- Deur Benito Trollip -
//English follows below//

Die ganse wêreld is vol data, daardie brokkies inligting wat op een of ander manier hulle weg tot jou bewuste of onderbewuste vind. Dit kan die nuusberigte wees wat jy heeldag dophou, jou hartklop volgens jou slimtoestel, of selfs die nuwe woord en sy definisie wat jy vandag ontdek het. My woord vir die dag is besant – ʼn Bisantynse goue muntstuk. Uiteindelik is data ʼn baie breë begrip en is taaldata die spesifieke soort data waarmee ék die meeste werk – hoekom kom ʼn sekere woord op sekere plekke voor? Of waarom kom die woord nie op sekere plekke voor nie? Kom dit meer of minder as in die verlede voor? Wat beteken die woord in hierdie spesifieke konteks? Ek moet myself gereeld afvra wat die nommers en woorde beteken en waar kry ek my inligting, want ek kan helaas nie net sê wat ek wil nie, al wil ek reg wees en al my eie (slim) voorspellings bevestig. Behalwe vir die data wat ek ontdek, is dit ook belangrik om te weet ander mense het heel moontlik ander data en daar is in wese hierdie ekosisteem van data en interpretasies wat op dieselfde tyd bestaan.

ʼn Vaardigheid wat juis as gevolg van die oorvloed van beskikbare data al hoe belangriker word, is die bevraagtekening van die data wat jy (wil) gebruik of self wil skep. ʼn Mens behoort altyd te vra waar jy data vandaan kry, hoekom het die betrokke organisasie of individu hierdie data versamel en as jy dit wil hergebruik, is dit geskik vir jou eie doeleindes? Is daar voorwaardes vir die gebruik daarvan? ʼn Nuuskierige ingesteldheid oor data en moontlike gapings daarin, bied geleenthede om tot ʼn gesprek by te dra of menslike kennis oor verskynsels op te helder.

Kennis en insig kom uiteindelik tot stand deur data te interpreteer – wat op dees aarde beteken al hierdie woorde, grafieke, nommers en formules? Data het nie inherente betekenis nie, iewers skep mense betekenis en dit bly kernbelangrik om dit altyd in gedagte te hou wanneer data betrokke is.

What do we see when we look at data?

The world is flooded with data, those snippets of information that somehow find their way to your conscious or subconscious. It could be the news reports you monitor throughout the day, your heart rate according to your smart device, or even the new word and its definition you discovered today. My word for the day is bezant – a Byzantine gold coin. Ultimately data is a very broad concept and language data is the specific type of data I work with the most – why do certain words occur in certain places? Or why does the word not appear in certain places? Does it occur more or less than in the past? What does the word mean in this particular context? I often have to ask myself what the numbers and words mean and where I get my information from, because unfortunately I cannot just say what I want to, even though I want to be right and confirm all my own (smart) predictions. Apart from all of the data that I discover, it is also important to know that other people quite possibly have other data and there is essentially this ecosystem of data and interpretations that exist at the same time.

A skill that becomes increasingly important precisely because of the abundance of available data, is questioning the data that you (want to) use or want to create yourself. One should always ask where data comes from, why did the relevant organisation or individual collect this data and if you want to reuse it, is it suitable for your own purposes? Are there conditions attached to its use? A curious attitude about data and possible gaps therein offers opportunities to contribute to a conversation or elucidate human knowledge about phenomena.

In the end knowledge and insight are created by interpreting data – what on earth do all these words, graphs, numbers and formulas mean? Data does not have inherent meaning, somewhere people create meaning and it remains crucial to always keep this in mind when data is involved.

Author: Mmasibidi Setaka (SADiLaR Sesotho researcher) - English blog to follow

Matsatsing a sa tswa feta, Moporesidente wa Afrika Borwa, Monghadi Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, o tlotlile Ngaka Maphalla ka kgau ya Order of Ikhamanga (ya kgauta) e le sesupo sa mosebetsi o tswileng matsoho le o kgabane oo a o entseng ntshetsopeleng le polokong ya Sesotho. Tlotlo ena ya kgau ya Order of Ikhamanga ke tlolo ya maemo a hodimodimo, e ikgethileng e fuwang badudi ba Afrika Borwa ba bontshang bokgoni le boqhetseke bo boholo mafapheng a bonono, setso, dingolwa, mmino, boqolotsi le dipapading, ba itelletseng naha ya bona. Ngaka Maphalla o fuwe kgau ena ka baka la mosebetsi wa hae o kgabane dingolweng tsa Sesotho, mmoho le tema e kgolo eo a e kgathileng setjhabeng sa Basotho. Efela, nnete ke hore tlotlo ena e mo tshwanetse.

