Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Coarse language'

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xix, 183 p.; also includes graphics (some col.). Includes bibliographical references (p. 170-183). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (M.S. in Information Systems Technology)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2003.
Thesis advisor(s): Magdi N. Kamel, Gordon H. Bradley. Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-103). Also available online.

The purpose of this study was to translate a number of selected pages from the book Horses Talking by Margrit Coates into Swedish. An analysis of the source text and the translation was carried out with the focus on three aspects: hedging, adjectives and non-finite ing-participles. The subject of the translated text lies within the broad field of animal behaviour, parapsychology and telepathy, and focuses exclusively on communication between humans and horses. Given the nature of the text, which contains cautious advice and qualified recommendations to the reader, hedging has an important function to fill. Furthermore, there are many adjectives, which give the text a certain character, and they are essential to the message of the book: how to create a good relationship between humans and horses. Theories within the translation shift approach were applied to the study. In particular, Catford’s model and terminology were looked at. Hedging at word and phrase level primarily proved to be realised by the use of modal auxiliary verbs as hedges in the source text; this application was also primarily transferred into the target text. The most common translation strategy used was literal translation. A compound noun or noun (class shift) and a prepositional phrase (unit shift) were the most common translation methods for the attributive adjectives in the analysis. The predicative adjectives were primarily translated with a verb (class shift) or a verb phrase (unit shift) and with a prepositional phrase (unit shift). For the non-finite ing-participles, a variety of methods were applied, among which the most important were the att-infinitive (grammatical shift) and a relative clause (unit shift).

Le présent volume propose, en quatre articles, l’analyse de quelques aspects du yowlè, langue mandé-sud parlée au centre-ouest de la Côte d’Ivoire. 'La nasalité en yowlè', 'Le quantitatif et le qualitatif dans quelques opérations de détermination nominale en yowlè', 'Le ton haut comme opérateur de rupture énonciative en yowlè', 'Quelques aspects de la diathèse passive en yowlè'

ABSTRACT Stroke can result in aphasia which is an acquired language disorder. It affects both the person with aphasia and the relatives. Previous studies have shown that people with aphasia consider themselves to have fewer difficulties with communication in comparison to their relatives’ opinions. The relatives rate the difficulties as less severe in comparison to the speech and language pathologists. The scales Communication Outcome after Stroke (COAST) and Carer Communication Outcome after Stroke (Carer COAST) can be used to investigate the experiences of the people with aphasia and their relatives regarding the language and communication ability of people with aphasia and the quality of life for both groups. By using COAST and Carer COAST this study aimed to investigate the experiences of people with aphasia and their relatives and to compare their experiences to the assessment of language. This study also aimed to start a validation of COAST and Carer COAST on a Swedish population. A qualitative and a quantitative analysis were used. Twenty people with aphasia and nineteen relatives were participating. The ratings between people with aphasia, their relatives and the speech and language pathologist did not differ a lot even though the relatives rated the difficulties as most severe. The quality of life was negatively affected for almost all participants. This study provided deeper insight in the different experiences which can be crucial in the clinical practice. The validation of COAST and Carer COAST can contribute to an extended use of the scales clinically and in research. Keywords: aphasia, stroke, relative, experiences, speech and language pathology, Communication Outcome after Stroke, Carer Communication Outcome after Stroke SAMMANFATTNING Afasi är en förvärvad språkstörning som kan uppkomma efter stroke och påverkar både personen som fått afasi och de närstående. Enligt tidigare studier anser personer med afasi att de har mindre kommunikationssvårigheter än vad de närstående upplever. De närstående upplever i sin tur svårigheterna som mindre än vad logopeder bedömer. Skattningsformulären Communication Outcome after Stroke (COAST) och Carer Communication Outcome after Stroke (Carer COAST) kan användas för att undersöka upplevelserna hos personer med afasi och deras närstående avseende den språkliga och kommunikativa förmågan hos personen med afasi samt livskvaliteten hos båda parter. Studien syftade till att med COAST och Carer COAST studera upplevelserna hos personer med afasi och deras närstående samt hur dessa förhöll sig till en språklig bedömning. Ytterligare ett syfte var att påbörja validering av COAST och Carer COAST på en svensk population. En kvalitativ och en kvantitativ analys gjordes. Tjugo personer med afasi och nitton närstående deltog. Det var inga större skillnader mellan skattningarna av deltagarna med afasi och deras närstående. Skattningarna stämde även till stor del överens med den språkliga bedömningen även om de närstående överlag skattade svårigheterna som störst. Livskvaliteten var negativt påverkad för de flesta deltagarna. Studiens resultat ökar insikten om de olika upplevelserna vilket kan vara av betydelse i den kliniska verksamheten. Valideringen av COAST och Carer COAST kan innebära att skattningsskalorna i större utsträckning kan användas kliniskt och inom forskning.   Nyckelord: afasi, stroke, närstående, upplevelser, logopedi, Communication Outcome after Stroke, Carer Communication Outcome after Stroke

