Unisa Press

African Languages Matter

Author: Mojapelo & Mafela
Published: December 12, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-77646-083-0
Number of pages: 251
This book is also available in electronic format
ISBN: 978-1-77646-093-9

About the book

Arican Languages Matter: A festschrift in honour of MS Serudu is a collection of research papers in African languages to honour and celebrate the academic research career of the late Professor Emeritus Maje Stephen Serudu. Contributions were invited from scholars whom he taught and mentored directly and indirectly in his academic career. The contributions reflect his involvement in language development in the areas of modern literature, orature, formal linguistics, sociolinguistics, and translation.

About the Authors/Editors

Munzhedzi J. Mafela is an emeritus professor and professor extraordinarius of African Languages at Unisa, where he is also an expert consultant in the research directorate. He is a creative writer who has produced drama, novels, short stories, and poem anthologies.

Mampaka L. Mojapelo is an associate professor at Unisa. She obtained her PhD in African linguistics from Stellenbosch University, specialising in Sesotho sa Leboa. Although she is a grammarian, her work feeds from Prof Serudu’s literature and language preservation influences.

Table of content

Acknowledgement vii

Preface viii

Contributors ix

Abbreviations xii

1 Introduction Mampaka L. Mojapelo and Munzhedzi J. Mafela 1

PART 1 LANGUAGE AND ATTITUDE 14

2 Blacklisted Languages: W(h)ither African Languages Sekgaila Chokoe 15

3 African Languages in the Current Decolonisation Debate: Serious Discourse or Mere Rhetoric Malesela J. Masenya 27

4 Othering among South Africans and Other Communities

Thomas M. Sengani 44

PART 2 LITERATURE AND ORATURE 63

5 Serudu and Xenophobia in Naga ga di Etelane: A Challenge Faced by African Communities

Mokgale Makgopa 64

6 When Men Want, Women can be Beautiful and be Worthwhile Kanakana Y. Ladzani 80

7 Readers As Children's Literature: From the Missionaries to CLS Nyembezi's Era Cynthia D. Ntuli 97

8 Marriage and Social Relations in Some TN Maumela's Creative Works

Munzhedzi J. Mafela 109

9 Images of 'Woman' in Ruth 1:1-18: Selected Northern Sotho Proverbs as Hermeneutical Lenses Madipoane Masenya (Ngwan'a Mphahlele) 124

10 Serudu and the Preservation of Language and Culture: A Perspective in Koketšatsebo and

Dipheko tša Bagologolo

Matseleng Mabusela 137vi

PART 3 LINGUISTICS AND TRANSLATION 15511 Lexical Expression of Indefiniteness in Northern Sotho Mampaka L. Mojapelo 156

12 Serudu's Translation of Long Walk to Freedom: The Use of Domestication to

Achieve Naturalness of Expression

Francinah M. Kanyane 174

13 Voice in Translation: Insights from Ntuli's Translation of Long Walk to Freedom Rose Masubelele 195

14 Translating isiZulu Traditional Praise Poems of the 18th Century

Manqoba V. Ndlovu 214

Appendix A: Prof MS Serudu 231

Index 232