As some of you know, I was ABD at another school, but ran out of time. Rather than start all over again, I elected to look offshore at the programs that offer dissertation only doctorates (as found in the UK, AT, and ZA). Although I applied to UNISA and UFS, I made contact with UFS first, they accepted me under the condition that I do a field study first, since I had no masters with thesis, (only an MScM without a thesis). I have yet to hear from UNISA (via iaci-Canada) as to my acceptance. I am not holding my breath. Although I applied last summer, the official start time was January, so I waited. The interval was taken up with the back and forth of getting my documents in order and convincing them of my ability to undertake research. (My transcripts from the ABD university and a course description of my research courses helped). I was placed in a cohort of about 25 MBA students who are at the field study phase. As far as I can tell, I am the only offshore/distance student. Although the university uses blackboard, they do not have the field study class online. The school is bricks and mortar oriented, (I keep getting invited to lectures and field trips), but they do accommodate me. As an example, I had to present an outline of chapter one, and they wanted me to do this via video teleconference. I was unable to locate a facility that linked up to their Polycom VTC, so after numerous failed attempts at other approaches such as Skype, I found Knovio, which allows me to record a presentation alongside of a recorded version of your presence. UFS was happy with this technology, so my first presentation was graded - I received a 67!! I would have freaked if I had not known that ZA grading is not the same as for the US, but this equates to a high B, so I was happy. I am currently slogging along with chapter one. Even though I had a complete proposal from my ABD school, I have changed direction, so much of what I had previously done is not relevant. I am much happier with this new direction. After I finish the field study (hopefully by early next year) I hope to be admitted to the doctoral program. The field study will put me in very good stead for my dissertation. If they offer me an MBA, I will take it and attend graduation at Bloemfontein, but I have not discussed this with them.
Goeie môre. Dit is goeie nuus! Baie geluk! (Translation from Afrikaans: Good morning. That is great news! Congratulations!). Keep us posted on your progress. I've often considered pursuing a masters (and perhaps eventually a PhD through one of the SA schools). I've recently have had the crazy notion of pursuing the degree in Afrikaans! The problem is that right now I know very little of the language, so I need to rectify that problem first.
Google Translate doen wonders met Engels Afrikans vertaling.Ek het gedra op 'n uitgebreide korrespondensie in Afrikaans.Maar, die taal van die skool is Engels, so jy hoef nie bekommerd wees ...
Not being familiar with the language, other than what google has out there as far as history, how does goeie = both good and great in different parts of your sentence? Thank you OP for your post.
Ja, Google Translate is baie nuttig. Ek het ook die lees van 'n ouer boek "Learn to Speak Afrikaans" deur PWJ. Groenewald. Dankie vir my laat weet dat die UFS geleer word in Engels (although I will continue learning learning Afrikaans just for fun!). Totsiens,
While goeie can be used as a translation for "great", I should have probably used "groot". Thanks for keeping me honest! I'm picking up Afrikaans pretty quickly (if you squint, it really is pretty close to English, albeit with some double negatives and many non-cognates thrown in for good measure). That said, I'm still relying on Google Translate, for about 60-70% of my vocabulary. When I'm feeling ambitious, I break out my huge Afrikaans dictionary.
My in-laws normally swap from English to Afrikaans in mid-sentence when talking to me. That's when I hit them with the :eek5: face. Normally they give me a rerun of what they said and how it translates. It's not a real hard language to learn BUT it's still learning a new language. :smashfreakB:
Too funny. The next time they do that just say "Ek dit nie kry nie!" (I don't get it!). As a fun aside - Afrikaans is one of the easiest foreign languages for a native English speaker to learn (Dutch - the originator of Afrikaans, Frisian and Norwegian are also fairly easy to learn). I guess it's similar to how Portguese is supposed to be easy for native Spanish speakers to pick up.