This paper focuses on two aspects of the recipe minilect: clause-initial adverbials and object and determiner ellipsis in the translation from English into Swedish. The aim of the study is to find general tendencies on how clause-initial adverbials are translated and how this affects the information structure. In addition, the occurrence of object and determiner ellipsis in translations is studied, to see if there are differences between English and Swedish. Based on a theoretical background by Hasselgård (1997) the translation of clause-initial adverbials is identified and structured, according to Hasselgård’s (1997) model of word order correspondence. The structures are then studied quantitatively, through different examples in English and Swedish, and with regards to Lindquist’s (1989) definition of adverbial placement. The theoretical background for the study on object and determiner ellipsis is mainly based on the work by Nordman (1994), Hultman (2003) and Biber et al (1999). The occurrence of ellipsis is identified and then studied quantitatively. The results show that different kinds of word order restrictions govern the translation of clause-initial adverbials and that changes in adverbial placement can affect the information structure. The occurrence of object ellipsis is somewhat higher in the present study than in the analyzed parallel texts, possibly due to influence from the ST. Due to Swedish rules on definiteness, there is a low occurrence of determiner ellipsis in the TT.

Les langages contrôlés sont des langages artificiellement définis utilisant un sous-ensemble du vocabulaire, des formes morphologiques, des constructions syntaxiques d'une langue naturelle tout en en éliminant la polysémie. En quelque sorte, ils constituent le pont entre les langages formels et les langues naturelles. De ce fait, ils remplissent la fonction de communication du médium texte tout en étant rigoureux et analysables par la machine sans ambiguïté. En particulier, ils peuvent être utilisés pour faciliter l'alimentation de bases de connaissances, dans le cadre d'une interface homme-machine.Le Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine (SHOM) publie depuis 1971 les Instructions nautiques, des recueils de renseignements généraux, nautiques et réglementaires, destinés aux navigateurs. Ces ouvrages complètent les cartes marines. Elles sont obligatoires à bord des navires de commerce et de pêche. D'autre part, l'Organisation Hydrographique Internationale (OHI) a publié des normes spécifiant l'échange de données liées à la navigation et notamment un modèle universel de données hydrographiques (norme S-100, janvier 2010). Cette thèse se propose d'étudier l'utilisation d'un langage contrôlé pour représenter des connaissances contenues dans les Instructions nautiques, dans le but de servir de pivot entre la rédaction du texte par l'opérateur dédié, la production de l'ouvrage imprimé ou en ligne, et l'interaction avec des bases de connaissances et des outils d'aide à la navigation. En particulier on étudiera l'interaction entre le langage contrôlé des Instructions nautiques et les cartes électroniques correspondantes. Plus généralement, cette thèse se pose la question de l'évolution d'un langage contrôlé et des ontologies sous-jacentes dans le cadre d'une application comme les Instructions nautiques, qui ont la particularité d'avoir des aspects rigides (données numériques, cartes électroniques, législation) et des aspects nécessitant une certaine flexibilité (rédaction du texte par des opérateurs humains, imprévisibilité du type de connaissance à inclure par l'évolution des usages et des besoins des navigants). De manière similaire aux ontologies dynamiques que l'on rencontre dans certains domaines de connaissance, on définit ici un langage contrôlé dynamique. Le langage contrôlé décrit dans cette thèse constitue une contribution intéressante pour la communauté concernée puisqu'il touche au domaine maritime, domaine encore inexploité dans l'étude des langages contrôlés, mais aussi parce qu'il présente un aspect hybride, prenant en compte les multiples modes (textuel et visuel) présents dans le corpus constitué par les Instructions nautiques et les documents qu'elles accompagnent. Bien que créé pour le domaine de la navigation maritime, les mécanismes du langage contrôlé présentés dans cette thèse ont le potentiel pour être adaptés à d'autres domaines utilisant des corpus multimodaux. Enfin, les perspectives d'évolution pour un langage contrôlé hybride sont importantes puisqu'elles peuvent exploiter les différents avantages des modes en présence (par exemple, une exploitation de l'aspect visuel pour une extension 3D)
