(Van Niekerk, 2006). Hoewel Dumas nêrens eksplisiet in die literêre teks genoem
word nie, kan sy op grond van Umberto Eco se sogenaamde intertekstuele kennis, dit
wil sê die leser of kyker se vermoë om indirekte verwysings na ander tekste te herken,
by ÿ kreatiewe verkenning van Memorandum betrek word. Sodoende word gefokus
op die gesprek en gevolglike kruisbestuiwing tussen literêre en visuele tekste. Dit is
veral die katalogusopstel vir ÿ retrospektiewe uitstalling in New York (2005), onder
die titel: “Marlene Dumas – Selected works”, wat as belangrike metateks betrek word.
Die katalogus het as inleiding ÿ uitvoerige essay deur Marlene van Niekerk getiteld,
“Seven M-blems for Marlene Dumas”, waarin sy die essensie van Dumas se werk op
pittige en oorspronklike wyse bespreek. My gevolgtrekking na aanleiding van hierdie
essay is dat die embleme wat Van Niekerk aan Dumas toeken, ook op Van Niekerk en
Memorandum van toepassing gemaak kan word. Indien hierdie embleme ontgin word,
kan dit die belangrikste aspekte van die roman verreken, en terselfdertyd die lees van
Memorandum verander en verryk. Dit is voorts Van Niekerk se interpretatiewe
uitsprake oor Dumas se oeuvre wat veral lig werp op nie alleen Dumas se oeuvre nie,
maar ook op Van Niekerk se eie skryfwerk indien dit met mekaar in verband gebring
word. Die veelkantigheid van Van Niekerk se skryfproses en moontlike denkprosesse
word gevolglik ook betrek.
 Nel, Dr Carisma
NWU
“A Dialogue on Adolescent Literacy in the Content Areas”
Across the country, there is a perception that our adolescents are not learning the
knowledge and skills needed to effectively function in today’s global economy. This
perception is fueled by international and national assessments: A number of
assessment studies in recent years have shown that the educational achievement of
learners in South African schools is unacceptably poor. The Department of
Education’s systemic evaluations, conducted in Grade 6 (in 2004) show very low
levels of literacy and numeracy among learners. Learners averaged 38% for language
(LOLT), 27% for mathematics and 41% for natural sciences (DoE, 2005). A
significantly higher percentage of learners across all three learning areas are
functioning at the “Not Achieved” level (63% in Language, 81% in Mathematics and
54% in Natural Sciences), with a relatively small percentage of learners – 28% in
Language (LOLT), 12% in Mathematics and 31% in Natural Sciences - functioning at
or above the required Grade 6 level (that is “Achieved” and “Outstanding” combined).
In addition, the past three years have shown no improvement in the pass rate in the
senior certificate examinations for secondary school leavers. Four international
studies confirm the poor performance of South African learners. These are the
Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) project, the Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS), the Southern Africa Consortium for
Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) study and the Progress in International
Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).
Literacy development is a complex, multi-layered, and ongoing process that does
not end in the foundation phase. Today’s literacy demands are expanding
exponentially. Adolescents are expected to process and critically evaluate incredibly
large amounts of information in print and multi-media formats. Part of what makes it
so difficult to meet the needs of learners in the intermediate, senior and FET phases is
that these learners experience a wide range of challenges that require an equally wide
26
range of interventions. Some learners still have difficulty simply reading words
accurately, while others can read words accurately, but they do not comprehend what
they read, for a variety of reasons. In addition, the problems faced by these learners
are exacerbated when the language of learning and teaching is not their mother
tongue. It is clear that the demands of competent adolescent reading literacy
instruction, and the training experiences necessary to learn it, have been seriously
underestimated by schools and universities, especially Faculties of Education.
The purpose of the presentation is to focus on the following questions:
 Is adolescent literacy important?
 How is adolescent literacy growth different than growth in the Foundation
Phase?
 What are the most important instructional challenges?
 What instructional improvements need to occur in the Intermediate, Senior and
FET Phases?
 Nesari, Ali Jamali & Hashemi Masoud
Islamic Azad University of Toyserkan
“The Question of Center in Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in
search of an Author”
The objective of this study is a deconstructive reading of Luigi Pirandello's Six
Characters in Search of an Author. The pivotal maxim of deconstruction is the
paradoxical nature of language and the unwanted contradictory statements. According to
deconstructionists, such contradictory statements are produced in all situations that use
language as the medium of communication. Any deconstructive reading will focus on
dissenting voices, contradictions, oppositions, and paradoxes. This study also
concentrates on the paradoxes embedded in the Six Characters in terms of first,
discovering the binary oppositions on which the text tries to build itself, second,
challenging and questioning the reliability of such oppositions, third, trying to turn them
upside down and, finally, holding them in suspense to reach to an impossible path or an
'aporia' where it is impossible to decide. So, the text remains finally unreadable and
undecidable, any reading being necessarily a misreading. Since deconstruction is not a
method or strategy outside the text to be imposed on it but a way to trace the labyrinth of
the text to reveal how it has already dismantled and deconstructed itself, this study is no
parasitic means of reading the text brought upon it from outside. Rather, it is a careful
trial to follow the twists of the Six Characters and to show how it asserts contradictory
opinions concerning identity, the concept of author, text, actor, etc. to prove finally that
the text affirms paradoxical assertion and therefore, it affirms nothing. It tries to prove
that the Six Characters as an extended stretch of language is "full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing."
