Featured Research: Language & Communication

Gallery

White rhinos communicate through their ablution habits

A study by a University of Pretoria researcher into the ablution habits of white rhinos in the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, has revealed that these animals use their place of defecation to communicate with each other and take decisions that can affect their ecology.

Story

8 out of 10 learners still cannot read at appropriate level

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2016 report paints a disturbing picture of primary school reading literacy in South Africa, with no significant progress nationally since the last report in 2011.

Story

A new indigenous personality test for South Africa

Psychological assessments for employees have been controversial in South Africa because of the country's troubled past. Cognitive ability and personality tests, for example, were originally developed for white, English speakers, but have been applied to other language groups as determined by Apartheid laws.

Lecture

'Rise of an invisible epidemic – Fighting hearing loss with advances in technology and connectivity'

Hearing loss is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease and affects more than 360 million people. For most, early detection is inaccessible, which precludes timely treatment. Resulting sequelae include educational failure, unemployment, poverty, social isolation, depression and a threefold increased risk of dementia. Recent technological advances and the ubiquity of connectivity...

Story

UP study addresses issues of violence and loss among South African children

South Africa may be known as the Rainbow Nation, but not all the colours in this rainbow are bright and beautiful.

Story

Research on electronic lexicography put to practice

Staff members in the Department of African Languages at the University of Pretoria have developed new methods for preparing electronic dictionaries, as part of an exciting project funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), called Scientific e-Lexicography for Africa (SeLA).