Controlled Natural Languages (CNL) are artificial languages that use a subset of the vocabulary, morphological forms and syntactical constructions of a natural language while eliminating its polysemy. In a way, they constitute the bridge between formal languages and natural languages. Therefore, they perform the communicative function of the textual mode while being precise and computable by the machine without any ambiguity. In particular, they can be used to facilitate the population or update of knowledge bases within the framework of a human-machine interface.Since 1971, the French Marine Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (SHOM) issues the French Coast Pilot Books Instructions nautiques , collections of general, nautical and statutory information, intended for use by sailors. These publications aim to supplement charts, in the sense that they provide the mariner with supplemental information not in the chart. They are mandatory for fishing and commercial ships. On the other hand, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) issued standards providing information about navigational data exchange. Among these standards, one of a particular interest is the universal model of hydrographic data (S-100 standard, January, 2010).This thesis analyses the use of a CNL to represent knowledge contained in the Instructions nautiques. This CNL purpose is to act as a pivot between the writing of the text by the dedicated operator, the production of the printed or online publication, and the interaction with knowledge bases and navigational aid tools. We will focus especially on the interaction between the Instructions nautiques Controlled Natural Language and the corresponding Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC).More generally, this thesis asks the question of the evolution of a CNL and the underlying ontologies involved in the Instructions nautiques project. Instructions nautiques have the particularity of combining both strictness (numerical data, electronic charts, legislation) and a certain amount of flexibility (text writing by human operators, unpredictability of the knowledge to be included due to the evolution of sailors¿ practices and needs). We define in this thesis a dynamic CNL in the same way that dynamic ontologies are defined in particular domains. The language described in this thesis is intended as an interesting contribution for the community involved in CNL. Indeed, it addresses the creation of a CNL for the unexploited domain of maritime navigation, but its hybrid aspects as well through the exploration of the multiple modalities (textual and visual) coexisting in a corpus comprising ENC and their companion texts. The mechanisms of the CNL presented in this thesis, although developed for the domain of the maritime navigation, have the potential to be adapted to other domains using multimodal corpuses. Finally, the benefits in the future of a controlled hybrid language are undeniable: the use of the different modalities in their full potential can be used in many different applications (for example, the exploitation of the visual modality for a 3D extension)

The paper is concerned with communication within a team of players trying to coordinate in response to information dispersed among them. The problem is nontrivial because they cannot communicate all information instantaneously, but have to send longer or shorter sequences of messages, using coarse codes. We focus on the design of these codes and show that members may gain compatibility advantages by using identical codes, and that this can support the existence of several, more or less efficient, symmetric equilibria. Asymmetric equilibria may exist only if coordination across different sets of members is of sufficiently different importance. The results are consistent with the stylized fact that firm differ even within industries and that coordination between divisions is harder than coordination inside divisions.
Center for Innovation in Product Development at MIT under NSF Cooperative Agreement Number EEC-9529140.

