COMMUNICATION
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Item The sun that never rose: A rhetorical analysis of the July 2006 "Sunrise of Currency Reform" monetary policy review statement issued by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.(NUST, Department of English Communication, 2007) Kangira, JairosThis paper analyses the rhetoric that Dr Gideon Gono, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, used in his (in) famous ‘Sunrise of Currency Reform’ Monetary Policy Review Statement to make people believe that once the three zeros were removed from the currency, all economic problems would be a thing of the past. The paper argues that by largely using rhetoric that espoused the common ownership of the economic crisis, Gono attempted to create a common bond among the people. This analysis shows that Gono’s speech was fraught with buzz words and phrases such as ‘from zero to hero’ which, despite their fuzziness, were aimed at shortcircuiting the audience’s reasoning and persuading them to think that removing three zeros from the currency was a noble thing to do. Posing as a pious citizen, Gono attempted to make his speech turn the occasion into an epic moment by purporting collectivity in the exercise. It is concluded that although Gono’s speech contains a mixture of deliberative, forensic and deictic elements of a speech, the proverbial sun did not rise for the people of Zimbabwe, and that Gono’s Monetary Statement was one of his worst illusions.Item Women writers' use of metaphor as gender rhetoric in discourse on HIV/AIDS and sex-related issues: The case of "Totanga patsva" (We start afresh) by Zimbabwe Women Writers.(NUST, Department of Communication., 2007) Kangira, Jairos; Mashiri, Pedzisai; Gambahaya, ZifikileThis article analyses the metaphors that women writers use to communicate various messages about HIV/AIDS and sex. We argue that the writers use metaphors in their discourse mainly because the Shona culture places restrictions on words and expressions which directly refer to HIV/AIDS and sex-related issues. Such direct words and expressions are considered taboo, hence the communicators have to use metaphors which make the tabooed words and expressions mentionable indirectly. This study focuses on metaphors since other forms of figures such as similes and euphemisms are used sparingly in the anthology under examination. The metaphors that are discussed are found in seventeen stories out of twenty-five stories that make up the anthology. The remaining stories do not overtly use metaphors. It is demonstrated that metaphors in the stories that are analysed enhance communication since they are contextually used. The study demonstrates the relationship between language and culture.Item Reflections on the question of mother tongue instruction in Namibia.(NUST, Department of English Communication., 2007) Murray, CynthiaIn recent years, the question of medium of instruction in education in African countries has become one of the crucial issues in research and discussion at many levels and in many fora. Since contexts, resources and social dynamics vary widely from country to country, factors addressed in this paper cannot be generally applied. The main focus will therefore be on factors which pertain specifically to Namibia and the Namibian context.Item Integrating an online component using a Computer Mediated Communication system to enhance the learning of English communication skills.(NUST, Department of Communication., 2007) Tjiramanga, AlexandraThis paper examines a variety of activities used in the online component of an English Communication course taught to exit level students at the NUST. The study concentrates on the tasks that were given to students using the computer mediated communication system “Moodle”. The tasks under examination were part of the online component of the hybrid course taught in 2005. These tasks related to study material presented in the face-to-face classroom. They involved activities such as practice, revision, reflection, reading, writing, evaluation, collaboration and cooperation, among others. The tasks under investigation show how face-to-face teaching can be supplemented by online activities to enhance learning as well as students’ engagement and personal development in the learning process.Item Review of the book Professional communication: How to deliver written and spoken messages by Jane English et al.(NUST, Department of Communication., 2007) Tjiramanga, AlexandraThe article reviews the book "Professional communication: How to deliver written and spoken messages", by Jane English et al.Item An exploration of the theme of guilt and redemption in "The Guide" by R. K. Narayan and "A Grain of Wheat" by Ngugi wa Thiong’o.(NUST, Department of Communication., 2007) Krishnamurthy, SaralaThis article examines the theme of guilt and redemption in The Guide by R.K. Narayan and A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Guilt and redemption are treated as one because redemption of the two main protagonists in the two novels follows upon guilt. The protagonists of the two novels are compared with each other because both of them dupe the general public into believing that they are heroes. They follow similar paths of being ordinary men who, in the course of their lives, win the admiration of their people because of a misunderstanding.Instead of revealing their true selves they allow this misperception to continue because it suits them. How each of the protagonists meets his destiny and seeks his redemption is, in the final count, the embodiment of the philosophical vision of the two novelists writing from a post colonial perspective. Since the article deals with the theme of guilt and redemption as one, it, therefore, not only compares and contrasts the protagonists in the novels, also addresses the issue of writing in a post colonial world and how this impacts the world view of each writer.Item Reflexive inquiry and reflective practice: Critical reflection and pedagogy in English language teaching.