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The forms, functions and techniques of Xhosa humour
Bibliography: pages 259-274.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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African Languages and Literatures
2016
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| _version_ | 1867614343498039296 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Dowling, Tessa |
| author2 | Satyo, S C |
| author_browse | Dowling, Tessa Satyo, S C |
| author_facet | Satyo, S C Dowling, Tessa |
| author_sort | Dowling, Tessa |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Bibliography: pages 259-274. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/17456 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:50:32.346Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | African Languages and Literatures |
| publisherStr | African Languages and Literatures |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/17456 The forms, functions and techniques of Xhosa humour Dowling, Tessa Satyo, S C Gowlett, Derek F African Languages and Literatures Humour in literature. Folk poetry, Xhosa. Xhosa (African people) - Humour. Oral tradition - South Africa Bibliography: pages 259-274. In this thesis I examine the way in which Xhosa speakers create humour, what forms (e.g. satire, irony, punning, parody) they favour in both oral and textual literature, and the genres in which these forms are delivered and executed. The functions of Xhosa humour, both during and after apartheid, are examined, as is its role in challenging, contesting and reaffirming traditional notions of society and culture. The particular techniques Xhosa comedians and comic writers use in order to elicit humour are explored with specific reference to the way in which the phonological complexity of this language is exploited for humorous effect. Oral literature sources include collections of praise poems, folktales and proverbs, while anecdotal humour is drawn from recent interviews conducted with domestic workers. My analysis of humour in literary texts initially focuses on the classic works of G.B. Sinxo and S.M. Burns-Ncamashe, and then goes on to refer to contemporary works such as those of P.T. Mtuze. The study on the techniques of Xhosa humour uses as its theoretical base Walter Nash's The language of humour (1985), while that on the functions of Xhosa humour owes much to the work of sociologists such as Michael Mulkay and Chris Powell and George E.C. Paton. The study reveals the fact that Xhosa oral humour is personal and playful - at times obscene - but can also be critical. In texts it explores the comedy of characters as well as the irony of socio-political realities. In both oral and textual discourses the phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics of Xhosa are exploited to create a humour which is richly patterned and finely crafted. In South Africa humour often served to liberate people from the oppressive atmosphere of apartheid. At the same time humour has always had a stabilizing role in Xhosa cultural life, providing a means of controlling deviants and misfits. 2016-03-04T16:37:09Z 2016-03-04T16:37:09Z 1996 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17456 eng application/pdf African Languages and Literatures Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | African Languages and Literatures Humour in literature. Folk poetry, Xhosa. Xhosa (African people) - Humour. Oral tradition - South Africa Dowling, Tessa The forms, functions and techniques of Xhosa humour |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | The forms, functions and techniques of Xhosa humour |
| title_full | The forms, functions and techniques of Xhosa humour |
| title_fullStr | The forms, functions and techniques of Xhosa humour |
| title_full_unstemmed | The forms, functions and techniques of Xhosa humour |
| title_short | The forms, functions and techniques of Xhosa humour |
| title_sort | forms functions and techniques of xhosa humour |
| topic | African Languages and Literatures Humour in literature. Folk poetry, Xhosa. Xhosa (African people) - Humour. Oral tradition - South Africa |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17456 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dowlingtessa theformsfunctionsandtechniquesofxhosahumour AT dowlingtessa formsfunctionsandtechniquesofxhosahumour |