This dissertation describes a newly-discovered variety of French, centered at Delisle, Mississippi. Mississippi Gulf Coast French (MGCF) is a Colonial survival, planted by Canadian and French settlers shortly after 1700, about fifty years before the Acadians arrived in Louisiana. Becoming part of Spanish West Florida in 1763, the coastal area in which Delisle is located was acquired by the United States after the Louisiana Purchase. The small francophone community persisted into the twentieth century as an enclave within the dominant English-speaking culture. The dialect's current state of demise was triggered when intergenerational transmission of MGCF was halted voluntarily by the first and only universally bilingual generation, those forced to learn English in school when compulsory education began in 1920. The last remaining members of that generation can still speak the language today. Sixteen speakers, most of them quite fluent, were recorded between 1994 and 1997, and on the basis of their speech the descriptive grammar focusing on the phonology and morphology was constructed Although MGCF ressembles in its phonology and lexicon the other North American descendants of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European and Canadian French, it is structurally distinct, having almost abandoned the inherited noun gender system and largely replaced verbal inflection with analytic constructions. A detectable creole influence is consistent with the known presence of creole speakers around Delisle at least from the end of the eighteenth century, and the heavy English influence found is attributable to the bilingualism of the last speakers. The description presents almost the totality of the data collected, for future use in comparative, historical, typological, or other types of studies
acase@tulane.edu

Dissertação de mestrado em Lexicography
The current thesis consists of an onomasiological dictionary project which should contribute to the preservation of the Atchan language and the culture of the Tchaman people. The project aims at providing a model for the macro- and microstructure of the dictionary. Other project goals are the collection of data on the use of the Atchan language (the frequency of use, the domains in which it is used, the interlocutors), the assessment of the threat level of the Atchan language, the description of the current language documentation. To achieve these goals, two tools were used: a questionnaire and UNESCO’s criteria to assess language vitality or endangerment. At the end of the work, it is hoped that the proposed model, the methodology adopted and the research carried out will contribute to the compilation of an onomasiological dictionary in the future and the preservation of Atchan and, consequently, the culture of the Tchaman community.
A presente tese consiste em um projeto de dicionário onomasiológico que tem como objetivo contribuir para a preservação da lingua Atchan e da cultura da comunidade Tchaman. O projeto propõe um modelo para a macro e microestrutura do dicionário. Além disso, existem outros objetivos, nomeadamente a coleta de dados sobre o uso da língua Atchan (inclui a frequência de uso, os domínios em que é utilizada, os interlocutores), a avaliação do nível de ameaça da lingua Atchan e a descrição da documentação atual do idioma. Para atingir esses objetivos, duas ferramentas foram usadas: um questionário e os critérios da UNESCO para avaliar a vitalidade duma lingua. No final do trabalho, espera-se que o desenho proposto, a metodologia adotada e a pesquisa realizada possam contribuir para a compilação de um dicionário onomasiológico e etnográfico no futuro e a preservação de Atchan e, consequentemente, da cultura da comunidade Tchaman.

碩士
國立高雄科技大學
應用英語系
107
Coarse language is more commonly seen in action films than with any other genre because in some intense scenes, characters are likely to use more emotional language. This thesis aims at discussing the translation of English to Chinese in terms of coarse language subtitle strategies used specifically in action films. This thesis applies Gottlieb’s categories (1992), which include the strategies of expansion, paraphrasing, transfer, imitation, transcription, dislocation, condensation, decimation, deletion, and resignation to examine both Taiwan and China’s versions of subtitle translation. The analysis shows that transcription is the most frequently used strategy to deal with coarse language in the Taiwanese subtitles, while transfer is the most commonly used strategy in the Chinese version. According to the findings, the Taiwanese subtitles are mostly rendered into local dialects, i.e. Taiwanese, and trendy words. The subtitles are expressed in a way which is closer to the daily life of the audience, thus enhancing the entertainment value of the action film. However, the Chinese versions of the subtitles were more likely to use direct translation, with little local dialects or trendy words being used. On the other hand, the translation strategies of imitation and resignation were not used to render the coarse language in both Taiwan and China’s versions of the subtitles. The reason for this is because imitation is used to render identical expressions or proper nouns and resignation is used in untranslatable elements. This study is aimed to analyzing coarse language, wherein most words already have fixed translations or are rendered into local dialects, so imitation and resignation are not used to render the source texts.