Le tla hopola hore ka selemo sa 2019, SADiLaR e ile ya tlotla Ngaka Maphalla ka mosebetsi o kgabane oo a o entseng, mme re ile ra tlallwa ke thabo ha re fumana ditaba tsa hore Moporesidente wa naha o bona ho tshwanelehile hore a tlotle kwakwariri ena ya Sesotho.

Ngaka Maphalla o ngotse dipadi, dithothokiso, diterama, dipalekgutshwe, le tse ding, mme a fumana dikgau tse ngata tse pakang talente le bokgoni ba hae. Tse ding tsa dibuka tseo a di ngotseng di balwa dikolong, mme tse ding tsa dibuka tseo a di ngotseng tse ileng tsa tuma ka sefutho ke  Tshiu Tseo, Tshepo le metswalle, Tefo, Kabelwamanong, Nna ke mang? Botsang lebitla, le tse ding tse ngata.   

Jwaloka SADiLaR, re lebohisa Ngaka Maphalla ka kgau ena. Leha Modimo a ile a mo hopola, mesebetsi ya hae e ya bonahana, e ya ipuella, ebile e kgethehile.

The President of the Republic of South Africa honors Dr Maphalla

In the past few days, The President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, honored Dr Maphalla with the (golden) Order of Ikhamanga  as an evidence of the wonderful and excellent work that he did in the advancement and maintenance of Sesotho. This golden honor of Order of Ikhamanga is the highest, special honor, that is given to South African residents for manifesting capabilities and exceptional excellence in the fields of art, tradition, literature, music, journalism and sports, who have dedicated themselves to their country. Dr Maphalla was given this honor because of his excellent work in Sesotho literature, as well as the profound role he played among the Basotho nation. He definitely deserved this honor.

You will recall that in 2019, SADiLaR honored Dr Maphalla for the excellent work he has done, and we were delighted when we received the news that the President of the country deemed it appropriate to honor this Sesotho giant.

Dr Maphalla wrote plays, poems, dramas, short stories, and others and received many honors which showcase his talent and capabilities. Some of the books he wrote are read at schools, and some of them that quickly gained popularity include Tshiu Tseo, Tshepo le Metswalle, Tefo, Kabelwamanong, Nna ke Mang? Botsang Lebitla, and many more.  

Like SADiLaR, we congratulate Dr Maphalla for this honor. Although God recalled him, but his works are evident, they cannot be denied and are unique.

ELAN ke sedirišwa sa khomphuthara seo gantši se šomišwago go ngwallola (transcription), go fana ka tshedimošo ya tlaleletšo (annotation) gammogo le go fletleka faele ya kgatišo ya lentšu le ya bitiyo. Lentšu le ELAN ke khutsofatšo yeo e emetšego EUDICO Linguistic Annotator gomme sedirišwa se se hwetšagala inthaneteng ntle le tefo ebile se šoma gabotse dikhomphuthareng tšeo di tlabaketšwego ka Windows, Mac le Linux. Sona se hlamilwe ke sehlongwa seo se bitšwago Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.

Gore faele ya gago e be maemong a mabotse a gore o kgone go e šomiša ka go ELAN, o eletšwa go netefatša gore nakong ya ge o dira kgatišo ya faele yeo o šomiše fomete ya maleba. Go fa mohlala, ge eba o nyaka go fetleka faele ya kgatišo ya lentšu, gona o swanetše go netefatša gore o šomiša fomete ya WAV nakong ya ge o dira kgatišo ya lentšu. Ge eba moreromogolo ke go fetleka kgatišo ya bitiyo, gona o ka šomiša fomete ya MP4, MPEG, MPG goba MOV. Seo se tla go thuša gore o kgone go fetleka mohuta wa faele ya gago ntle le go itemogela mathata a fomete yeo e sa sepetšanego le sedirišwa sa ELAN.