 Ngwenya, Prof Themba
NWU
“The Mafikeng campus learners’ perceptions of the North-West
University language policy in meeting their learning needs”
One of the hallmarks for which the old South Africa was notorious was its continual
violation of the majority of its citizenry’s language rights. To effect redress, the
27
current South African constitution has accorded the eleven major languages of South
Africa official status. There is, however, some discontent about this redress in
language policy at the micro-level such as at the Mafikeng campus of the North-West
University (NWU). A historically black homeland institution, the Mafikeng campus
has been merged with a historically white Afrikaner campus, formerly called
Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education. The merger has, with
regard to language policy, resulted in learners' perception at the Mafikeng campus that
the institution still operates within the Apartheid framework where English and
Afrikaans enjoyed hegemony and South African indigenous languages suffered
marginalisation. In a descriptive study based on Spolsky's (2006), Van Schoor's
(2003) and Venter's (1998) models or organisational transformation, this paper used a
pen-and-paper questionnaire comprising closed questions (for focusing attention on
the areas being examined) and open-ended ones (for eliciting information that may
not have been covered by the other question-type), and observations (for crosschecking the information gathered through the questionnaire) to investigate the
perceptions of 705 undergraduate and post-graduate students at the Mafikeng campus
regarding the degree to which the NWU language policy met their learning needs at
their campus. The findings suggest that while a few positive changes have resulted
from the implementation of the NWU language policy, for the majority of students,
the question of mother tongue instruction and the notion of institutional autonomy at
the NWU need urgent interrogation. The study could be used to inform policy makers
on harmonising macro-level language policy imperatives with micro-level pressing
needs.
 Nkamta, Mr. Paul Nepapleh
North-West University, Mafikeng
“Linguistic hegemony and advertising in Cameroon: the case of
Douala”
Despite the vast research conducted on linguistic hegemony in Cameroon, very little
has been done in the domain of advertising. Much of the research has tended to focus
on linguistic hegemony in administration and education. In addition to the
approximately 280 indigenous languages, Cameroon has two official languages,
namely, English and French, which are currently the only languages used for
advertising. The 1996 constitution of the Republic of Cameroon proclaims English
and French as the two official languages and, as far as indigenous languages are
concerned, the constitution only states that they will be “promoted” and “protected”.
But, in effect, indigenous languages are marginalized. One of the areas in which this
marginalization is evident is advertising. Consequently, there is some discontent
among many of the people who speak the indigenous languages. Many argue that
while the exclusive use of English and French in advertising accords these languages
unfair advantage, the leaving out of their tongues denies them access to information
and participation in the economic development of the country.
This study was mainly qualitative and examined the current state of affairs
regarding advertising in Douala-Cameroon. For data collection, a question,
interviews, and observations were used. The focus areas were billboards, posters and
fliers, wraps of commercial products, magazines and newspapers. The findings
suggest that to improve relations between the speakers of the indigenous languages in
Douala, especially those who speak neither English nor French, and the speakers of
28
the official languages, advertising should include the use of the major indigenous
languages, and perhaps Cameroon Pidgin English too, a lingua franca widely spoken
in the country.
 Ntwana, Ms. Thenjiswa
University of the Western Cape
“How Okrutna becomes Akhona: The Translation of Proper Names
in Children’s literature”
This paper discusses the translation of names in children’s fantasy literature and
highlights the importance of names in translating this particular text type. First, it
defines what it is meant by “names” and attempts to present some of the most
important types of “meanings” usually conveyed by names. Then, it discusses the
issue of readability in the translation of these narrative elements. The main question
which this paper will also be responding to is: What is more important – to create a
text which will be accepted in a target cultural environment or to preserve the formal
and aesthetic original in order to evoke interest in a foreign culture? One of the works
used in the paper is “The Madiba Magic” (Xhos translation: “Ikhubalo likaMadiba”),
a children’s storybook authored by about 20 people and translated in to isiXhosa at
Praesa (University of Cape Town).
 Ouma, Mr. Christopher EW
University of the Witwatersrand
“Dialogic Childhoods: Chronotopicity
Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun”
in
Chimamnda
Ngozi
This paper seeks to examine the spatio-temporal importance of the University town
Nsukka in Chimamnda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun. It seeks to examine
how the teenage narrator Ugwu navigates this new space and time through an
epistemological journey mediated by a textual and ethno-linguistic landscape. Nsukka
is not only a toponym at this particular time of the Biafran war but a metaphor and
metonym for an Igbo ethno-ideoscape. Ugwu the teenage narrator therefore has to
navigate these new intellectual landscape via the English and Igbo text, often times
trying to find a dialogic interspace between these two. Ultimately in a highly charged
narrative and ideological landscape that is the Biafran war Ugwu the teenage narrator
becomes part of an intricate textual strategy for Adichie, who seeks to find a
‘conversation’, a dialogue within a highly controversial narrative landscape of the
Biafran war.
 Pearman, Akisha
Eduardo Mondlane University
“New Perspectives: Seeing English Through Photography”
As an English Language Fellow, the presenter has worked at the University of
Eduardo Mondlane’s Tourism School in Inhambane, Mozambique for the past year
and a half. Currently, UEM is going through a complex system of curriculum
29
reforms, so the Tourism School, distinctively, has the potential to break the mold of
how education happens, learning develops, and how degrees are earned in the country.
Electives, independent projects, and extracurricular activities like clubs are some
examples of how to enrich the traditional grind of classes.
