Our Blog
First-ever trilingual Kaaps dictionary: A recognition of language heritage
While many people think of Kaaps (or Afrikaaps) as ‘slang’ or as a variety of Afrikaans, scholars like Quentin Williams contend that Kaaps first cohered as a language during intercultural encounters in the 1500s between indigenous Africans in the Cape, traders,...
Kaaps and the Professor
In this Afrikaans/Kaaps interview Prof Dyers describes her upbringing in Elim, Western Cape, and how she struggled to choose a ‘mother tongue’ on school forms as she and her family used many different varieties in her home. She is a ‘Kaapse kind’ but adapts to...
Translanguaging activities for high school teachers
Some South African student teachers began their first and only teaching practice for the year this week in schools. As well as the novel challenges that Covid-19 has thrown their way, they are faced with the usual questions about the language practices they observe in...
Gugulethu Nxumalo’s open letter to Minister Motshekga
Here is an open letter to Minister Angie Motshekga written by 12 year old Gugulethu Nxumalo. This is a perfect example of the kind of writing that young children are capable of from a young age. It is important for children to know they can use their...
Language is part of the machinery of oppression
As language researchers and practitioners, we are mindful of the way language is used as a powerful weapon in the reproduction of inequality. We wanted to share this article, by Professor Patricia Williams at Columbia University in the US. She provides a discourse...
