Language errors in the use of English by two different dialect groups of Afrikaans first language-speakers employed by Nedbank : an analysis and possible remedy

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The financial sector of South Africa is increasingly under pressure to ensurethat the language used in all communication is aligned with international bestpractice and, furthermore, that the correct business terminology is applied.Standards of language proficiency and usage have, however, deteriorated overthe past few years. This appears to be due mainly to lack of good languageeducation at school level. In Nedbank, specifically, the language used byemployees in written external communication is not always on par as is evidentfrom the documentation that Nedbank Editorial and Language Services (Nels),the 'language custodian of the bank, has to edit and translate. Nels decidedsix years ago that, instead of rewriting all these documents, which is not timeorcost-efficient, to rather give business-writing training across the bank toenable Nedbank employees to increase their general writing proficiency ofEnglish. This study aims to establish whether there are discrepancies in thetype of error made in English as used by Coloured Afrikaans mother tonguespeakers and White Afrikaans mother tongue speakers in order to determinehow to customise the business-writing training materials to the benefit of eachcultural grouping in Nedbank.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University