'n Taalkundige en leksikografiese perspektief op troeteltaal in Afrikaans

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The focus in this paper is on terms of endearment, and initially linking it with love, affection andcare, which prominently feature in the oldest ancient languages. Users of dictionaries aremotivated by finding and understanding the unbelievable variety of words in languages. In manyfaiths/religions people give credence to a perception that love and understanding of one another'sneeds and aspirations form the true basis of successful interpersonal relationships but as yet noconsensus has been reached. The data was empirically collected through personal conversationswith local people, including children, the young generation, parents and grandparents, staff ofbanks, supermarkets and bookshops. A distinction is made between terms generally used for kids,adults, men and women according to context in usage and the meanings thereof as reported byrespondents, varying from seriously meant (dearest), to affectionate (darling, beloved) to meresuperficial friendship (pal, love). As the focus was on Afrikaans which is the home language of themost residents in the Western Cape, according to information received from Statistics South Africa,and the knowledge as well as present usage of the word 'troetel' as a term of endearment, theEnglish equivalents and additional similar terms are not of importance here. The impression is,however, that a special nuance of emotion is attached to the usage of the mentioned examples.Dictionaries should include terms of endearment known in the colloquial language at the time oftheir compilation and must be reliable sources of information regarding vocabulary, ways toaddress people and the varying degrees of communication in the wide distinguishable variety ofcontexts.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University