Department of Linguistics, Language and Communication

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Browsing by Author "Antia, Bassey"

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    Analysing the discourse on corruption in presidential speeches in Nigeria, 1957- 2015: Systemic functional linguistics and critical discourse analysis frameworks
    (University of the Western Cape, 2019) Ogunmuyiwa, Hakeem Olafemi; Antia, Bassey
    Corruption as a concept is viewed differently by various disciplines, but there seems to be consensus that it relates to the misuse of public office for private gain. Studies in the social sciences, mainly political science, economics, sociology and law, have provided valuable insights into the subject, for example, its causes, manifestations and consequences. In a country such as Nigeria, corruption is said to have cost the country up to $20 trillion between 1960 and 2005, and it could cost up to 37% of its GDP by 2030 if the situation is not urgently addressed. The paradox, however, is that although all successive leaders of the country have consistently articulated their anti-corruption posture in national speeches, they get accused by their successors of not being tough on corruption both in word and in deed. Regrettably, there have been relatively few close textual analyses of presidential speeches carried out within analytical frameworks in linguistics that have the potential of revealing how presidents can simultaneously talk tough and soft on corruption, a contradiction that could well explain the putative anti-corruption posture of the country�s leaders and the ever deepening corruption in the land. It is against this backdrop that this study draws on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) in order to examine language choices related to the theme of corruption in speeches made by Nigerian presidents from 1957 to 2015. The objectives of the study are to (1) provide an overview of how the discourse on corruption has evolved in Nigerian presidential speeches from 1957-2015; (2) determine specific facets of the construal of corruption from the dominant choices made from the system of transitivity (process, participants, circumstance) in speeches by different presidents and at different time points in their tenure in office; (3) analyse how the interpersonal metafunction of language is enacted in the speeches by the presidents through the system of appraisal for a strategy of positive self-presentation and negative other-presentation; (4) interrogate from a critical discourse analysis standpoint the interest, ideological, partisan or other bases for the choices made in the speeches from the systems associated with the experiential and interpersonal metafunctions of language; and (5) to evaluate the different presidents in terms of how the above analyses position them in relation to combating corruption.
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    A functional terminological analysis of a �Multilingual parliamentary/ Political terminology list� of the Department of Arts and Culture
    (University of the Western Cape, 2018) Majozi, Joyce Jabulile; Antia, Bassey
    South Africa�s National Language Policy Framework was formulated in 2003. The framework was designed to create an enabling environment for the development of instruments and initiatives intended to promote multilingualism in the country. Following the formulation of the National Language Policy Framework, National Parliament, in collaboration with the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape Legislatures, commissioned a project of developing a Terminology List of terminology that is used in these settings. This Terminology List was taken over and expanded in 2005. According to the Terminology List�s preface, �stakeholders embarked on the enlarged terminology project in order to ensure that multilingualism was possible in this field. The Multilingual Parliamentary/Political Terminology List will promote multilingualism in Parliament and elsewhere, and will facilitate effective communication between parliamentarians, politicians, national and provincial language offices, provincial legislatures and Hansard offices� (DAC (2005: iii-iv). With perhaps one exception (Rondganger, 2012) focusing on the English-Afrikaans language pair, there are no known studies evaluating the Multilingual Parliamentary/Political Terminology List. As a result, it is not known to what extent envisaged target users (e.g. language practitioners) in National and Provincial Legislatures are even aware of its existence. It is also not known to what extent the terminology resource is able to support target users in the typical usage situations envisaged in the preface. More generally, there has also been no determination of how the Multilingual Parliamentary/Political Terminology List has contributed to language development, specifically, making possible the use of the nine indigenous African languages for parliamentary-related discourse. As a consequence of the above dearth of knowledge around the Multilingual Parliamentary/Political Terminology List, there also is no empirical database upon which suggestions can be made for improving it; that is, responding to the call in the preface for suggestions: �the compilers acknowledge that it might be useful to expand the collection, and any suggestions in this regard will be welcomed� (DAC (2005: iv). This research draws on the sociology of dictionary use (K�hn 1989, Flinz 2010) and on a knowledge-attitude-practice (KAP) approach to terminology evaluation (Antia 2000, Antia & Clas 2003; Rubin 1977, Kummer 1983) to analyse the Multilingual Parliamentary Terminology List.
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    The language factor in students� experience of assessments: A case study from the University of the Western Cape
    (University of the Western Cape, 2022) Mndende, Athenkosi; Antia, Bassey
    Recent statistics show that 25% of university students in South Africa drop out in their first year of study (Stats SA, 2018). This figure is all the more worrisome when older but still relevant statistics are considered, e.g., that only 21% of students graduate within the regulation time (Scott et al., 2007). High drop-out rates and low throughput rates in higher education have been discussed in terms of such factors as funding, student support, race and gender. Although several factors contribute to high dropout rates and low throughput rates in higher education, there is not much research that analyses the problem from the language standpoint in assessment.
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    Multilingual electronic glossing: Implementing and evaluating an alternative reading aid for students at the University of the Western Cape
    (University of the Western Cape, 2018) Pute, Mlondolozi; Antia, Bassey
    Vocabulary knowledge is an indicator of language competence. There is a positive relationship between literacy levels and the medium of instruction. Research has shown that reading comprehension is largely dependent on the reader�s vocabulary knowledge in the language in which the text is written (Kieffer & Lesaux, 2007; Nation, 2001; Sutarsyah, Nation, and Kennedy, 1994). The lack of vocabulary knowledge is normally one of the major challenges for many university students struggling with their academic work, especially those for whom the language of tuition is not a first language. African (and Afrikaans mothertongue) students are unable to access information in their home languages because of the lack of terminology and texts in African languages (Edward and Ngwaru, 2011). There is research in South Africa showing that vocabulary is a challenge for university students, especially at first-year level (Butler & van Dyk, 2004, Manik, 2015: 236, Nkomo & Madiba, 2011). Vocabulary, being such a problem, ultimately affects the academic performance of many students. Although some universities have provided multilingual online glossaries (and other resources) in an effort to accommodate multilingual students struggling with comprehension in the medium of instruction, these modes of delivering glossaries are associated with a few problems. Consulting traditional glossaries/dictionaries disrupts the reading process and affects the flow of ideas. It is also possible that the reader will forget the term in question (or its context) right after consulting the dictionary/glossary, therefore readers have to look-up the same term in the dictionary/glossary several times to ensure that they match it with its definition accurately. In some dictionaries/glossary lists, readers will not find the desired term, or the term they find will not provide an adequate definition � which ends up frustrating the reader. Sometimes the list of definitions for one term that readers find in dictionaries/glossary lists is difficult to comprehend. Instead of providing clarity, the definitions can confuse readers even further. The comprehension of some definitions provided in dictionaries/glossary lists depend on prior understanding of several other terms.
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    Scaffolding reading comprehension for engineering students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology � A translanguaging framework
    (University of the Western Cape, 2023) Rodrigues, Theodore Ronald; Antia, Bassey
    The study examines the cognitive affordances of translanguaging as a resource for scaffolding Engineering texts written in English for English Additional Language (EAL) students in the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering (DEECE) at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa. It focuses mainly on the reading and task-related experiences and performances of students working with academic English and multilingually scaffolded (translanguaged) Engineering text settings. With this, the study consists of three phases guided by a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach, i.e., an exploratory phase and two experimental phases. These phases were constituted by focus-group discussions with interviews, questionnaires, and reading comprehension tests.