After a brief lesson demonstration, the presenter will explain one of the projects
she completed last year: The Photography in English Club. On the surface students
learned technical camera and basic photographic critique skills. However, being a
language teacher, the presenter was also able to focus more on the holistic language
skills students could acquire including discussion and pragmatic skills, questioning
and answering, describing and analyzing, comparing and contrasting, asking for and
giving opinions, reflective practice, critical thinking, showing your personality in a
foreign language, laughing in a different language and learning to find your voice
using a foreign language.
The club itself only had five members but at the end of the semester many more
students, faculty and staff were affected in the way they saw students engaging with a
subject as well as the way they saw the interactive teaching and learning of language.
Most importantly, it showed everyone involved how English as a global language can
change from a series of rules and structures and become a way to describe realities,
negotiate meaning, and learn about others.
 Philippi, Mr. Jared
Congolese American Language Institute
Poster: “Nothing But the Truth: HIV/AIDS, Television, and ELT in
the Democratic Republic of Congo” (Poster)
As part of an ongoing effort to combat the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, the U.S. Embassy Kinshasa has teamed up with
Smallpower, a Kinshasa based NGO which creates television programs and short
films crafted to promote realistic beliefs about disease and violence. The result of this
collaboration is the production of Rien Que La Verite (Nothing But the Truth), a DR
Congo based dramatic television series aimed at HIV/AIDS awareness and
prevention. Rien Que La Verite is filmed in DRC, has a Congolese cast, and is
presented in French and Lingala. Since its premiere in 2008, RQLV has been
broadcast across the DRC to much success.
In an effort to build on this success, the process of creating ELT materials to
accompany RQLV is now underway. Even though RQLV is not broadcast in English,
its high production value, level of authenticity, positive audience response, as well as
the critical situation of the HIV/AIDS crisis in DRC make it a worthwhile catalyst for
the teaching of English. The finished product is to serve as supplemental material for
English classes across DRC while further raising and reinforcing HIV/AIDS
awareness.
Teacher training workshops are also being held for Congolese teachers of English
so that they may have a hand in the production of these materials. The goal of the
workshops is to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and education through the viewing of
Rien Que La Verite, which in turn acts as a catalyst for a discussion on topics such as
teaching controversial issues in the classroom, as well as ELT materials design and
development. On the final day of the workshops teachers create their own HIV/AIDS
related ELT materials. Some of the materials produced will hopefully make their way
into the final RQLV ELT material.
30
 Postel, Dr Gitte
NMMU
“Mediums, metaphors, mediascapes. The modern South African
sangoma in various texts.”
After 1994 the role of sangomas has become increasingly important and debated in
South Africa. Once marginalized people, able to exercise openly only parts of their
profession in local settings, they have now found solid ground within both rural and
urban communities and sometimes developed into figures that function at a national
or even international level, reclaiming the political and spiritual influence they had in
a traditional setting. In certain media- or ideoscapes their presence accentuates the
cultural borders of deterritorialized ethnic groups, but at the same time, by the
pluriform nature of their tasks and the universality of their spirituality and rituals, they
may feature within the script offered by other mediascapes and ideoscapes as
metaphors that overcome these differences. In South African literature the presence of
shamans, diviners, sangoma’s and “witches” has increased remarkably since 1994.
Peter Merrington published a book with short stories about an eclectic sangoma in
Cape Town. In several novels sangomas play a sometimes less central, but always
rather important role, for instance in Anne Landman’s The devil’s chimney, Eben
Venter’s Horrelpoot, Anna Louw’s Vos, Dido’s ‘n Stringetjie blou krale. Felicity
Wood wrote a biography of Khotso Sethuntsa, the millionaire medicine man, who had
featured in other mediascapes for decades. Brett Bailey produced a very successful
play when retelling the story of the alleged sangoma fetching Hintsa’ s skull from a
Scottish farm, a story that had been covered extensively by both South African and
British news media. When analyzed against the background of Appadurai’s theory,
and seen as a dialogue between separate media and identities, these texts can reveal an
interesting development in South Africa’s changing cultural landscape.
 Schmidt, Jennifer
Rhodes University
“Ghost Girls and Sponsorbabes: Dystopian Performances of White
Femininity in Lauren Beukes’s Moxyland”
The overdetermined visibility of white South African women’s bodies and their
positioning, historically, as the object of visual pleasure and a “sexy” reinforcer of
white privilege suggests that looking relations are powerfully linked with how postapartheid whiteness is gendered. Given the visibility particular to South African
whiteness, I argue that the young white female subject’s body becomes a site that
mediates hegemonic whiteness and interrogates white privilege through her nowprecarious role as a “star” for the gaze of the dominant culture. One text that
problematizes how young white women’s bodies are looked at in the post-apartheid
cultural landscape is Lauren Beukes’s recent novel, Moxyland. Set in the Cape Town
of 2018 and featuring a ‘corporate apartheid’ government that disciplines with an
effortlessly casual chic, Beukes’s speculative text highlights how the hegemonic
power of whiteness maintains itself through a rigorous self-normalised body practices
and gendered commodification, with a heightened emphasis on visuality. Kendra
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Adams is a photographer who has recently agreed to be implanted with
nanotechnology that will keep her youthful skin smooth and “improved ” in exchange
for branding herself permanently as a ‘hipster’ advertisement for the sports drink,
Ghost. Through Kendra’s attempts to document the process of becoming a ‘ Ghost
Girl’ juxtaposed with the multi-media manipulation of her image, Beukes deftly
limns how the micropolitics of female embodiment is linked with the ‘global flow’ of
whiteness.
