UNISA African languages Course Module
Languages offered: Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa), Swati (Siswati), Venda (Tshivenda), Tsonga (Xitsonga), Xhosa (IsiXhosa), Southern Sotho (Sesotho), Tswana (Setswana), Zulu (IsiZulu) and Ndebele (Isindebele). Details in connection with the beginners’ modules in African Languages will be found below. Note that there are restrictions on the admission of students to the beginners’ modules. The various African languages offered by the University have been classified into groups as follows: (i) Nguni – Swati, Xhosa, Zulu and Ndebele, (ii) Sotho – Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho and Tswana, (iii) Tsonga, (iv) Venda, (v) Any other African language approved by the Senate. NB Notes: For the two beginners modules tuition is in English, but language specific material is provided for the chosen target language. These modules are offered on the NQF Level 5 and serve as electives in other programmes. For the major in African Languages two modules are offered on the NQF Level 5 for all the official African languages of South Africa or any other language approved by Senate; three modules are offered on the NQF Level 6 for all the official African languages of South Africa or any other African language approved by Senate; and five modules are offered on the NQF Level 7 for all the official African languages of South Africa or any other African language approved by Senate. Tuition will be offered in English as well as African languages presented on additional media. A reading and writing knowledge of an African language is a strong recommendation for all the modules of the major in African Languages, except for AFL1501.
Major combinations:
NQF Level 5: AFL1501, AFL1502
NQF Level 6: AFL2601, AFL2602, AFL2603
NQF Level 7: AFL3701, AFL3702, AFL3703, AFL3704, AFL3705
| Creative Writing and Translation – AFL3705 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa |
|
| Recommendation: AFL2601, AFL2602 and AFL2603 |
| Purpose: This module underscores the importance of literature as a custodian of culture and language. It guides the students into discovering and developing their creative talents and is intended to equip them with practical skills to produce different types of literary works, to translate literary texts from one language into another and to edit original and translated texts. Students credited with this module can become authors, translators, editors and critical reviewers of literary works. |
| Sound Systems – AFL4801 |
| Honours |
Year module |
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in Zulu,Xhosa,English,Northern sotho,Other languages |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: To introduce students to articulatory phonetics so that they can apply these principles to their main languages. It also provides students with an overview of the basic principles of phonology, phoneme analysis in terms of distinctive features as well as the utilisation of these features to account for phonological processes and phonological rules. |
| From Form to Meaning – AFL4802 |
| Honours |
|
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 24 |
| Module presented in English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: To equip speakers of the target African languages with knowledge of the structure of the word, the nature of the morph and morpheme and selected morphological processes. It also helps the student identify and investigate specific syntactic problems. Different issues pertaining to the study of semantics are also dealt with. |
| Orature in African Languages – AFL4803 |
| Honours |
|
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 24 |
| Module presented in English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: To give students an overview of the subject Traditional Literature, focusing on its nature and its genres. The secondary objective is to tackle the subject from a global point of view in order to enable the student to see the subject in its proper perspective. |
| Literary Studies in African Languages – AFL4804 |
| Honours |
|
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 24 |
| Module presented in Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa,English,Northern sotho |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: This paper focuses on taking modern literature in African languages to new heights and into a new direction. The approach is essentially practical with the tacit aim and objective of empowering students to become artists and creative critics. |
| Language through an African Lens – AFL1501 |
| Diploma,Higher Certificate,Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: This module will be useful to students who want to develop competencies in interacting successfully in a multicultural society. These competencies include the ability to demonstrate their sensitivity to their own language usage and that of others and interact across cultures with knowledge and respect. |
| Research Report – HRAFL81 |
| Honours |
|
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 36 |
| Module presented in English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: To equip students with research skills to produce a research report based on their independent critical exploration of linguistic, sociolinguistic and literary phenomena in the African Languages. This module will be useful for language practitioners in linguistics and literature and serves to sensitise students to sociolinguistic variables in a multilingual society. |
| African Language and Culture in Practice – AFL1502 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa |
|