Dr. Samuel Sam O.C. (February 19, 1925—December 18, 2007) was a traditionally trained orator of the Tsartlip Nation, located in the territory of WSÁNEĆ (Saanich), Vancouver Island. He spoke the two Central Coast Salish languages of SENĆOŦEN (dialect of Northern Straits, Coast Salish) and Hul’q’umi’num’ (dialect of Halkomelem, Coast Salish). In the summer of 2006, Dr. Sam and I began the work of documenting some of his knowledge of the mythology, history, and people that made up his community. This thesis presents two excerpts from these recordings. The first is a traditional WSÁNEĆ Flood Story in SENĆOŦEN that tells of the source of the name of the territory and its people. The second is an autobiographical tale told in Hul’q’umi’num’ that describes Dr. Sam’s life as a young man, working as a migrant farmer with his wife and children. While collaborating with Dr. Sam to translate and render his stories into text, it became clear that the loss of contextual information surrounding them would be a hindrance to their appreciation and even understanding. This thesis discusses the role of context as a background against which the texts can be viewed. This context includes information about Dr. Sam’s motivations for sharing his knowledge, historical information about him and his nation, description of the traditional role of oratory on the West Coast, and about the decisions made in the process of rendering the oral genre into text. Coast Salish oratory is a traditional medium for transmission of information, knowledge, and moral teaching. It is as well a beautiful and complex oral art form, rich with stylistic features. The constitutive device of the oratory appears to be that of parallelism, whereby couplet lines and themes are ordered into structures ranging from simple to complex. Dr. Sam’s oratory is rich with examples of many features and parallel structures which can be found in neighbouring Coast Salish texts.
Graduate

Thesis (Masters. English) - University of Zululand, 2006.
The post 1994 era in South Africa has been characterized by rampant change. During this age of transition, almost every aspect of social life has seen new institutions and structures being put in place to redress the injustices and imbalances of the apartheid system. Education has not been an exception. The English Second Language (ESL) syllabus was changed in 1996 and replaced by the 'Interim Core Syllabus'. Since 1996, this interim syllabus has been in effect until 2006 in Grades 11 and 12. Practically, the Education Department of South Africa has relied on the ESL syllabus which was meant to be a temporary measure for eleven years. In the classes lower than Grades 11 and 12, Curriculum 2005 was put in place and was subsequently replaced by the Revised National Curriculum Statement. Again, the Revised National Curriculum Statement was replaced by the National Curriculum Statement. In short, until 2006 high schools, that is, Further Education and Training band, have relied on the interim syllabus and Grade 12 will continue doing so up to 2007. Prompted by the fact that the ESL syllabus had been interim for quite some time and the learners' performance was not satisfactory, the researcher engaged in this study. In 1999 and 2000, learners' performance in ESL in the Empangeni Region was not of the required standard. Eshowe district, which is the focus of this study, was no exception. Learners' poor performance in ESL during these years meant that the aims and objectives of the ESL Interim Core Syllabus for Standard 8,9 and 10 that was used by schools were not entirely realized. This research aimed at finding factors that were responsible for learners' not performing up to the required standard during the years referred to above and possibly in subsequent years. The point of departure for this study was syllabus design - specifically the Interim Core Syllabus of 1996. Admittedly, there may have been other factors that are social, political, affective, etc in nature. However, this study was concerned with factors more directly linked to the education system since syllabi used in schools to facilitate learner assessment are an education factor.