 Sewlall, Prof Harry
NWU
“Memphis, Tennessee: A Metonym for Rock ’n Roll, or the Child of
the Blues”
The 1991 Booker Prize-winning novelist Ben Okri, while traveling in the Deep South
after Barack Obama’s victory in the November 2008 presidential election, wrote of
the city of Memphis, ”Elvis is everywhere. He is the lingering deity of Memphis. But
this is also the home of the blues, and blacks here are more upbeat than their brothers
and sisters in rural Virginia.” The images of Elvis Presley, who earned the sobriquet
“King of Rock” early in his career, and that of BB King, the exemplar extraordinaire
of the Blues, are ubiquitous in the city of Memphis, which may be regarded as a
metonym for the Blues and Rock ‘n Roll. The cultural jugular of the city is Beale
Street, which Peter Gurlanick tells us “lured” Sam Phillips (who recorded the early
Elvis in his famous Sun Recording Studio) “in a way he would never be able to fully
explain”. Drawing on Foucault’s notion of heterotopias, as well as Jakobson’s work
on metonymy, this paper explores the hybrid musical spatiality of the city of Memphis
and its environs, as well as its iconic status in the evolution of Rock ‘n Roll which
was engendered by the Blues.
 Mdaka, Mrs. Pinki & Shaughnessy, Ms. Colleen
University of Fort Hare
“Integrating Values Into First and Additional Language Teacher
Education and Classrooms”
The National Curriculum Statement states that values should be a part of what is
taught in the South African education system. However, the discussion of what or
whose values should be taught and how they should be integrated into teacher
education or South African classrooms is rarely had. Activities grounded in
intercultural communication theories and culturally-relevant pedagogy in which the
student-teacher will evaluate, and possibly discover, their own values will be
explained. Based upon using these activities in teacher-education courses at the
University of Fort Hare, techniques for use to incorporate the teaching of values into
Senior Phase and FET phase classrooms have been developed and will be explained.
 Sheppard, Dr. Pam
University of Pretoria
32
“Shaping Curriculum in Language Education: Transcontinental
Collaboration between South Africa and the United States”
This paper begins by describing the course delivery models employed to teach three
state-mandated classes for teachers of English language learners in the State of
Georgia, an area heavily impacted by the exponential growth of immigrant families in
recent years. The state board for teacher credentials currently requires that these
educators receive specific training in the area of English to speakers of other
languages (ESOL) teaching methods, culture in the classroom, and first and second
language acquisition. This necessitated a government e-learning initiative to reach all
teachers in the state. For five years, Dr. Pam Sheppard delivered the three courses
statewide online and on the University of Georgia (UGA) campus, thereby meeting a
critical need for teacher education for those practitioners prohibited by distance to
drive to campus for class. The presenter will communicate strategies employed to
create community online as well as provide examples of course content and
assignments. Dr. Hanlie Dippenaar will describe her teacher preparation courses at the
University of Pretoria (UP) and outline her collaboration with Dr. Sheppard on their
project to use the intellectual property of Dr. Sheppard’s courses at UGA to improve
and enhance the teacher preparation courses at UP. This collaboration and sharing of
ideas has involved the downloading of the intellectual property of Dr. Sheppard and
uploading it into the appropriate courses at UP. This collaboration and sharing of
assignments has also necessitated a close look at UP curriculum design and reflection
on how all the courses might be enhanced and improved. Open discussion will follow
the presentation.
 Shum, Mr Matthew
University of KwaZulu-Natal
“Driving the White Man into the Sea? Thomas Pringle’s “Makanna’s
Gathering””
Thomas Pringle’s “Makanna’s Gathering”, written in 1825, is, on the face of it, a
polemical endorsement of Xhosa retaliation against colonial injustice. The poem has
as its focus an address to his troops by the Xhosa prophet figure Makanna/Nxele
before their attack on British and other forces garrisoned in Grahamstown. In
Pringle’s Narrative this address is described as follows: “[B]efore they were lead on
to the assault, [they] were addressed by Makanna in an animating speech, in which he
is said to have assured them of supernatural aid in the conflict with the English, which
would turn the hail-storm of their fire-arms into water”(1834:282).
Pringle’s freely imagined rendition of this event invokes what must have seemed
to readers of the time a veritable demonology of Xhosa aggression and the desire
completely to annihilate the white settlers. In its opening stanzas in particular, the
poem is imbued with the novelty of Xhosa names and a Xhosa mythology that traffics
in images of a natural world infused with supernatural power. Here Makanna is
transformed into a belligerent exotic, calling forth the revenge of the elements
themselves on the usurping colonists.
In an analysis of the poem I consider, among other things, what influences might
have lead Pringle to depict the Xhosa in a way that ostensibly supports their failed
endeavour. I argue that rather than reading the poem, as some have done, as an early
33
‘protest’ poem, it should be understood as a form of African picturesque, part of the
spectatcle of empire rather than an indictment of it. I also consider the function of the
poem’s extensive notes as a miniaturised ethnology, tethering its subject matter to a
controlling body of knowledge.
 Sieberhagen, Hettie & Potgieter, AS
NWU
Student-Learner Dialogue: A Journey Towards Clarity”
Problem Statement
Students participating in distance education on tertiary level experience unique
obstacles along their academic journey. Since contact between students and lecturers
is limited, they have to rely mainly on written material for clarification as to content
and instructions. The study letter in particular should provide guidance. The material
is invariably written in English, which is not necessarily the mother tongue of the
students. Consequently they are often uncertain and feel isolated during the course of
their studies. The aim of this paper is to identify problem areas related to accessibility
of language and clarity of formulation.