(NUST, Department of Communication., 2007) Krishnamurthy, SaralaThere is an ongoing debate on learners’ poor performance in English at the NUST. The main challenge that the institution faces to train faculty is addressed by the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) which has an Academic Support Unit in charge of organizing teacher training workshops, special lectures and several other activities. While some members of staff believe that it is impossible to mark a test without taking cognizance of the language in which it is written, others distinguish between form and content and choose to ignore the language component of a test. This discrepancy of thought has led to skewed results with students scoring brilliantly in their content subjects like Mathematics, Business Management courses, etc, and failing in English. The current state of affairs begs the question: what do we focus upon in our teacher training programs: is it on language or on content?Item Structuralist analysis of D. H. Lawrence's "The White Stocking".(2007) Brewis, AlexanderThe French structuralist, Roland Barthes‟ structuralist analysis of Honore de Balzac‟s short story Sarrasine, S/Z, published in 1970, has had a major impact on literary criticism. In this analysis Barthes shows where and how different codes of meaning function, and he uses specific „codes‟ to show how a text „works‟. Barthes‟ five codes (to be discussed later) form a network of meaning in a text which provides a framework for analysing any text.Item Review of the book Between yesterday and tomorrow: Writings by Namibian women.(NUST, Department of Communication., 2008) Krishnamurthy, SaralaThis article reviews the book "Between yesterday and tomorrow: Writings by Namibian women", edited by Elizabeth Ikhasas.Item Manipulation of subject peoples' history, legends and myths: The case of Prestor John.(NUST, Department of Communication., 2008) Kangira, Jairos; Chirere, MemoryThis article claims that John Buchan’s Prester John, a small novel of 1910 can be read, arguably, as a settler novel setting out to undercut the indigenous Africans’ wars of resistance and self-determination by manipulation of myths, legends and history. The claim is also that this novel by the private secretary to the British High Commissioner to South Africa belittles the Africans’ claim to connections with their legendary ancestral heroes. There is a contrived, systematic denigration of “the black other” at the frontier so that he appears as if he has no meaningful claim to a history of organisation to fall back on. As savages, Africans are rendered blind, leaderless and motiveless. All that is done to benefit the Empire. Some extensive supporting examples will be drawn from Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines. However, in the process of denigrating the Africans, John Buchan is caught up in some contradictions. All this demonstrates that the colonial process itself was/is complex even to its perpetrators, as shall be shown here.Item An exploration study into the fictionalisation of educational theory and practice in Victorian novels.(NUST, Department of Communication., 2008) Brewis, AlexanderThis article is an exploration into how Victorian writers portray education in their novels. The content of syllabi as well as details of how children were taught in different schools, using different educational ideologies is not the focus of this article. This article will illustrate how Charles Dickens and Thomas Hughes represent education differently although they were writing during the same period. Dickens’ Hard Times, henceforth referred to as HT, was first published in 1854 and Hughes’ Tom Brown’s school Days, henceforth TB, was first published in 1857.The article refers to a range of Victorian writers but Charles Dickens’ Hard Times and Thomas Hughes’ Tom Brown’s School Days are the main focus.Item Poster presentations(Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), 2008-05-23) Tjiramanga, AlexandraItem Okot p’Bitek’s revision of aspects of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s "The Mask of Anarchy".(NUST, Department of English Communication., 2009) Opali, FredThis paper examines the extent to which Okot p’Bitek revises aspects of Shelley’s The Mask of Anarchy. It begins by establishing the theoretical background to revisionism and takes as its working statement a key passage from Wordsworth. The substance of this passage is pursued and related to Johnsonian newness which, implicitly, is a neo-classical revision of the Wordsworthian stance. This position is pursued further in twentieth-century theoretical views as espoused by T.S.Eliot especially his view about relationships between texts. This section ends by drawing Harold Bloom into the paper’s theoretical framework and indicating which of his revisionary ratios are seen in p’Bitek’s revision of Shelley’s poem. The next section of the paper justifies p’Bitek’s revisionism and the third part applies two of Bloom’s revisionary ratios to Okot p’Bitek’s Song of Prisoner and Song of Soldier. The paper ends by assessing p’Bitek’s anxiety. It affirms that p’Bitek achieves identity and poetic distinction in revising aspects of The Mask of Anarchy.Item Representation of time: A stylistic analysis of real and surreal elements in Joseph Heller's "Catch 22".