{"id":6629,"date":"2023-03-29T13:24:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-29T13:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/dr-matfunjwa-graduation\/"},"modified":"2023-03-29T13:24:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T13:24:00","slug":"dr-matfunjwa-graduation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/dr-matfunjwa-graduation\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Muzi Matfunjwa &#8211; Activist for African languages"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"googlefontscall\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"pagebuilderckparams\" data-colorpalettefromtemplate=\"\" data-colorpalettefromsettings=\",,,,\" data-styles=\"\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"rowck ckstack3 ckstack2 ckstack1 uick-sortable\" id=\"row_ID1680096042028\" data-gutter=\"2%\" data-nb=\"2\" style=\"position: relative;\" data-columns-space-between=\"1\">\n<style class=\"ckcolumnwidth\">[data-gutter=\"2%\"][data-nb=\"2\"]:not(.ckadvancedlayout) [data-width=\"70\"] {width:69%;}[data-gutter=\"2%\"][data-nb=\"2\"].ckadvancedlayout [data-width=\"70\"] {width:70%;}[data-gutter=\"2%\"][data-nb=\"2\"]:not(.ckadvancedlayout) [data-width=\"30\"] {width:29%;}[data-gutter=\"2%\"][data-nb=\"2\"].ckadvancedlayout [data-width=\"30\"] {width:30%;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"inner animate clearfix\">\n<div class=\"blockck\" id=\"block_ID1680096042028\" data-real-width=\"69%\" data-width=\"70\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ckstyle\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"inner animate resizable\">\n<div class=\"innercontent uick-sortable\">\n<div id=\"ID1680096103599\" class=\"cktype\" data-type=\"text\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"tab_effects ckprops\" fieldslist=\"\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tab_blocstyles ckprops\" blocbackgroundpositionend=\"100\" blocbackgrounddirection=\"topbottom\" blocbackgroundimageattachment=\"scroll\" blocbackgroundimagerepeat=\"no-repeat\" blocbackgroundimagesize=\"auto\" blocbordertopstyle=\"solid\" blocborderrightstyle=\"solid\" blocborderbottomstyle=\"solid\" blocborderleftstyle=\"solid\" blocbordersstyle=\"solid\" blocshadowinset=\"0\" fieldslist=\"blocbackgroundpositionend,blocbackgrounddirection,blocbackgroundimageattachment,blocbackgroundimagerepeat,blocbackgroundimagesize,blocalignementleft,blocalignementcenter,blocalignementright,blocalignementjustify,blocbordertopstyle,blocborderrightstyle,blocborderbottomstyle,blocborderleftstyle,blocbordersstyle,blocshadowinset\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tab_edition ckprops\" fieldslist=\"\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"ckstyle\">\n<style><\/style>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cktext inner\" style=\"position: relative;\" spellcheck=\"false\">\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\">Dr Muzi Matfunjwa, Digital Humanities researcher for Siswati at SADiLaR, achieved a huge personal milestone when he graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy in African Languages, Linguistics and Literature from the University of South Africa (Unisa) in October 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\">Describing himself as a language activist, Matfunjwa believes in the promotion of African languages, especially Siswati, as an official language and an academic discipline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\">&#8220;I wish to see indigenous languages taken seriously, developed and used in contemporary fields, not merely for communication purposes. The more research conducted in our indigenous languages, the better. Many topics have not been investigated in these languages. It is time for indigenous languages to be included in Human Language Technology to benefit users of the languages.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\">Matfunjwa is proud of setting a goal to complete a PhD and achieving it timeously.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\">&#8220;Doing the PhD gave me an opportunity to conduct research on a topic of my interest in the Siswati language, to unearth information and contribute to the body of knowledge.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\">However, the journey was not an easy one.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\">&#8220;Studying for a PhD while working full time was very difficult at times,&#8221; Matfunjwa recalls. &#8220;The main challenge I encountered was inadequate time to do my research. I had to sacrifice all my leisure time and study at night and on weekends. It required good time management, dedication and strong commitment.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\">He admits that he also faced academic burnout during his studies. &#8220;I was determined, though, to complete my PhD. I did not want to be a failure or contribute to the statistics of PhD dropouts at my institution. These reasons fuelled my energy, focus and adrenaline to persevere with the study.