The objective of the paper
The objective of this paper is to create a possible template for study letters for
distance learning tertiary students, featuring clear formulation and accessible language
that will be understandable for students whose home language is not English.
Although this will particularly address the needs of students of the NW U it will
hopefully also serve as guideline to other institutions facing similar problems.
Research design and methodology
A detailed text analysis of sample study letters used at the SCTE and CAPLE as well
as student enquiries and correspondence received by lecturers, form the basis of this
qualitative study. The paper focuses on language usage and formulation of text rather
than format and content.
Findings
Analysis of enquiries from students has shown academic vocabulary and formal
language to be inaccessible as students have difficulty in comprehending instructions
relating to their assignments. This leads to confusion, which may have a detrimental
influence on the academic performance of students.
Frequent enquiries about assessment methods and rubrics indicate that students need
specific and clear instructions regarding the assignments and examination.
 Singh, Jaspal Kaur
Northern Michigan University
“Dialogues, interactions and collaborations in Ahmed Essop's The
King of Hearts”
Can there be dialogue, interaction and collaboration among non-white constituencies
in non-Western cultural spaces? What are the long-term effects of “contact and
intractable, unequal conflict” within the Contact Zone (Pratt)? As Pratt claims,
reading the art of the Contact Zone can produce, “imaginary dialogue” which can lead
to “miscomprehension, incomprehension…” within modern nation-states (“Arts of the
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Contact Zone” Ways of Reading 507). When Rastogi attended the Seminar “New
Directions or Same Old? Afrindian Identity and Fiction Today” in South Africa in
2005, one Indian attendee stated, “Every Indian has a story to tell… but no one is
interested in listening to us” (Afrindian Fictions 21). Rastogi claims that South
African Indians at the seminar expressed “rage at an inward-looking Afrocentricism, a
sense of unbelonging in the rainbow nation, despair at the insularity of South African
Indians, and frustrations over disavowal of the Indian past” (Afrindian Fiction:
Diaspora, Race, and National Desire in South Africa 22). Can the ravages of
apartheid be healed? Ndebele maintains, “the past, no matter how horrible it has been,
can redeem us. It can be the moral foundation on which to build the pillars of the
future” (South African Literature and Culture: Rediscovery of the Ordinary 155)?
In this paper, the author examines Essop’s The King of Hearts, published in 1997,
three years after the historic elections of 1994, in order to examine Essop’s break with
his past representation of interracial solidarity and instead focus on his representations
of the failures of multicultural democracy. It will be argued that the attempts in his
fiction are for dialogue with the citizens of a modern nation-state to collectively work
in the direction of transforming South Africa into a truly democratic nation-state. Is
his attempt at dialogue through autoethnography and transculturation imaginary,
leading to miscomprehension, or does it produce collaboration and mediation leading
to reconciliation?
 Skhosana, Buti
University of Pretoria
“Re-explication and the classification of amaNdebele traditional
praises”
AmaNdebele praises were first recorded in 1921 by Fourie in his religious doctoral
study conducted amongst the amaNzunza sub-group. Since then van Warmelo
followed in 1930 and other modern traditionalists emerged after isiNdebele was
officially introduced in schools as a subject in 1985.
Traditional praises as one of the most valuable and important oral performances
serve various purposes such as thanks giving, praising (of an individual being or
group), liaising with the ancestral spirits and also introducing ones new social status
name amongst African societies. Each type of praises is according to its content,
significance, and performance different from each other and very much important that
they should be well explained and classified according to the specific African cultural
society.
According to the earliest and as well as the so-called modern amaNdebele
traditionalists such as Fourie (1921), van Warmelo (1930), Ntuli (1995), Masango
(1994) and Van Vuuren (1983) make no clear distinction between the various
traditional praises of amaNdebele. IsiNdebele traditional publications for use in
schools, for instance, exclude manhood name praises most probably because of the
association of these praises with the amaNdebele cultural rites that are strictly
surrounded by secrecy.
The aim of this paper is, therefore, to analyse and discuss the various praises that
amaNdebele value and perform. The discussion of the various types of praises,
namely i) praises of chiefs, ii) praises of significant individuals, iii) clan praises iv)
manhood name praises and iv) isithambo will be under the sub-headings content,
significance and performance. In conclusion the paper will show how important and
35
culture bound are amaNdebele traditional praises as well as the role they play in the
stages an individual’s life especially male persons.
 Smit-Marais, Susan
NWU
“Converted spaces, contained places: Robinson Crusoe’s monologic
world”
Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719) is primarily defined by a mythic conversion
experience as the novel’s core narrative structure traces the hero’s transition from
social isolation and disconnection towards self-actualization and social re-integration.
As sole survivor of a shipwreck, Crusoe has to survive in, and adapt to, a space which
he initially experiences as alien and threatening. After almost two years on the island,
Crusoe gradually begins to transform himself along with his environment. By the time
he leaves the island 28 years later, he has become a resourceful and capable ruler over
an economically viable cultural monopoly.
This conversion process is exemplified by Crusoe’s appropriation of the island, as
this space becomes the site onto which all of Crusoe’s anxieties and aspirations are
inscribed and consequently, the island is ‘transformed’ from untamed wilderness into
a cultivated ‘paradise ’ that bears testament to both Enlightenment rectitude and
Western accomplishment. As such, the central aim of this paper is to examine how
Crusoe’s conversion of an unknown, marginal and ambiguous geographical locale
into prototypical British colony, is defined by various processes of spatial conversion
and cultural inscription.
