Litnet

"The Use of Official Languages Act 12 of 2012 [...] in short requires of government departments and other authorities such as public enterprises to develop a language policy that will include at least three official languages. Out of the 139 language policies that the Act requires from government departments and related institutions only about 30 were presented. Let them therefore not preach to universities about language when in their own backyard very little is done."

Whose line is it anyway? Sophia Sanan, research manager of the African Arts Institute, answers Naomi Meyer's questions about the proposed Copyright Amendment Bill of 2015.

Open Stellenbosch held a discussion on multilingualism after a screening of the documentary Afrikaaps.

"I am all for transformation. Which is why I believe Stellenbosch University should remain Afrikaans."

"Mhlawumbi uyazibuza ukuba singayenza njani na le nto yokuphuhlisa iilwimi zesiNtu ukuze zibe kumgangatho ofanayo neAfrikaans?" | "Perhaps you are asking yourselves what we could do to improve African languages so that they reach the same level as Afrikaans?"

"From a diachronic viewpoint, Afrikaans has its roots in 17th-century Dutch, and has grown in African soil over a period of 360 years into a new language, distinct from other Western and Northern Germanic languages on all levels of linguistic description (morphological, phonological, syntactic and semantic), with the result that it has developed into an African language, a fact which is also reflected in its name."

"Constitutions are about the 'promised land'; ours is certainly not a magic wand that has wiped out our history and made us all equal. To achieve this 'promised land' we need to be pragmatic, generous and human in our approaches to move from where we are, from what we have inherited, to what we would collectively like to be." 

"… we believe that tuition in a language of choice is central to a dignified and well-deserved tertiary education. Students should not be compelled to be taught in a language they do not fully understand or do not know at all. However, by simply introducing English as the only language of instruction, the academic development of Afrikaans and isiXhosa is jeopardized. It is regressive and shameful to transformative constitutionalism if a previously neglected language such as isiXhosa loses its developmental status at SU, along with Afrikaans …"

"Finally, there is only one viable and long-term solution, namely the creation of a fully fledged English academy and a fully fledged Afrikaans academy on the same campus, with the ideal of having, one day, also a fully fledged Xhosa or Zulu academy."

"[L]anguage is more than just a means of communication; it influences our culture and even our thought processes."

"Come, let us create space for Afrikaans as well as the other indigenous languages – English is a world language, it is the greatest common factor among us and will remain standing without special assistance."

"Imagine if centres and schools were started at the university to actively boost research, tuition and translation services in Xhosa so that students from Khayelitsha and the Transkei were no longer stuck with the choice of studying in either their second or their third language. Imagine if lecturers engaged one another in their respective first languages and broadened one another’s horizons?"    

"How do you get someone out of the township? The answer to this question of transformation is simple: educate them in their own language!"

"Afrikaans has never been the enemy; the use of the language to exclude people from conversation is the problem. Not the language!"

"The youth are actively participating. Expect them to indicate the pace at which we move forward."

"Afrikaans should be seen and accepted by non-Afrikaans students as a language spoken by the majority of people in the Western Cape. There are more Afrikaans-medium schools in the Western Cape than in the rest of the country combined. Surely this is a fact that cannot simply be ignored. Those students, the majority of whom are coloured/black Afrikaans mother-tongue speakers, have a right to be taught in the language of their choice – Afrikaans. The abandonment of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction at universities will have an effect on the entire Afrikaans community in South Africa."

"Once again, I find myself perplexed by your intentions, OS. You need to jump off this taaldebat train, because it’s clear your demands for transformation go so much further than language – and rightly so."

" ...the only way forward for Afrikaans is for its proponents to stop privileging it above other indigenous South African languages and actively and practically support the development of all South African languages."

"The apartheid legacy does still haunt the nation, and seems set to continue doing so for a while."

More than 650 individuals in the arts, culture and heritage sector endorsed the Unite Against Corruption campaign in less than a week.