L.T. Marole: A Forgotten Pioneer in Tshivend√a Lexicography

M J Mafela

doi:10.4314/lex.v18i1.47262

Abstract

L.T. Marole is a pioneer in Tshivend√a lexicography. He is especially known for the compilation of word lists and phrase books. Through his production of these lexicographic works, Marole has preserved some Tshivend√a terminology which is now regarded as obsolete; for example, terminology regarding names of animals, parts of the body, kinship relations and sicknesses. This type of terminology could be useful to the present younger generation. Readers may learn much about Tshivend√a culture from Marole's works. However, his works have not received recognition from Vhavend√a dictionary users and compilers. The public is largely unaware of his works. This article aims at making the public aware of Marole's contribution to the development of Tshivend√a lexicography, emphasising that this contribution should not be ignored as being insignificant. Keywords: LEXICOGRAPHY, TRANSLATING DICTIONARY, BILINGUAL DICTIONARY, LINGUISTICS, TERMINOLOGY, LEXICAL ENTRY, EQUIVALENT, TRANSLATOR, CULTURE, KINSHIP TERMS, ORTHOGRAPHY, CONTEXT, DATABASE, DIALECT

Highlights

Since spoken Tshivend√a was reduced to writing by the Berlin missionaries in the late nineteenth century, little has been achieved in the field of Tshivend√a lexicography
Mawela (1999: 151) writes: 'At present there are only a few dictionaries, all of them translating dictionaries ...' The basic aim of a translating dictionary is to coordinate lexical units of one language with those units of another language which are equivalent in their lexical meaning (Zgusta 1971)
At the time of the writing of these word lists and phrase books, the main need of missionaries, students and other foreign speakers was to learn Tshivend√a. This is emphasised by Wentzel and Muloiwa (1982) in their preface comment on the purpose of their Improved Trilingual Dictionary: The original edition of the Trilingual Dictionary was the result of the need to provide those students who follow the Special Course in Venda with a practical list

Summary

Introduction

Since spoken Tshivend√a was reduced to writing by the Berlin missionaries in the late nineteenth century, little has been achieved in the field of Tshivend√a lexicography. Mawela (1999: 151) writes: 'At present there are only a few dictionaries, all of them translating dictionaries ...' The basic aim of a translating dictionary is to coordinate lexical units of one language with those units of another language which are equivalent in their lexical meaning (Zgusta 1971). At the time of the writing of these word lists and phrase books, the main need of missionaries, students and other foreign speakers was to learn Tshivend√a This is emphasised by Wentzel and Muloiwa (1982) in their preface comment on the purpose of their Improved Trilingual Dictionary: The original edition of the Trilingual Dictionary was the result of the need to provide those students who follow the Special Course in Venda with a practical list. After publication it was found, that the interest in and need for such a work was much wider than anticipated and that the basic need pointed towards a small practical dictionary. As a result of the increase in international interaction, more and more people are beginning to realize that bilingual dictionaries have become necessary economically, intellectually and culturally (Al-Kasimi 1983)

Objectives

Conclusion