According to Phillips (1998:12), adventure stories – such as Robinson Crusoe –
constructed a concrete cultural space that represented a social totality in an
imaginatively accessible and appealing manner. Such a cultural space, though
imaginary, naturalized constructions of ‘home’ and empire by interpreting the
unknown in terms of the known. Crusoe’s island is thereby transformed into an
utopia of eighteenth century, British, middle class values. Defoe therefore managed
to naturalize and normalize constructions of space which before were unfamiliar to his
18th century readership. In the process, the island space is recasted as a monologic
world, a place that stands oblivious to the various ambiguities, inversions and
contradictions contained within its representation.
 Spencer, Brenda
Unisa
“Additions to the Marking Code Designed to Address Controversies
in Writing Instruction in an ODL context”
This paper focuses on response to student writing in an open and distance learning
(ODL) context, specifically on additions to the current marking code used in firstlevel UNISA writing modules in the English Studies Department. Controversies at
the heart of writing instruction (including issues of fluency/accuracy,
process/production and response that relates to content/form or local/global issues)
have implications for response to student writing. Difficulties are exacerbated in an
ODL teaching context when a marking code is used. At present response to student
36
writing contains a jumble of recommendations and students are given little indication
of the best revision strategy to adopt. Commentary on content suggest that students
need to return to the thinking phase while form-related correction suggests that
surface editing is required in order to ‘perfect’ the text. In addition, there is little
indication of the relative importance of error and the marking code is, per definition,
negative in orientation. Four additions to the marking code are proposed as possible
means of alleviating the problem. Samples of marked scripts will be supplied and the
response of lecturers to the proposed changes will be presented.
 Terblanche, Prof Etienne
NWU
““Shall I at least Set my Lands in Order?” T. S. Eliot’s The Waste
Land and C. G. Jung’s Quaternity”
The assumption that the human ego tends to fluctuate in degrees between inflation,
that is, the ego’s false identity with or imitation of deity, and deflation, that is, healthy
connection with God or Self without identifying with Self (Edinger 1992) brings into
focus a new reading of T. S. Eliot ’s The Waste Land. C. G. Jung has long held the
view that human wholeness relates itself to the symbolic numbers of three and four,
and The Waste Land dramatically and poignantly arrives, in open manner, at vividlymodernized Sanskrit patterns of three and four. This prompts one to consider the
prospect that the poem ends, or opens into, a profound sense of wholeness.
This prospect sheds further light on a recurring critical problematic in response to The
Waste Land: whether its fragmentary and paratactical procedures allow the reader to
recombine its materials into a sensible whole, or not (Ransom (1923), Wilson (1924),
Leavis (1932), Brooks (1937), Moody (1979), Edwards (1984), Brooker and Bentley
(1991), Kaufmann (1992), Albright (1996), Armstrong (1998), among others).
Careful reading shows a dialectic of inflation and deflation to be at work throughout
it. This fluctuating pattern therefore binds the poem . Indeed, as inflation reaches its
most intense and dangerous levels—of secular madness underpinned by an
apparently-insurmountable oppositional split (or “twoness”)—the symbolic patterns
of three and four begin to overcome the dilemma, as found for instance in the
Emmaus passage. By way of an open end to this pattern, as has been mentioned, the
poem subsequently arrives at the integrity of its modernized Sanskrit quaternity
(“threeness in fourness” ). The fluctuations of inflation and deflation and this ultimate
quaternic integrity embody a reading of the poem as a whole in every sense of the
word. From this perspective, The Waste Land presents no less than a modern
individuation: almost impossibly so in modern time, it amounts to a poetic discovery
of primal health between the levels of individual- and supra-egoic being.
 Thomas, Prof. Kimberley
Mzuzu University
“Space, Place, and Linguistic Landscapes: Ecological Influences on
an Ecologically-Minded Foreign Language Instructor”
In this paper, I discuss ecological literacy and how my differing ecologies have
affected my role as a foreign language instructor. First, I define ecological
37
literacy.Second, I discuss (my awareness of) how differing ecologies have shaped my
attitude towards teaching English as a foreign language and working with L2
speakers.Third, I discuss the ways in which being ecologically-literate as a foreign
language instructor allows me to be more reflective regarding my teaching practices and
the ways in which environment influences the language learning context regarding
language use in and out of the classroom. My approach to this research project, focusing
on ecological circumstances as well as professional experience and personal
characteristics, grew out of the theoretical traditions of narrative inquiry (Connelly &
Clandinin 1987, 1988; Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) and the empirical traditions of
narrative study in TESOL and second language acquisition which deals with language
learner autobiographies; teacher education studies which look at the ways in which
teachers’ narratives inform their practice (Schön, 1983; Bell, 1997c; Jalongo & Isenberg,
1985); and narrative accounts of language use, particularly narrative accounts of language
learning gathered from language educators (Belcher & Connor, 2001; Casanave &
Schecter, 1997).
 Ullyatt, Ms. Gisela
University of South Africa, Bloemfontein
“The Buddha at Blackwater Pond: Some reflections on mindfulness
in Mary Oliver’s poetry”
Although her first volume appeared in 1963, Mary Oliver’s poetry has come into
particular prominence since she won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for American
Primitive, and, more recently, the National Book Award (1992). Taking the natural
world as the primary aspect of her vision, her writing has been linked with several
traditions including the Romantic, the Transcendentalist, the visionary American of
Whitman, Emerson, Dickinson, and Frost as well as with the eco-poetry movement.
Although such connections certainly cannot, and should not, be discounted, one
influence that has yet to be explored in depth is the presence of Buddhist thinking in
her poems. A considered dialogue between Buddhist thought and Oliver’s oeuvre
serves to enrich one’s understanding of both.