| Purpose: This module will be useful to students who want to develop competencies in interacting successfully in a multicultural society. These competencies include the ability to understand the significance of language and culture so that they can play a role in nurturing and safeguarding their own language and culture. |
| Language and Communication Skills Acquisition in an African Language I – AFL1503 |
| Baccalareus Technologiae Degree,Under Graduate Degree,Certificate,Diploma |
Semester module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa,English |
|
| Purpose: To provide students with the opportunity to learn the basic language structure and vocabulary of an African language. Students who achieve the outcomes of this course will be able to communicate on an elementary level with speakers of the target language and be equipped with basic reading, listening and comprehension skills. They will also be culturally sensitive to language nuances on an elementary level. |
| Language and Communication Skills Acquisition in an African Language II – AFL1504 |
| Under Graduate Degree,Diploma,Baccalareus Technologiae Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa |
|
| Pre-requisite: AFL1503 |
|
| Purpose: To provide students with the opportunity to grasp written content of African language literary texts at an elementary level. Students who achieve the outcomes of this course will be able to use vocabulary, figurative language and idiomatic expressions in an original text, and be equipped with basic reading, listening and comprehension skills. |
| Communication Dynamics in African Languages – AFL2601 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa |
|
| Purpose: This module will be useful to students, who want to develop their communicative competence, skills and knowledge in African languages, especially as language practitioners in the field of communication sciences. It provides a broad background of the origins of African languages and equips students with insights into the nature of African languages, which will be of practical value to them in the fields of language development, lexicography, human language technologies, effective communication, verbal and nonverbal interaction as well as multilingualism and language contact. |
| Understanding African Management Practices as Reflected in African Languages Literature and Texts – AFL2602 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa,English |
|
| Purpose: This module will be useful to people who need to communicate with people of different cultures. African languages literature and texts are used to illustrate African management practices and to inculcate an appreciation of how societal values are expressed. |
| Literature and Society: a Perspective on African Languages – AFL2603 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa |
|
| Purpose: The purpose of this module is to introduce students to the way in which African languages literature depicts various aspects of society. This module will be useful to students who want to develop competence, skill and knowledge in understanding the various literary genres found in African languages, critiquing literary works in African languages, explaining the role of the author in addressing societal issues and discovering the application of various literary theories to African languages literature. |
| African Languages: the Science of Language in Context – AFL3701 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa |
|
| Purpose: This module will be useful for students engaged in language teaching and language practice (including remedial teaching), editing, language consultancy (translating and interpretation, language services), lexicography and glossary development in different professions (medicine, health, business, law, entertainment, sport, politics and religion). The module aims to empower students to apply language in a purposeful and focused way to the benefit of the community. |
| Indigenous Knowledge Systems and African Languages – AFL3702 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa |
|
| Purpose: This module will empower students with an understanding of African conduct and perspectives, making them part of a developing community intellectually and enabling them to identify with people’s values. Students will be afforded access to terminology and activities of indigenous knowledge systems in the development of African languages. |
| An Introduction to Language Policy and Planning in South Africa: the Case of African Languages – AFL3703 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in Xhosa,English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu |
|
| Purpose: This module will be useful for students engaged in the field of language teaching, language practice, language consultancy, language services and language planning. The purpose of the module is to empower students by teaching them what language rights they have as citizens, to encourage the promotion and development of African languages as vehicles for reconstruction, and to help them view African languages as a resource. |
| Language Technology, Terminography and Lexicography – AFL3704 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English,Northern sotho,Other languages,Zulu,Xhosa |
|
| Purpose: This module will be useful to students engaged in language practice involving human language technology, terminography and lexicography. The module aims to equip students with insights into aspects of language technology with particular reference to the African languages, and to the linguistic knowledge necessary when developing indigenous African languages in the area of terminology and lexicography. Students credited with the module will be able to: demonstrate insight into a range of language technologies; identify, create and document terms; apply acquired dictionary compilation skills. |