(2009) Krishnamurthy, SaralaSurrealism is a movement that derives from psychology and embraces widely disparate genres such as art and literature. It has been defined as pure psychic automatism, by which one proposes to express either verbally, in writing or by any other manner, the real functioning of thought. In other words it is dictation of thoughts in the absence of all control exercised by reason, outside of all aesthetic and moral preoccupation; for example, as seen in dreams. According to Freud, dreams can be analysed through free association to bring to surface desires and longings suppressed in the subconscious and unconscious. The suppression of desires leads to neurosis. Surrealist painters absorbed the notion of idiosyncrasy in Freudian psychoanalysis while rejecting the underlying madness or darkness of the mind. Painters, such as Salvador Dali, are described as surreal because of the juxtaposition of the abstract and concrete in the form of disturbing and incongruous images in their paintings. This kind of depiction has come to be accepted as a characteristic style of surrealism. In literature, surreal writers have expressed a disdain for literal meanings given to objects and focused on the undertones, the poetic undercurrent that infuses their writing with an uncanny, eerie spirit. Surreal writers seldom organise the thoughts and images that they present and most people find it difficult to understand or analyse their writings.Item Contradictory HIV/AIDS rhetoric(s) in Zimbabwe: An analysis of selected online media texts: Paper presented at the African Association of Rhetoric 2nd Biennial International Conference at the University of KwaZulu Natal, 1-3 July, 2009.(2009) Makamani, RewaiThis article employs text analysis within the framework of the arena model (Mazzoni, 1991, Anfara, 2006, http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs), to examine fourty one online media texts to reflect on the Zimbabwean HIV/AIDS intervention model and how it impacted on HIV/AIDS rhetoric used by government officials and online media. The article reveals that HIV/AIDS rhetoric was mainly used by politicians from the previous government of Zimbabwe as a face and face management strategy (Goffman (1955/1967)/ Tracy (1990) in Bull (2008) to paint a positive image of government and ZANU PF before relevant stakeholders like potential voters, donors, regional and international communities. The article demonstrates that the strategy of using HIV/ AIDS rhetoric for political grandstanding did not yield success owing to inherent flaws in the HIV/AIDS intervention model used and lack of commitment. The article further reveals that the Zimbabwean HIV/ AIDS model that rests heavily on a subsystem arena which oftentimes overlapped as a political party engineered leadership arena that excluded the much vital macro arena, is the architect of the contradictory HIV/AIDS rhetoric under discussion. I proceed to argue that despite the government officials’ use of all sorts of appeals, imagery, symbolism and endorsements in the public media and other platforms, the online media’s use of whistle blowing, thematisation, visuals and intertextuality, managed to send effective messages locally and abroad that dislodged misleading rhetoric produced by political agents and emitted by pro- government media. Findings in this study lend to the conclusion that the Zimbabwean HIV/AIDS intervention model rendered government officials HIV/AIDS rhetoric as nothing beyond plain face saving acts that unfortunately did not yield the interlocutors’ desired effect for the macro arena’s experiences were overwhelmingly parallel to messages churned by politicians. In the article, I analyse speeches by political agents, HIV/AIDS activists, and online media reports by UN officials, Human Rights Watch (July 2005), UNAIDS and WHO (2005). Lastly, articles on rape committed against girls and women particularly during the 2002 and March 2008 elections are also examined.Item Television and film as popular culture.(NUST, Department of English Communication., 2009) Makamani, RewaiThis article is part of a Unit for the BA in Media Studies module.Item Product-oriented communication: A linguistic analysis of selected adverts.(NUST, Department of Communication., 2009) Kangira, JairosThe language that is used in commercial advertisements in general often does more than just inform the public about products that are on sale; the language usually has an extra crucial task of trying to persuade potential customers to buy the products. The question that may be asked right at the outset is: How do designers of adverts make them persuasive? The main focus of this paper is to answer this and other related questions. From a linguistic point of view, it is evident that, among other things, designers of adverts pay attention to the morpho-syntactic, semantic and phonological aspects of the language used in an advert.Item Mission impossible - The pentangle breaks.(NUST, Department of English Communication., 2009) Brewis, AlexanderThe poet’s complex and ambiguous treatment of Gawain’s adventure leaves the nature of the heroic role continually in doubt, and the ending of the poem is designed to make us wonder whether Gawain has fulfilled such a role or not. This article attempts to advocate a sympathetic reading of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, hereafter referred to as SGGK. I propose to show that Gawain, despite failing in his mission, is indeed a hero and that the circumstances he finds himself in, make it impossible for him to succeed.Item Pragmatic analysis of students' performance at the NUST.(NUST, Department of English Communication., 2009) Krishnamurthy, Sarala; Ithindi, Elina; Brewis, Alexander; Eiseb, JulietPragmatics has been described as the analysis of language taking into account the socio-cultural context in which it is used. In other words, it is the study of language of a particular region which reveals the influence of mother tongue and other cultural aspects. While pragmatic analysis can be done in many ways, this paper focuses on discussions that take place in the class room. Our subjects are students of the NUST who are expected to participate in classroom discussions as part of their formative assessment. This paper explores the relative success of classroom discussions according to the proficiency level of the students with a view to identifying and improving their interactions both in the classroom and in a societal setting.