In using the term, ‘Buddhism’, the author is more than aware of the international
range and diversity of the various schools and traditions which fall into such a broad
classification. Thus, it needs to be stated that, in dealing with its subtitle’s subject, the
paper employs the general Buddhist principle of Mindfulness or samma sati (Pali)
common to all Buddhist practice.
This paper begins by introducing the Buddhist concept of Mindfulness: ‘Overall,
mindfulness is a process of being constantly aware of the arising and passing away of
states – experiences, thoughts and feelings – and recognizing that all things change
and flow on in the stream of life’ (Thompson: 2000, p49). Notions such as ‘Being in
the here-and-now’, ‘constant awareness’, and ‘concentrated attention’ are discussed in
a selection of Oliver’s texts such as ‘Mindful’ and ‘Rice’, demonstrating how Oliver
dovetail concepts of Mindfulness with her poetry.
 Ullyatt, Prof. Tony
University of the Free State
“An abstract model of conjecturality: labyrinths, mazes and some
metaphors arising”
38
The purpose of this paper is to address some of the problems that arise when authors
use labyrinths - and mazes, too, although to a far lesser extent - as metaphors. Part of
the confusion may be traced to the manner in which labyrinths and mazes are defined.
In itself, the process of definition leads to the erroneous assumption that the words,
‘labyrinth’ and ‘maze’, may serve as synonyms, for reasons which will be discussed.
Equally problematic is the way in which authors tend to assume that there is only one
essential form of labyrinth, when, in fact, there are several, each with distinct
meaning, whether explicit or implied. Unravelling these issues is important because
they affect the meaning a reader derives from the authors’ use of labyrinths as
metaphors.
The first part of the paper will deal with problems of defining labyrinths and
mazes while the second will be given over to a brief discussion of the forms and
functions of labyrinths and mazes. The third section will focus on a number of
metaphors, drawn from recent fiction and non-fiction texts, to exemplify specific
aspects of the problem in more detail.
The paper will be illustrated.
 Uys, Mev. Charmaine
NWU
“Die verband tussen herkenning van hoëfrekwensiewoorde en die
leesvaardighede van leerders in die grondslagfase”
Probleme in taalontwikkeling kan aanleiding gee tot leerprobleme wat negatiewe
gevolge vir die leerder kan inhou. Aanvanklik word leerders in die skool geleer om te
lees en skryf. Later behoort die leerders aangeleerde leesvaardighede te gebruik om te
leer en aangeleerde skryfvaardighede om dit wat geleer is, weer te gee. Indien leerders
nie voorafgenoemde vaardighede bemeester nie, sal hul vordering op skool ernstig
gekortwiek word.
‘n Verdere verswarende faktor in die milieu van die Suid-Afrikaanse
onderwysbestel is die ingewikkelde sosio-politiese geskiedenis van die land wat groot
onderrignood by veral voorheen benadeelde skole in agtergeblewe gebiede laat
ontstaan het. ‘n Verslag van die Ministeriële Komitee oor Onderwys in Agtergeblewe
Gebiede (2005:10, 43) lê klem op die behoeftes en vaardighede van leerders;
opleiding, toewyding en bevoegdhede van onderwysers; sowel as toegang tot
onderrigmedia in agtergeblewe gebiede.
Ten spyte van die implementering van die Nasionale Kurrikulumverklaring Graad R9 (Skole) en Graad 10-12 (Skole) is ongeletterdheid steeds ‘n ernstige probleem in
Suid-Afrika. Aan-gesien die basis van alle lees- en skryfvaardighede in die
Grondslagfase gelê word, is dit nodig dat drastiese stappe geneem moet word om
seker te maak dat leerders reeds in hul eerste jare op skool leer om met begrip te kan
lees.
Hierdie studie is daarop gemik om ‘n beduidende verband tussen
hoëfrekwensiewoorde en lees-vaardighede (gemeet aan woordherkenning en
leesbegrip) te bewys en ook om leerders se leesvaardighede te verbeter deur die
aanleer van hoëfrekwensiewoorde. Hierdie studie lewer ‘n bydrae tot die
onderwysmilieu wanneer daar bewys word dat die onderrig van hoëfrekwensiewoorde
deur middel van hierdie Leesonderrigprogram tot die verbetering van die
leesvaardighede (gemeet aan woordherkenni ng en leesbegrip) van leerders in Graad 3
39
lei. Die Leesonderrigprogram is gebaseer op ‘n gebalanseerde lees-benadering waarin
die hoofkomponente van lees geïntegreerd met hoëfrekwen-siewoorde onderrig word.
Die Leesonderrigprogram is begrond in die behavioristiese en kognitiewe leerteorieë,
sowel as die transaksionele leesteorie.
 Van der Westhuizen, Prof Betsie
NWU
“Narratiewe energie – verbaal en visueel - in kinderboeke vir diverse
lesersgroepe”
Alhoewel daar dikwels van goeie kinderboeke gesê word dat dit ook volwasenes kan
boei, is daar ook dié sort kinderboeke wat selfs duideliker voorkom asof hulle wel
kinder as primêre lesersteiken het, maar dat volwassenes soos ouers, bibliotekarisse en
onderwysers as sekondêre lesersgroep die boeke óók sal kan geniet. Hierdie boeke
word in die kontemporêre vakliteratuur verskillend benoem – oorgansliteratuur in
Afrikaans, of in Engels “cross-over ficton", "books for dual audiences" of "books for
dual addressees". Kenmerkend van hierdie soort boeke is dat die narratiewe energie
(sp“nning en boeikrag) daarin kinders moontlik om meer konkrete redes en
volwassenes moontlik om meer abstrakte redes kan boei. Dit kan egter ook wees dat
kinders en volwassenes tematiese insigte net verskillend verwoord - op grond van
faktore soos belangstellingsvelde, ervaring en minder of meerdere gevorderdheid in
taalontwikkeling. Sulke boeke kom onder andere voor in die oeuvre van Philip de
Vos, wie se kinderverhaal Bella Donna Prima Donna (geïllustreer deur Cora
Coetzee), met die opera Tosca as onderbou, as oorgangsliteratuur beskou kan word.
