Tasneem Chilwan se inskrywing
كَن دجَي اَفرِيكَانس تُولِيس اِين عَرَبِيايس اُوف جَاوِي
Top-12 se unieke werke in Groen Galery en aanlyn te sien
Ter ere van Arabies-Afrikaans se bydrae tot die wording van Afrikaans, is die Afrikaanse Taalmuseum en -monument (ATM) verheug om die top-twaalf-inskrywings van die instelling se jongste skryfkompetisie uit te stal. As deel van die ATM se 45ste verjaardag in 2020 het hulle ʼn kompetisie geloods waardeur Afrikaanse tekste in Arabiese of Jawiese (Arabies soos aangepas om spesifieke Afrikaanse klanke weer te gee) skrif getranslitereer kon word.
Naas dié van die wenner, Gasan Kriel, asook die twee naaswenners, Mogamat Alexander en Tasneem Chilwan, is die inskrywings van Albrecht Beer, Faheem Rhoda Jackson, Fuad Peters, Luqmaan Mohamed, MF Gamieldien, Mogamat Armien Slamang, Naeema Fredericks, Stefan Abdoer-Ragmaan Lombard en Uzair Ben Ebrahim uit oor die 40 tekste gekies om in die Groen Galery uitgestal word waar die Romeinse en Arabiese tekste langs mekaar verskyn.
Die positiewe reaksie en talle inskrywings – van religieuse tekste, oorspronklike werke oor Afrikaans en kwessies soos ubuntu tot die lirieke van Spoegwolf en Refentse – bewys dat daar steeds ʼn groot belangstelling in Arabies-Afrikaans is. Boonop is van inskrywings vanuit lande soos Duitsland, Oostenryk en Saoedi-Arabië ontvang, wat werklik ʼn pluimpie vir die ATM se internasionale aanlyn-teenwoordigheid is.
In Desember 2020 is die top-drie nuwe Arabies-Afrikaanse werke deur die Historium Trust met R10 000 beloon vir hul uitstaande bydrae tot hierdie unieke skryftradisie. Ter ere van Versoeningsmaand en die afskaffing van slawerny is ʼn geselligheid in die Paarl gehou waar die drie skrywers pryse ontvang het en prof Hein Willemse, redakteur van 'Die Afrikaans van die Kaapse Moslems’, ʼn kort lesing lewer het.
Arabies-Afrikaans word algemeen aanvaar as die eerste geskrewe vorm van Afrikaans. Talle geskrifte – soos studentenotaboeke, verkiesingsplakkate, publikasies en manuskripte – het behoue gebly; tot dusver is 74 van dié werke wat tussen 1845 en 1957 geskryf is, deur kundiges ontdek en geïdentifiseer. Hieronder tel voorbeelde van die vroegste Afrikaanse literatuur, en daar word vermoed dat heelwat onopgetekende Arabies-Afrikaanse geskrifte in privaatbesit is.
Volgens Michael Jonas, direkteur van die ATM, is die missie van die instelling om onder meer die versweë geskiedenisse van Afrikaans te belig en die ryke diversiteit van Afrikaans se ontstaansgeskiedenis asook haar moderne gedaantes te vier. “Daarom moedig ons mense aan om ook op hierdie manier hul deelname aan die taal te herbevestig,” sê hy. “In die Taalmuseum in die Paarl gee ons heelwat erkenning aan Abu Bakr Effendi wat in die 1800s ʼn groot rol in die ontwikkeling van Arabies- Afrikaans en derhalwe ook Afrikaans in die Bo-Kaap gespeel het. Ons wil graag sien dat die Afrikaanse gemeenskap hierop voortbou.” Jonas sê die meeste besoekers is nie net baie geïnteresseerd in die geskiedenis van Afrikaans nie, maar ook nuuskierig oor die taal se ontwikkeling en haar jongste skeppende gedaantes aangesien dit nuwe perspektiewe bied op die bestaanswêreld van Afrikaanssprekende Afrikane.
Die beoordelaar – dr. Shamiega Chaudhari, kenner van Arabies en hoof van die Departement van Afrikaans aan die Universiteit van Fort Hare – sê dit was ʼn groot eer om hierdie kompetisie te kon beoordeel. “Dit het my hartsnare geroer dat mense, selfs van heinde en verre, wel daarin belangstel. Ek wil graag ook net vir almal wat ingeskryf het gelukwens. Hoewel hulle nie almal in die wennerskategorie kon wees nie, is hulle wenners in my oë. Dit was werklik baie naelskraap.”
Volgens Kriel is hy, as ’n student van Arabies, bly om te sien dat daar erkenning vir die skryftradisie se bydrae tot Afrikaans is. “Arabies-Afrikaans is deel van ons erfenis wat bewaar moet word,” sê hy. Chilwan reken die herlewing van Arabies-Afrikaans is opwindend en baie belangrik. “Persoonlik vind ek Arabies-Afrikaans baie interessant, want dit is deel van my familie se herkoms.” Alexander sê hy het altyd Arabies-Afrikaanse tekste gelees wat geskryf was voor die bestaan van Afrikaanse spelreëls en grammatika, en voordat Afrikaans as ʼn amptelike taal aanvaar is. “Vir my is dit belangrik dat die skryftradisie behoue bly; dis deel van ons erfenis.”
