On 27 October 2020, the Unisa KwaZulu-Natal Region hosted its first annual African Languages and Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) webinar, held online under the title African languages and indigenous knowledge systems matter! The event presented an opportunity for academic exchanges and scholarly interaction between the speakers and participants.
The guest speaker was scheduled to be Professor Langa Khumalo, Director of the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) at North West University. Khumalo, who is the former Director of Language Planning and Development at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, will be leading the centre—the first of its kind in Africa—to achieve the constitutional imperative to recognise all South African languages as key resources in innovation and science. Unfortunately, due to technical challenges, he could not join the event and the Unisa KwaZulu-Natal Regional Director, Joyce Myeza, presented the paper on his behalf. Professor Mandla Makhanya, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, welcomed the participants with warm words. Unisa Council member, Professor Muxe Nkondo, was the respondent at the event, while Dr Keith Jacobs, acting Deputy Registrar, delivered the vote of thanks.
During the VC’s welcome, he shared with the participants that writing in African languages had been reduced to literature for the school market and limited university study. Fewer titles were published in African languages than in Afrikaans and English. For instance, only 26 books were published in African languages in 1982, compared to 67 in Afrikaans and 40 in English. One thing that arose from the struggle was for us to move towards the ideal of having African languages treated and being used at the same level as other languages—in our case, Afrikaans and English.
Makhanya emphasised that we must be decisive and intentional in asserting their place in the community of languages. Doing so is part of a developmental endeavour of growing and expanding the contours of knowledge that are contained in IKS and are transmitted through language. He said this point is critical because knowledge and language are dynamic and not static. African languages and indigenous knowledge systems keep on developing and should never be treated as unchanging and unyielding, even to positive influences that may arise. However, it is only when they are treated with respect that they will continue to open themselves up for dynamic development.
In conclusion, Makhanya said “The case for why African languages and indigenous knowledge systems matter can easily be made. The challenge for us within the higher education sector is to deepen our theoretical reflections on these questions. Importantly, the challenge is to weave theory with practice. To dirty our hands and honour the legacy of Thomas Mofolo. And to take inspiration from the decisiveness of Wanjaũ and Ngũgĩ.”
In his presentation, as delivered by Myeza, Khumalo explained the various definitions of a “mother tongue”. He further explained the significance of a mother tongue—that it is what makes us human and that it is at the heart of our human existence. The mother tongue is inextricably linked to a child’s cultural identity and formulates and records the child’s personal and social experiences. Khumalo further explained that using the mother tongue in education enables the child’s literacy skills, cognitive development, critical thinking, imagination, and innovation. He pointed out that knowledge is facilitated through language. There has been a great deal of debate on the role of indigenous African languages in education in South Africa, and even in the wider African continent. Indeed, the right to receive education in one’s own mother-tongue was enunciated in a UNESCO document on indigenous languages in education.
During his response to Khumalo’s address, Nkondo explained that, amongst many issues, every language contains knowledge about a range of things as understood by the people who speak it. He used the example of knowledge about plants, animals, water, weather, food production, respect, dignity, sympathy, and good conduct—as well as the way people see themselves in relation to each other, and others outside their community. He presented, in broad strokes, an approach to cognitive and linguistic freedom and justice, presenting it as a process of recognising and extending the possibilities of multiple linguistic and knowledge systems. In his words, “It is a characteristic of integration that it has diverse aspects that relate to a variety of institutions.”
*By Jo Cossavella, Communication Officer, KwaZulu-Natal Region
Teaser image adapted from Wikipedia under a Creative Commons licence.
Publish date: 2020-11-04 00:00:00.0