The Mouseboat / Die Muisboot geskryf en geïllustreer deur Paddy Bouma, sal kinders
moontlik boei omdat die verhaal gaan oor muise en rotte, sluise en keerwalle in die
Lotrivier; volwassenes sal moontlik geboei word deur die visuele interteks tussen
werke van Franse filosowe soos Foucauls, Derrida en Lacan. In Wonderful Earth! / O
aarde! Wat nou? deur Nick Butterworth en Mick INkpen, word die skeppingsverhaal
en die geskiedenis van die mens se wetenskaplike uitvindings en die effek daarvan op
die vlak van die kinderleser vertel, maar volwassenes sal die ontstaangeskiedenis van
die heelal, ekologiese verval en die appèl op die mensdom op meer omvattende wyse
raaklees. Die doel met hierdie referaat is om drie kinderverhale te analiseer ten
opsigte van die wyse waarop narratiewe energie telkens in dieselfde teks op
verskillende wyses vir kinders en volwassenes betekenisgenererend kan wekr.
 Van Heerden, Joha-Mari
University of Johannesburg
“Steven Erikson’s Coltaine of the Crow Clan in dialogue with the
traditional fantasy hero”
This paper will discuss Steven Erikson’s Deadhouse Gates (2001) in order to discern
how his representation of the fantasy hero is established in relation to traditional
fantasy. My focus will be on the heroic figure of Coltaine of the Crow Clan. In his
role as a Fist (a military governor of the Malazan Empire), Coltaine is tasked with the
evacuation of 30,000 refugees from Hissar, which is under threat of rebellion by The
Whirlwind. As he leads the refugees and remnants of the Malazan 7th army 100
40
leagues across hostile territory towards Aren, the views of Coltaine (member of a
conquered tribe, now in service to the Malazan Empire) change from barbaric and
uncivilised to respect, whether grudging or genuine. In traditional fantasy, such as
The Lord of the Rings (arguably the prototype for heroic fantasy), the heroic figure is
generally ‘pre-constructed’ and received by the reader as a character possessed of a
predetermined destiny. Erikson’s treatment of the hero is innovative in that he
focuses on how this role is established from an external point of view, rather than
being predetermined. Erikson’s construction of the heroic figure critically examines
the extent to which that figure becomes heroic through his or her own actions, but also
focuses on the way in which perception influences this heroic mantle. By placing
Erikson’s representation of heroism in fantasy in dialogue with works of traditional
fantasy, this paper will demonstrate significant divergences as well as affinities
between Erikson and his antecedents.
 Van Renen, Dr. Charles
NMMU
“Playful, perplexing, irreverent, engaging – metafictive fun with
picture books”
For at least the past twenty years there has been a growing critical interest in picture
books. While sometimes grouped into categories such as ‘interactive’ and ‘wordless’,
modern picture books appear in an extraordinary variety of approaches and formats.
Attention has fallen increasingly on examples revealing ‘postmodern’ or ‘metafictive’
qualities, as authors and illustrators appear to extend the boundaries of the picture
book in terms of both content and form. The challenging of conventions relating to
story structure, book format and other literary norms leads to a degree of
indeterminacy and varying interpretations about their ‘meanings’. Sometimes
described as ‘playful’, such books frequently draw readers into textual games and
offer a wealth of verbal and pictorial wit.
Responding to these kinds of picture books – or any of good quality – can be both
challenging and enjoyable for readers over a wide age range. In the context of teacher
education, the exposure of students to picture texts may help to extend their own
reading horizons and to introduce them to a valuable resource in the classroom.
Picture books can add a further dimension to learning when the verbal texts are not in
the readers’ home language, as was the case in an activity undertaken with some
Education students at the NMMU. The fact that some of the examples displayed
‘postmodern’ features seemed to add to their interest value and to promote positive
responses and several requests for further activities of this sort, rather than to
exacerbate existing challenges with the use of English.
 Viljoen, Prof Hein
NWU
“Literary Liminalities”
Going across the threshold, in Arnold van Gennep and Victors Turner’s dramatic
views of ritual, opens up an indeterminate zone where social constraints are loosened
and transformations can take place that could lead to a new sense of community. For
the past five years our research group has been analysing such liminalities in a range
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of literary texts from South Africa and elsewhere. In this paper I will present a
synthesis of our research. We have found a wide range of liminal characters in diverse
liminal settings, often closely connected with different kinds of borders. Some of
these spaces can be described as “essentially” liminal. Though a spontaneous
communitas arises in most cases, it cannot be maintained. The border between self
and other often asserts itself strongly in the end. There seems to be a strong link
between transformation and the abject. Yet many of the texts do create new hybrid
possibilities for people to live together. The analyses also raise the questions whether
writers need to be liminal (or need to take up liminal positions) in order to write and
whether literature itself can be regarded as an essentially liminal space.
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