Ge o šogana le bitiyo, ELAN e na le ditlabakelo tše di bitšwago ‘tiers’ gomme tšona di go kgontšha gore o ngwale se se bolelwago bitiyong (transcription tier) fase, phetolelo ya polelo (translation tier), mola o ka laetša tirišo ya ditho tša mmele go tšweletša maikutlo a itšego (transcription tier). Ka lehlakoreng le lengwe, ge eba o swaragane le faele ya kgatišo ya lentšu, o ka ngwala se se bolelwago fase gomme wa boa wa swaya karolo ya dihlophantšu tša mafoko ao a ngwadilwego fase ka go šomiša tšona ditlabakelo tša ‘tiers’. Morago ga ge o kgotsofetše ka go ngwalolla ka moka tšeo o nago le kgahlego ya tšona go ELAN, gomme o tla boloka diteng tšeo ka moka faeleng ya .txt gore o kgone go e beakanya le go fetleka tshedimošo yeo.

Ditaba tše di lego ka godimo di ka no kwagala di se tša hlaka gabotse ge eba o kwa la mathomo ka ga ELAN. Ge eba ka nnete go bjalo, gona o se ke wa belaela ka gore moreromogolo wa sengwalwa se ke go go tsebiša ka ga ELAN ebile go tloga go sa kgonege gore ditemana tše tharo fela di ka akaretša tšohle tšeo ELAN e ka di dirago. Gore o hwetše dintlha tša tlaleletšo mabapi le ELAN gammogo le go fihlelela sedirišwa se, o ka kgwatha methopo ye e metleditšwego ka fase. Sa mafelelo, ditaba tše dibotse ke gore SADiLaR e ba le dithutotlhahlo fao e rutago le go tlwaetša boramaleme ka ga tirišo ya didirišwa tša go swana le ELAN. Ke holofela gore o tla ikgokaganya le rena gore re rulaganye thutotlhahlo yeo re tla abelanago ka yona go sehlongwa sa gago ntle le tefo.    

https://archive.mpi.nl/tla/elan/download

https://archive.mpi.nl/tla/elan

https://www.sadilar.org/index.php/en/proposals-and-workshops-12/request-a-workshop

The usage of ELAN to analyse voice recording and video

ELAN is a computer software which is normally used for transcription, annotation and to analyse voice recording and video. The word ELAN, is an acronym for EUDICO Linguistics Annotator, and the device is found on the internet free of charge and it is used on computers which have Windows, Mac and Linux. It is developed by Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.

In order for a file to be uploaded and processed through ELAN, you are advised to ensure that during the time of doing the recording, you should use the correct format. For example, if you want to analyse voice recording, you have to use the right WAV format during the voice recording. If the main aim is to analyse the video, then you can use MP4, MPEG, MPG or MOV format. That will enable you to analyse your file without any difficulties associated with file format which is not compatible with ELAN.

When you are processing a video, ELAN has features are called tiers, which will enable you to transcribe what is said on the video through transcription tiers, translation tiers and you can indicate body language through transcription tiers. On the other hand, when you are processing a voice recording file, you can transcribe what is said, and can also indicate linguistic glosses through tiers. When you are satisfied with all the transcriptions that you are interested in on ELAN, you can save them all in a .txt file so that you will be able to edit and search through the data.

All the above information may be a little unclear or confusing if this is the first time you hear about ELAN. If that is the case, then there is no need to worry about it because the main purpose of this article is to introduce ELAN to you, and it will not be possible summarise all ELAN can do in just three paragraphs. For additional information about ELAN, and how to access it, you can visit the links provided below.

Lastly, the good thing is that, SADiLaR offers regular training workshops whereby it teaches and acquaints linguists on the usage of software such as ELAN. I hope and believe that you will keep in touch with us, so that we can be able to organise a training workshop to your institution free of charge.

https://archive.mpi.nl/tla/elan/download

https://archive.mpi.nl/tla/elan

https://www.sadilar.org/index.php/en/proposals-and-workshops-12/request-a-workshop

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=elan+tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=elan+tutorial

Author: SADiLaR Sesotho Researcher  - Mmasibidi Setaka
English blog available at the bottom

Merabe e fapaneng e tsejwa ka tsela eo e aparang ka yona. Moaparo ke karolo e kgolo e hlalosang metso le setso sa motho mme hangata, merabeng ka ho fapana, bomme, barwetsana, bontate le bahlankana bana le diaparo tse fapaneng tse bontshang boemo ba bona bophelong. Ntle le tshenyo ya nako ke lakatsa hore re bue ka dikobo tsa Basotho le tsela eo di aparwang ka yona. 

