Language and Meaning With examples contributed by Dr Tsepang Leuta and Professor Nnamdi Elleh

Language and Meaning

With examples contributed by Dr Tsepang Leuta and Professor Nnamdi Elleh

In this short communication, and using two words, “civilization” and “culture”, we are providing two examples of what Wits-VITS is about and how it is different from other online sources like WIKIPEDIA. We will examine these two words in three indigenous African languages, two in South Africa and one from West Africa.

Meanings Are Not Stable: You will find in the two examples that follow that meanings are not stable. The meanings of broad concepts like civilization and culture would vary when considered critically from other languages. Moreover the expanded meanings may or may not contradict each other, but they nevertheless expand our knowledge. Please consider the first example that follows.

Civilization Examined in English Language: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2010: 254) lists three definitions for civilization, and all are related. The first one says that it is “a state of human civilization that is very developed and organized… .” The dictionary lists these examples in italic letters in the first definition. The technology of modern civilization. The Victorians regarded the railways as bringing progress and civilization. The second listing suggests that civilization is about “a society, its culture and way of life during a particular period of time or in a particular part of the world.” The third definition is broader by including all the people in the world, environments, etc. The examples below expand this definition without contradicting it. Civilization Examined in Sotho and in Setswana Languages/Dialects: The word civilization means tsoelopele in Southern Sotho and tswelopele in Northern Sotho (Sepedi) and Setswana. The day-to-day meaning of tsoelopele/tswelopelo is progress and advancement depending on the context of the conversation. We find parallels in the Sotho and the Setswana and the English definition above. An example in an English language context usage is ‘there are remains of tsoelopele/tswelopelo (ancient civilizations) that are well preserved at the BakoneMalapa Open Air Museum in Polokwane, Limpopo’. In Sesotho, Setswana and Sepedi an example can read: Dichaba tse fapaneng di tlisitse tswelopele Afrika Borwa. This can be translated as many

nations brought civilization to South Africa. Another example – ‘Tsoelopele e re thusa ka ho fetola bophelo ba rona ho latela lilemo tsa morao-rao’. This can be translated as ‘development helps us better our lives to meet today’s needs’. In this example, tsoelopele is personalized and used to express individual progress, development, and advancement. To take its meaning further, tsoelopele/ tswelopelo can also imply progress/progression, growth or even success depending on the context of a conversation. The last example we would like to show on civilization is also drawn from Sotho and Setswana. ‘Thuto ke senotlolo sa tswelopele (bophelong)’ or ‘Thuto ke bokamoso’. Expressed in English, the statement can read: ‘Education is key to success (in life)’. It is even more interesting if we do a literal translation. ‘Education is the future’. Notice how the meaning has now changed to success. This interpretation and its meaning further indicate advancement and development in one’s life (e.g. personal development). Contributed by Dr. Tsepang Leuta, co-lecturer in history course.

Civilization Examined in Èkpéyé Languages: Èkpéyé people are one of the minority groups in the Niger-Delta of Nigeria. There is very little documentation about this language and the culture. Ékpéyé people speak Ékpéyé language. Civilization in Èkpéyé language means ūsamalí. This word has many meanings, including (i) light, (ii) Washing or to wash, (iii) contrasts between old and new. (iv) It also means openness depending on the context of the usage. Example: (i) South Africa samalí a samalí means South Africa is civilized. It also means there is light in South Africa. In the context of usage, an Ékpéyé speaking person would understand that the sentence means, South Africa is civilized and would not conflate it with the presence or absence of light and darkness as we would literarily understand it. (ii) In the second instance, Adhiym samalí a samalí means ‘this place is civilized’. Literary translation means light has washed this place, and this does not imply cleanliness or hygiene. (iii) In the third example, ūsamalí indicates that the old thing, idea, culture, has been replaced by the new ways of thinking. In the evergreen rain forest region where I grew up, and where there are tall trees, and where one could be in the swamp in the daylight but the canopies prevent the sun from penetrating into the forest ground, ūsamalí has a complex sad meaning. Without knowing that they are damaging the forest, people sometimes clear the canopies to let light in. Adhiym samalí

a samalí, meaning ‘this place now has light’ or ‘this place is now civilized’. It also literarily means ‘this place has been cleared of the forest to let light in’. In the end the context of usage determines how each statement is understood by Ékpéyé language speakers. (iv) The fourth example is related to the third because it implies open mindedness and being able to reflect beyond the immediate present. Prepared by Professor Elleh Culture Examined in English Language: The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2010: 357) explains that culture is a “way of life.” It is the “customs and beliefs, art, way of life and social organization of a particular country or group: …” A lot more is explained in different subheadings under culture, and the various shades and usage of the word does not contradict the ways they are shown in two languages below.

Adhiym samalí a samalí

this place now has light this place is now civilized this place has been cleared of the forest to let light in

Figure 1: Civilization

Culture Examined In Sesotho Language: Culture is commonly referred to as ‘setso’ in Sesotho. (i) As a way of life, it embodies a nation’s food, traditional attire, music, language, etc. (ii) In Southern Sesotho, one would say ‘setso ke mothapo oa rona chabana se sets’o hore re itsebe le moo re tsoang teng’. In this example, the conceptual meaning of culture is equivalent to the term ‘origin’. Examples of how to use this concept in Southern Sesotho – ‘Ngoana o tlameha ho holisoa ho latela setso sa hae le sa batsoali ba hae’ – translated - ‘A child is raised according to his/her parents’ culture’ and interpreted – ‘Our culture is the root of our origins’. Contributed by Dr. Tsepang Leuta, co-lecturer in history course.

Culture Examined in Èkpéyé Language: In Èkpéyé language culture is not one word as in English. It is described in the three words, omé na ala,. In English it ‘translates to the way things are done in the land’. Omé na ala has several meanings, including but not limited to: (i) the customs of the land and (ii) the laws of the land. (iii) Ala, the land, tells us that customs are geographically and land/earth centered in relationship to people, and for that reason it varies from land to land, place to place, and from people to people. (iv) Moreover omé na ala recognizes people in groups of ancestral lineages and descendants instead tribes, although the latter is commonly used in describing various people in Africa. This is the reason Ékpéyé people identify themselves as people from one ancestral lineage. The etymology of Ékpéyé is from two words, èkpé yé, and it means ‘our lineage’. This identification assumes that all the people of the same lineage occupy the same land and share the same customs. (v) For Ékpéyé people, lineage is both metaphorical and biological. Ékpé means umbilical cord, the rope—lifeline—between a child and its mother. Ékpé yé literarily means an extension of our mother’s life-line, or our mother’s umbilical cord. Here, custom/culture is biological, geographical, and human centered, and it is conveyed through mother’s and father’s bloodline. Omé na ala yé whé bu ūgbu gbé madu, translates to ‘our culture forbids murder’. Literarily it translates to “our culture forbids the killing of person (madu)’. Prepared by Professor Elleh

Reference: Hornby, A. S. et. al. (2010). Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. International Student’s Edition. 8th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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