Die uitstalling in die Taalmonument se tuin duur tot Mei 2021, maar kan aanlyn by www.taalmuseum.co.za/groen-galery/ gesien word, waar vorige uitstallings ook beskikbaar is. Die argitek van die monument, Jan van Wijk, het sterk gevoel oor die natuur en daarom word hy vereer deur dié buiteluggalery waar sy as in ’n rots ingemessel is, knus omring deur inheemse olienhout en graniet. ʼn Uitstalling van verskeie opkomende Afrikaanse skrywers word elke paar maande in dié galery se uitstalkaste van herwonne hout en glas aangebied om hiermee op die monument se kulturele én natuurlike aspekte te fokus.
Top-12 entries can be viewed in open-air gallery and online
In honour of Arabic-Afrikaans’s role in the language's development, the Afrikaans Language Museum and Monument (ATM) is delighted to exhibit the top twelve entries of the institution's latest writing competition. As part of the ATM's 45th anniversary in 2020, it launched a competition whereby Afrikaans texts could be transliterated into Arabic or Jawi (Arabic as adapted to reproduce specific Afrikaans sounds).
In addition to those of the winner, Gasan Kriel, as well as the two runners-up, Mogamat Alexander and Tasneem Chilwan, the entries of Albrecht Beer, Faheem Rhoda Jackson, Fuad Peters, Luqmaan Mohamed, MF Gamieldien, Mogamat Armien Slamang, Naeema Fredericks, Stefan Abdoer-Ragmaan Lombard and Uzair Ben Ebrahim were selected out of over 40 texts to be displayed in the open-air gallery where the Roman and Arabic texts appear side by side.
The positive response and numerous entries - from religious texts, original works on Afrikaans and issues such as ubuntu to the lyrics of Spoegwolf and Refentse - prove that there is still a great interest in Arabic-Afrikaans. In addition, some of the entries were received from countries such as Germany, Austria and Saudi Arabia, which is a real feather in the cap for the ATM's international online presence.
In December 2020, the top three new Arabic-Afrikaans works were rewarded with R10 000 by the Historium Trust for their outstanding contribution to this unique writing tradition. In honour of Reconciliation Month and the abolition of slavery, an event was held in Paarl where the three writers received the prizes and Prof Hein Willemse, editor of 'Die Afrikaans van die Kaapse Moslems', delivered a short talk.
Arabic-Afrikaans, or Afrikaans written using the Arabic alphabet, is generally accepted as the first written form of Afrikaans. Many Arabic-Afrikaans writings - such as student notebooks, voting posters, publications and manuscripts - have been preserved; thus far, 74 of these works written between 1845 and 1957 have been discovered and identified by experts. Among these are excellent examples of the earliest Afrikaans literature. In addition, it is thought that many more Arabic-Afrikaans writings are privately owned.
According to Michael Jonas, director of the ATM, the aim of this competition is to make a modern contribution to this unique writing tradition. “Our mission, after all, is to also highlight the lessor-known histories of Afrikaans and to celebrate the rich diversity of Afrikaans's development as well as its modern forms. That is why we want to encourage people to reaffirm their participation in this language in this way,” he says. “In the Taalmuseum in Paarl we give a lot of recognition to Abu Bakr Effendi, who played a major role in the development of Arabic-Afrikaans, and thereby also Afrikaans, in the 1800s in the Bo-Kaap. We would like to see the Afrikaans community build on this.” Jonas says most visitors are not only very interested in the history of Afrikaans, but also curious about the language's development and its latest creative forms as it offers new perspectives on the lived world of Afrikaans-speaking Africans.
The judge - Dr Shamiega Chaudhari, an expert on Arabic and head of the Department of Afrikaans at the University of Fort Hare – says it was a great honour to be able to judge this competition. "It tugged at my heartstrings that people, even from far and wide, are interested in it. I would also just like to congratulate everyone who participated. While they could not all be in the winners' category, they are winners in my eyes. It was really a very close call.”
According to Kriel, he as a student of Arabic, is happy to see that there is recognition for the writing tradition's contribution to Afrikaans. “Arabic-Afrikaans is part of our heritage that must be preserved,” says he. Chilwan reckons the revival of Arabic-Afrikaans is exciting and very important. “Personally, I find Arabic-Afrikaans very interesting, because it is part of my family heritage.” Alexander says he always read Arabic-Afrikaans texts that were written before the existence of Afrikaans spelling rules and grammar, and before Afrikaans was accepted as an official language. “For me, it is important that this writing tradition is preserved; it is part of our heritage.”
The exhibition in the Taalmonument's garden runs until May 2021, but can be seen online at www.taalmuseum.co.za/groen-galery/ , where previous exhibitions are also available. The architect of the monument, Jan van Wijk, felt strongly about nature and therefore he is honoured by this open-air gallery where his ashes are embedded in a boulder, surrounded by indigenous olive trees and granite. Every few months an exhibition of various up-and-coming Afrikaans writers’ works is presented in the gallery's display cases, made from recycled wood and glass, to focus on the cultural and ecological aspects of the monument.
Lees ook:
Fotoblad: Die Afrikaans van die Kaapse Moslems-bekendstelling
Die Bo-Kaap: Arabiese Afrikaans en die Kaapse Moslemgemeenskap
Tuan Guru en die aartappelboer – oor Afrikaans en versoening