E102: Ways of living with languages

Education Matters in South Africa

Guest: Siwaphiwe Sibeko

People have migrated and so do languages. Through migration, languages have owned their different dialects, American English and British English are simple global examples of this differentiation. South Africa is no different, from tradition dialects that have been grouped according Nguni and Sotho, leaving those other beautiful languages that do not fit in the box, such as TshiVenda. What about Sepitori which represents a Sekgatla dialect of Setswana spoken in Hammanskraal (a region north of Pretoria), with additions mainly from Northern Sotho (also known as Sepedi), Afrikaans and English. What about the identity of Afrikaans spoken in the Cape Flats? Remember the confusion during Former President Nelson Mandela’s funeral, where grouping and dialects of the Xhosa people came into question as ambiguous identities, so AbaThembu are of Xhosa people or not. Languages have a classification character, a history and position in identity. Language often determines “the ways of living.” To help us unpack the ways in which we live with our languages, #SiwaphiweSibeko joins us.
Also read https://mg.co.za/article/2018-07-13-00-we-are-not-meant-to-be-alone/
#Language series

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