Abstract
This study explores the dynamics of terminological expansion in what is referred to as the ‘women’s register’, seen against the background of the development of Afrikaans from Dutch within the heterogeneity of cultures and languages – first at the Cape, later in the broader South African context.
This study addresses the historical imbalance in literature regarding the contribution of women as far as the creation of appropriate terms for their varied activities is concerned. The holistic sociolinguistic approach that was taken, made it possible to highlight the linguistic legacy of previously marginalised or overlooked subgroups, in particular the lexical contribution of slave and indigenous women to the women’s register in Afrikaans.
On a terminological level, the study examines the nature and extent of term creation within the women’s register by exploring the use of loan words, transliterations, loan translations, compounds and derivations as well the terminologisation of existing words.
Prof. A.E. Coetzee