“For peace sake” : African language and xenophobia in South Africa

Various international organisations such as the United Nations and the African Union recognise the value of language in development, peacebuilding and reconciliation. Language is also recognised in planning policies of countries such as South Africa where the National Development Plan of the country seeks to ensure that every citizen learns at least one African language by 2030. This paper sought to determine the availability, impact and visibility of African language material hosted by institutional repositories (IRs) at public universities in South Africa. Informetrics methods were applied using data obtained from DSpace, Google Scholar and ResearchGate to determine the impact and visibility. The most important findings were that 65.2 per cent of public university IRs had at least one African language document in their IRs. Overall, only 0.16 per cent of documents in public university IRs were in African languages. A total of 16 per cent of African language documents hosted by these IRs are in ResearchGate. This study appears to be the first to determine the visibility of African language documents hosted by IRs in South Africa in ResearchGate and their citation impact in Google. This study will add value to the literature on the role of academic libraries in preserving indigenous languages, knowledge, and culture.

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Language of Instruction and Learning in Mathematics and Science in Some African Countries

African and Asian Studies ◽

10.1163/15692108-12341252 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 12 (1-2) ◽

pp. 83-99 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Birgit Brock-Utne

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

African Language ◽

Asian Countries ◽

African Countries ◽

Language Of Instruction ◽

Instruction And Learning ◽

5Th Grade ◽

Mathematics And Science ◽

Better Than

Abstract This article looks into the unfounded belief in many so-called anglophone countries in Africa that mathematics and science are best taught in English and not in an African language, the language pupils and teachers normally speak and command much better than English. Examples are given from Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and Ghana. The reintroduction of English from the 5th grade in primary school in maths and science in the Kiswahili speaking island of Zanzibar is discussed at some length. Examples from Africa are contrasted with examples from some Asian countries like Sri Lanka and Malaysia. The attitudes of parents which are built on a misconception are analysed. The article ends on a more optimistic note claiming that misconceptions can be altered.

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6. The use of corpora in translator training in the African language classroom: A perspective from South Africa

Topics in Language Resources for Translation and Localisation - Benjamins Translation Library ◽

10.1075/btl.79.07gau ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 89-106 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rachélle Gauton

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

African Language ◽

Language Classroom ◽

Translator Training

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Mathematics Teachers and Their Understanding of Multiplication: A Case of Two African Language-speakers in South Africa

Journal of Communication ◽

10.1080/0976691x.2015.11884843 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 10-17

Author(s):

Moshe M. Phoshoko ◽

Núria Planas

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Mathematics Teachers ◽

African Language

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ǁX’egwi

The Oxford Handbook of African Languages ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199609895.013.27 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 669-681

Author(s):

Henry Honken

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Field Studies ◽

African Language ◽

Grammatical Structure ◽

Verbal System ◽

System P ◽

The Subject

ǁXegwi is an extinct member of the !Ui family (Khoisan) that was originally spoken near Lake Chrissie in South Africa. Unlike the majority of !Ui languages, ǁXegwi has been the subject of several field studies. This chapter draws on both published and archival materials to sketch ǁXegwi phonology and grammatical structure. ǁXegwi is unique in several respects: it is the only southern African language lacking a palatal click and unusual in the degree to which it has borrowed from Bantu. It is also a typical !Ui language and important for the reconstruction of nominal number and the Proto-!Ui verbal system.

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‘My tribe is the Hessequa. I’m Khoisan. I’m African’: Language, desire and performance among Cape Town’s Khoisan language activists

Multilingua ◽

10.1515/multi-2017-3046 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Justin Brown ◽

Ana Deumert

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Cape Town ◽

Language And Identity ◽

African Language ◽

Wide Range ◽

Audio Recordings ◽

Video And Audio ◽

And Performance ◽

Colonial Settlement ◽

Depth Interviews

AbstractIn this article we provide a discussion of present-day Khoisan activism in Cape Town, South Africa. The main actors in this movement are people whose heritage is complex: their history can be traced back to the early days of the colonial settlement, reflecting the interactions and cohabitation of the indigenous Khoisan, slaves and the European settlers. Currently, their main languages are English and Afrikaans; yet, efforts are also made by activists to learn Khoekhoegwab. In discussing the Khoisan resurgence we draw on a wide range of sources. The data include: in-depth interviews with language activists; video and audio recordings of ceremonies and other cultural events; discussions and performance of language and identity on blogs and tweets; newspapers; linguistic landscapes; and, finally, artistic performances (with particular focus on the hiphop opera

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