The Haida language, Xaad Kil is dangerously close to extinction and in need of heroic action. The purpose of this study is to find out what ancient traditions and beliefs we could incorporate into our language revitalization efforts. Drawing on archival literature and community knowledge, I found almost 100 traditional ways to support Xaad Kil revitalization. There are four main chapters: Haida foods, Haida medicines, Haida rituals and ceremonies and Haida supernatural beings that could contribute to Xaad Kil revitalization. The food chapter features two-dozen traditional foods from salmon to berries that support a healthy lifestyle for Haida language speakers and that could strengthen our connections to the supernatural world. The Haida medicine chapter features two dozen traditional medicines from single-delight to salt water that could heal, strengthen and purify the Haida language learner. The ritual and ceremony chapter features over two-dozen rituals from devil’s club rituals to labret piercing ceremonies that could strengthen Haidas and our language learning. The supernatural being chapter features twenty-three supernatural beings including Greatest Crab and Lady Luck that could bring a language learner wealth, knowledge, luck and strength. This study suggests that a Xaad kil learner and the Xaad kil language need to be pure, protected, connected, lucky, strong, healthy, respected, loved and wise. The path to these qualities is within the traditions and beliefs featured in this research. This study is significant because it shows that the language revitalization answers are within and all around us.
Graduate
0290
0326
lucybell@uvic.ca

ABSTRACT The Nitinaht language and traditional knowledge that was usually transmitted from the older to the younger family members is on the verge of being lost forever. As a member of a Nitinaht family, I have concentrated on finding the Elders in our family, who are spread all over Vancouver Island, in an attempt to try to find a way to preserve this invaluable knowledge and to pass it on to future generations. This information was recorded and will be presented through interactive multimedia, which allows for the transmission of oral information such as stories, photographs, interviews, family trees, history, language and anecdotes. Since modern technology and traditional knowledge seem at the opposite ends of the spectrum, the research also looked into the acceptability of this method of transmission. Much traditional knowledge is confidential, and thus is not part of the written dissertation; however, much information is included without disrespect for our beliefs as ideas for future research. The written documentation includes a history of our family, discussion of the beauty and uniqueness of the Diitidaht (Nitinaht) language, a narration of our last Puku’u basket weaver, and a description of the “Family First” interactive multimedia program.

