NMU sees 7th doctorate in Xhosa

The year 2019, declared the International Year for Indigenous Languages by Unesco, has seen the seventh doctor of literature (DLitt) degree in Xhosa with the thesis written entirely in the language, conferred at Nelson Mandela University this week – 10 years since the first.

Last week, Dr Zoleka Hempe was conferred a DLitt, with her study looking into the state of mind – through acts, signs and habits – of various characters in selected Xhosa literature before and after killing people.

Hempe’s thesis, co-supervised by Dr Zoliswa Made and Professor Henry Thipa, is the seventh produced under the university’s department of language and literature since the first by Dr Nozuko Gxekwa in 2009.

Gxekwa, under the supervision of Prof Michael Somniso, remains celebrated for having paved the way for other students who wanted to do postgraduate studies in Xhosa.

Hempe was one of five doctoral graduates among more than 350 graduates in the faculty of arts graduation ceremony on Monday morning.

The graduation saw the conferring of under- and postgraduate qualifications in the schools of architecture; music, art and design; and language, media and culture.

The initial Xhosa study by Gxekwa was followed by those of Dr Pumla Cutalele, supervised by Prof Linda Kwatsha, and Drs Nontembiso Jaxa and Pam Kumalo, supervised by Prof Ncedile Saule.

In 2017, Dr Lwandlekazi Notshe, supervised by Kwatsha, was awarded a Dlitt (Xhosa), with Dr Andiswa Mvanyashe, under the supervision of Kwatsha in 2018. The citations of the theses were presented in Xhosa by the supervisors before the officiating chancellor.

Kwatsha said this showed the university’s commitment to the intellectualisation of African languages. “These outputs also show that Xhosa has developed to be an academic, scientific language of research since studies of this level could be produced at the institution of higher learning,” she said.

“Most of the doctors are working in renowned institutions of higher learning in SA.”