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\">Titled \u2018A pragmatic exploration of naming practices in Siswati\u2019, Matfunjwa\u2019s doctoral studies investigated how Siswati personal names are given to children at birth, the situations that inform naming, and the ways in which the names are utilised by emaSwati (Swazi people) to express specific messages to intended individuals by utilising speech acts namely commands, requests and interrogatives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\">It is the first time this topic was researched in relation to the Siswati language. &#8220;From the literature consulted while doing this study, no similar research has been conducted or published that examined personal names as speech acts in the context of the Siswati language,\u201d he comments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\">Looking into the future, Matfunjwa says his academic journey has just begun.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\">\u201cThe journey is still long and being conferred the doctorate is only the beginning of it. My future aspiration is to grow in academia and continue to conduct research that is impactful, and to become a National Research Foundation (NRF) rated researcher. I want to establish my name (aka Dr Nkanyiso) in academia, mainly in Siswati linguistics and Digital Humanities as a researcher. The final destination is to become a professor. It is a possible dream, as we know that \u2018Mine is to plan and God accomplishes my plans\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;\"><em>(Written by Birgit Ottermann)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div id=\"ID1680096042059\" class=\"cktype\" data-type=\"text\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ckstyle\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"cktext inner\" style=\"position: relative;\" spellcheck=\"false\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"blockck\" id=\"block_ID1680096133434\" data-real-width=\"29%\" data-width=\"30\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ckstyle\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"inner animate resizable\">\n<div class=\"innercontent uick-sortable\">\n<div id=\"ID1680096149338\" class=\"cktype\" data-type=\"image\" onshow=\"ckAddDndForImageUpload(jQuery('#ID1680096149338')[0]);\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ckstyle\">\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"imageck\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"100%\" height=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Dr-Matfunjwa_Graduation_photo-scaled.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Dr-Matfunjwa_Graduation_photo-scaled.jpg\">\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"ID1680096133444\" class=\"cktype\" data-type=\"text\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"tab_effects ckprops\" fieldslist=\"\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tab_blocstyles ckprops\" blocbackgroundpositionend=\"100\" blocbackgrounddirection=\"topbottom\" blocbackgroundimageattachment=\"scroll\" blocbackgroundimagerepeat=\"no-repeat\" blocbackgroundimagesize=\"auto\" blocbordertopstyle=\"solid\" blocborderrightstyle=\"solid\" blocborderbottomstyle=\"solid\" blocborderleftstyle=\"solid\" blocbordersstyle=\"solid\" blocshadowinset=\"0\" fieldslist=\"blocbackgroundpositionend,blocbackgrounddirection,blocbackgroundimageattachment,blocbackgroundimagerepeat,blocbackgroundimagesize,blocalignementleft,blocalignementcenter,blocalignementright,blocalignementjustify,blocbordertopstyle,blocborderrightstyle,blocborderbottomstyle,blocborderleftstyle,blocbordersstyle,blocshadowinset\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tab_edition ckprops\" fieldslist=\"\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"ckstyle\">\n<style><\/style>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cktext inner\" style=\"position: relative;\" spellcheck=\"false\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\" data-mce-style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><em><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif;\" data-mce-style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif;\">Dr Muzi Matfunjwa, Digital Humanities researcher for Siswati at SADiLaR<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div id=\"ID1680096133445\" class=\"cktype\" data-type=\"text\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ckstyle\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"cktext inner\" style=\"position: relative;\" spellcheck=\"false\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ckstyle\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr Muzi Matfunjwa, Digital Humanities researcher for Siswati at SADiLaR, achieved a huge personal milestone when he graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy in African Languages, Linguistics and Literature from the University of South Africa (Unisa) in October 2022. Describing himself as a language activist, Matfunjwa believes in the promotion of African languages, especially Siswati, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":246,"featured_media":6628,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[730],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/246"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}