Text in Afrikaans
Leerders wat uit swak sosio-ekonomiese omstandighede kom, die sogenaamde milieu-geremde leerders, se prestasie in geletterdheid is dikwels baie swakker as diegene wat uit meer bevoorregte huise uit kom. Skryf, as ‘n kernaspek van geletterdheidsvaardighede, kan tereg beskou word as een van die ingewikkeldste vaardighede. Die bemeestering daarvan stel ‘n bykans onbereikbare eis aan die milieu-geremde leerder en kan grootliks toegeskryf word aan die leeragterstande wat sulke leerders ondervind. Die probleem word dikwels vererger deur ‘n gebrek aan opvoederbekwaamheid en die algemene afwesigheid van goeie onderwys waar hierdie leerders skoolgaan. Hoewel baie ingrypingsmaatreëls en strategieë deur die Wes-Kaapse Onderwysdepartement (WKOD) en ook die Departement van Basiese Onderwys (DBO) al van stapel gestuur is om die talle uitdagings rondom veral geletterdheidsprestasie hok te slaan, blyk dit dat ingrypings om leerders se skryfvaardighede te verbeter, dikwels afgeskeep word. Hierdie konstruktivistiese studie was daarop gemik om ‘n omvattende ondersoek te doen en die uitdagings wat milieu-geremde leerders ten opsigte van skryfvaardighede ondervind, op ‘n holistiese wyse binne die konteks van arm plattelandse skole aan te spreek. Hierdie kwalitatiewe ondersoek is uitgevoer by nege plattelandse skole in die Weskusdistrik van die Wes-Kaap. Taalopvoeders in die Intermediêre Fase is in die studie betrek. Die skole is geleë in woongebiede waar opsigtelike tekens van swak sosio-ekonomiese omstandighede voorkom, en gekies vanweë hulle status as skole in die laer kwintiele. Die teoretiese perspektiewe van Piaget, Vygotski, Bronfenbrenner en Bandura met hul fokus op sosiokulturele teorieë van leer, is bestudeer. Bepaalde strategieë en beginsels is vanuit hierdie perspektiewe met hierdie studie in verband gebring. Die bevordering van skryfvaardighede in die konstruktivistiese klaskamer is bestudeer met klem op Brian Cambourne (1934-) se invloedryke werk wat fokus op die voorwaardes vir leer en ook op die wyse waarop opvoeders ‘n klaskameretos kan skep om goeie skryfvaardighede te ontwikkel. Die konstruktivistiese beskouing het ook die dataversamelingsproses gerig en uit die data is temas en subtemas geïdentifiseer wat bespreek en ontleed is. Bevindinge in hierdie navorsing het getoon dat skryf ‘n ingewikkelde aktiwiteit vir beide opvoeders en leerders is en dat die onderrig en bevordering daarvan in vele opsigte te kort skiet. Opvoeders beskik oor beperkte kennis en begrip ten opsigte van die onderrig en assessering van skryfvaardighede. Die bevindinge toon ook dat min maatreëls in plek is om die eiesoortige eise wat milieu-geremde leerders stel, aan te spreek. Die studie het ook getoon dat die ouers van milieu-geremde leerders ‘n belangelose, apatiese houding teenoor hul skoolwerk openbaar. In ‘n neutedop kan gesê word dat hierdie studie getoon het daar beslis baie meer gedoen moet word om nie net die skryfvaardighede van milieu-geremde leerders by armer plattelandse skole te verbeter nie, maar dat daar ook indringend na oplossings gesoek moet word vir die talryke ander uitdagings wat milieu-geremde leerders by plattelandse skole ervaar.
The performance in literacy of learners hailing from poor socio-economic circumstances, the so-called environmentally deprived learners, is often much poorer than those from more advantaged homes. Writing, as a core aspect of literacy skills, can rightly be viewed as one of the most complicated skills. The mastering thereof puts an almost unattainable demand on the environmentally deprived learner. This situation is largely attributed to the learning deficit experienced by such learners. The problem is often exacerbated by a lack in educator proficiency and the general absence of good education where these learners go to school. Although many intervention measurements and strategies have been initiated by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to inhibit the many challenges surrounding especially literacy performance, it would seem that interventions to improve learners’ writing ability is often neglected. This constructivist study was aimed at undertaking an encompassing investigation and to address the challenges that environmentally deprived learners experience in terms of writing skills in a holistic manner within the context of poor rural schools. This qualitative investigation was executed at nine rural schools in the West Coast district of the Western Cape. Language educators in the Intermediary Phase were involved in the study. The schools are situated in areas where there are visible signs of poor socio-economic circumstances, and chosen for their status as schools in the lower quintiles. The theoretic perspectives of Piaget, Vygotski, Bronfenbrenner and Bandura, with their focus on socio-cultural theories, were studied. Specific strategies and principles from these perspectives were aligned with this study. The promotion of writing skills in the constructivist classroom was studied, with a focus on the influential work of Brian Cambourne (1934-), which focuses on the conditions for learning and also the way in which educators can create a classroom ethos to develop good writing skills. The constructivist view also guided the data collection process and from the data themes and subthemes were identified that were discussed and analysed. Findings of this research has shown that writing is a complicated activity for both educators and learners and that the teaching and promotion thereof are lacking in many aspects. Educators have limited knowledge in respect of the teaching and assessment of writing skills. The findings also show that few measures are in place to address the unique demands made by environmentally deprived learners. The study has also shown that the parents of environmentally deprived learners display an uninterested, apathetic attitude towards their schoolwork. In a nutshell it can be said that this study has shown that there is indeed much to be done not only to improve the writing ability of environmentally deprived learners in poorer rural schools, but that solutions should also urgently be sought to the countless other challenges experienced by environmentally deprived learners in rural schools.
Curriculum and Instructional Studies
D. Ed. (Kurrikulumstudies)