Mehleng ya kgale Basotho ba ne apara mako ya ba mokgwa oo o a fetaha mohlang mohlang Morena Moshoeshoe I a neng a fuwa mpho ya kobo ke Mongadi Howel ka selemo sa 1860. Morena o ile a thabela kobo ena hoo a ileng a lebala ka lekoko le a neng a le tena ka nako eo, yaba o se a apara kobo bakeng sa lona. Ho tloha moo, ya ba Basotho ba se ba apara dikobo e le karolo ya setso sa bona.

Ka selemo sa 1897, Mofumahadi Victoria a etela Lesotho mme ke leetong leo moo a ileng a fa Morena Lerotholi Letsie mpho ya kobo. 

Dimpho tsena tsa dikobo di ile tsa susumetsa Basotho hore ba amahanye setso sa bona le dikobo tsena tse ikgethileng. Hangata dikobo tsa Basotho tse fapaneng, tse kang Seana Marena, Sefate, le Poone di na le letshwao la poone le emelang kemolo le leruo. Dikobo tse ding tsa Sesotho ke Moholobela, Lehlosi, Victorian/ Malakabane Motlatsi, Letlama, Lingoetsi, Kharetsa, Sefate and Morena jwalojwalo. Kobo e tsejwang haholo ke Seana Marena mme ho qapilwe le pina e tummeng e reng “Ntate nthekele Seanamarena” ka kobo ena.

Dikobo tsa Sesotho di sebediswa mabekeng a fapaneng mohlala, e le dimpho tsa lenyalo, ha bashanyana ba tswa mophatong kapa di aperwe e le karolo ya ho keteka botjhaba hara tse ding tsa ditshebediso tsa tsona.

Di entswe ka ulu hore di tle di kgone ho sireletsa motho kgahlanong le moya, serame kapa yona pula, mme mela e meswseu e tlameha ho sheba fatshe ha di aperwe.

Dikobo tsena ditswetse Basotho molemo ho latela ka moo serame sa Lesotho se kenellang masapong ka teng ha ho bata. Leha ho le jwalo, Basotho ba ne ba rata dikobo tsa bona hoo ba neng ba di apara le ha ho tjhesa, e leng ketso e ntseng e etshala le mehleng ena.

The Basotho Clans

Different tribes are identified by their dress codes. Dress code is a major part that defines an individual's origin and culture and often, in different races, mothers, young women, fathers and young men have different dress codes which indicate their status in life. Without wasting time, I would like to talk about the Basotho blankets and how they are worn. 

In ancient days, the Basotho used to wear animal skins, and that culture vanished when King Moshoeshoe I was handed a blanket by Mr Howel in the year 1860. The King was so delighted by the blanket that he forgot about the animal skin he was accustomed to wear in those day, and he started wearing the blanket instead of the animal skin. Since then, the Basotho started wearing the blankets as part of their culture.

In 1897, Queen Victoria visited Lesotho and it is during this expedition that she gave King Lerotholi a blanket as a gift. 

These gifts moved the Basotho to associate their culture with these special blankets. In general the Basotho blankets differ, such as Seana Marena, Sefate and Poone, which has a maize sign which represents reproduction and wealth. Some of Basotho the blankets are Moholobela, Lehlosi, Victorian/Malakabane Motlatsi, Letlama, Lingoetsi, Kharetsa, Sefate and Morena etc. The most common blanket is Seana Marena and they have composed a famous song about this blanket “Ntate nthekele Seanamarena” which means “Father buy me Seanamarena”.

Basotho blankets are used for different reasons, as wedding gifts, when the boys return from the initiation school or are worn as part of celebrating heritage among other ways of using them.

They are made from wool so that they can protect one against winds, cold weather or even rain, and the white stripes should face down when they are worn.

These blankets have benefited the Basotho because it is extremely cold in Lesotho. However, the Basotho loved their blanket so much that they even wear them when it is hot, as it happens in this day and age.