Exam (elaborations)
AFL1501 EXAM PACK 2024
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- University Of South Africa (Unisa)
AFL1501 EXAM PACK 2024
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+254792947610AFL1501
EXAM PACK
2024
QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED ANSWERS
,You will need to complete this activity before attempting to do your formative
assessment. Your assessment will not open unless you read and completed the unit.
Furthermore, it must be noted that your Quiz contributes 5% toward your final mark.
1.1: Language as a process
For you to understand the following section, consider the questions below.
• To what extent does your background and culture, i.e., your frames of reference,
influence the way you use language to communicate with other people?
• Have you ever noticed that you use different words and registers of language in
the same situation when you speak to different people?
Imagine yourself (The man sitting at the desk in the pictures, on the left) in the following
situation and fill in a question that you would pose to the person greeting
Reflect and elaborate using the pictures
1. Was there any difference in the words you used?
2. Why did you use the specific words in each case?
Now, in each of these situations, you as a person are required to ‘survive’, i.e., you need
to say something in such a way that it fits the speech situation. You do this by, for
example, asking a question, i.e., you use language to interact with the other person.
However, the questions that you ask may vary from situation to situation. Your attitude
is different for each speech situation and these differences are then expressed in terms
of the language that you use.
I am sure that different people filled in different questions above. Why? Is it because we
have different attitudes towards the persons appearing before us? The answer should be
related to the fact that each one of us has a specific identity that needs to be preserved
to enable us to survive linguistically within each specific speech situation. We also need
to be able to adapt to different speech situations. This ability enables us to change the
questions that we ask in each speech situation. We also reproduce certain words or
phrases in similar situations. The first reaction is to say: “Good Morning”. This works
within the speech situation and is used repeatedly. The way a person answers the
telephone in the same way repeatedly is an example of this. We all, therefore, adhere to
the basic human need for the conservation of identity (the
self), adaptation and reproduction in every speech situation in a specific linguistic
environment.
In terms of linguistic identity, every individual has an idiolect. It is a variety of
language and grammar, or words, idioms, or pronunciations that are unique to an
, individual. The grouping of words and phrases is unique, rather than an individual using
specific words that nobody else uses. An idiolect can easily evolve into an ecolect — a
dialect variant specific to a household. Forensic linguists use idiolects to decide if a
certain person did or did not produce a given piece of writing (or transcribed speech).
While often passing unnoticed in speech, some idiolects, particularly unusual ones
employed by famous individuals, are immortalized in the form of nicknames. A famous
example is the nickname of Willie Mays ("the Say-Hey Kid"), who frequently used "say
hey".
In each speech situation, the meaning of words is of crucial importance when we
communicate. Words are the tools or instruments that we use to communicate with.
Dictionaries are useful aids for looking up the meanings of words. Take any dictionary of
another official language other than English or Afrikaans and compare the meaning of
the basic words that are used to greet, e.g., Dumela/Dumelang (Setswana). You will find
that they are often translated in terms of English as ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Hallo’. Can we
really translate these words directly into English as ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Hallo’? Does the
use of these words to greet indicate a difference in attitude in terms of the language
user in relation to a specific culture? Does the etymology of a word still play a part in the
modern use of the word?
As for the use of language as a medium of communication, a significant distinction
needs to be drawn between the user of the language (addressor: speaker/writer) and
the receiver of the language (addressee who receives and interprets the message:
hearer/reader). The use of language is on a different level for each of these language
users. The s (shorthand for speaker/s and writer/s) uses language to get a message
across to h (shorthand for hearer/s and reader/s) that needs to receive and interpret the
message. As for h, a significant distinction can be made between a receiver (a person
who receives and interprets the message) and an addressee (a person who is an
intended receiver of the message). A receiver might be a bystander or an
eavesdropper, rather than an addressee. What happens when we think? Do we speak
when we think? Is there a speaker and a hearer?
One thing is certain, whenever we use language, we reflect who we are. This also
includes how we are organized and how we are adapted to our relationships and
patterns of behaviour. The understanding of other peoples' attitudes and worldviews
can only be generated from within their own internal frames of reference. Language is
the medium by which people present their frames of reference, their unique blueprints,
and maps of the world, their attitudes, and worldviews.
The question is now: “How does language come to serve such important functions, how
does it acquire the power to shape interpersonal and inter-group transactions, blueprints
of the world, and maps of reality?” In other words, how do we express our own imprinted
attitudes and worldviews through language?
For exam pack with questions and answers, quality notes, assignments and exam help:
email: musyokah11@gmail.com
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, Language as a Process
You will need to complete this activity before attempting to do your formative
assessment. Your assessment will not open unless you read and completed the unit.
Furthermore, it must be noted that your Quiz contributes 5% toward your final mark.
1.2: How do we see each other?
Read the following article, to help you understand a few aspects of how we see each
other. While reading the article, consider the following questions:
• What did you learn from this article in terms of language diversity?
• Is it about the coordination of actions among humans and their environment?
• Does this mean that humans must interact and communicate in order to
understand one another?
Yes, they certainly do!
It is during this process of interaction and communication that language usage plays an
important role. During this interaction process, humans need to adhere to basic linguistic
cooperative principles when they use language to interact. They need to give the right
amount of information, they need to try to make sure that the contribution they make is
true, they need to be relevant and be perspicuous (avoid obscurity of expression, avoid
ambiguity, be brief and be orderly).
Note: This activity is NOT for marks, however, it will help you to get your ideas ready for
the Portfolio and for the preceding Assignments.
How do we see each other? (Article)
• What do we think about the culture and traditions of our fellow South Africans?
• What about when people adopt children from another cultural group, who also
speak other languages?
• What does this mean when it comes to language?
How we see each other - Language Diversity
Think about the picture and read the article below. Note, the picture is not of the family
mentioned in the article, but a similar family of white people who adopted two children
from a different language and cultural group in their country.
• Read this article from The Times (Feb 16, 2008) and think about that question.
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