Speaker 1: One.
Speaker 2: All right, it's time for that feature one do feature
Speaker 2: and joining us is doctor Elias Malde, who's the head
Speaker 2: of the Department of African Languages at the University of
Speaker 2: the Free State. Doctor Malade, Good evening and welcome to
Speaker 2: the show.
Speaker 3: Good morning and good evening, and.
Speaker 2: Viewers, don't worry, I understand it's that time of the evening.
Speaker 1: Hey, were you not sure?
Speaker 2: I mean, this is such an exciting development, you know
Speaker 2: when I read about it and saw it, it's a
Speaker 2: historic move towards the preservation of this beautiful language, Cesto
Speaker 2: salid War.
Speaker 3: It is the baby right, Yes, you're correct.
Speaker 1: I just talked to us about.
Speaker 2: The significance of having a dictionary in this language.
Speaker 3: Oh yes, it is so important to help the dictionaries
Speaker 3: in the African languages in general, and particularly with this one,
Speaker 3: especially if you think of the unvest of the Free
Speaker 3: State and it is associated with Sisutu, which is known
Speaker 3: as Southern Sutu. And now we did launch the nothing
Speaker 3: so To dictionary. Maybe it is also important form so
Speaker 3: to you know, have a background about the relationship between Sisutu,
Speaker 3: Lebua and Sesuto. Maybe then it would for our listeners
Speaker 3: will be able to relate to why it is so
Speaker 3: important that we also as the unvest of the free state,
Speaker 3: we did also help in publishing and launching that was
Speaker 3: a prey dictionary. You see that the dis dictionary was
Speaker 3: written by just an ordinary a teacher who is now
Speaker 3: I think more than sixty years old, and he has
Speaker 3: been collecting all this Siperi terminology. And when he was
Speaker 3: just asking to say where can I get help, we
Speaker 3: came in handy to say we cannot just let loose
Speaker 3: of such a beautiful collection of superdi terminology. There's a
Speaker 3: huge relationship between Sipedi and Sisuto. For example, the Bapedi
Speaker 3: were the first people to be called Basuto Badanguni. Remember
Speaker 3: from Mahuruza, we have Malope, we have the modern and Tavanni.
Speaker 3: And then the first son of moderna Tavani then produced
Speaker 3: the nation that today called Bapedi. And when they moved
Speaker 3: to the eastern part of the now the trans b
Speaker 3: they met with the Angunis, and because of their addressing
Speaker 3: they were known as to say, you guys, how do
Speaker 3: you wear? You know, a cloth that covers and healthy
Speaker 3: and not behind soon to abashould. But there are of
Speaker 3: course two theories of the origin of the name Basuto.
Speaker 3: But I would say the first people to be referred
Speaker 3: to as Godba Babi and those five sons of bad
Speaker 3: look of Tavani had to move to the eastern part.
Speaker 3: Probably they were looking for greener pastures and because of
Speaker 3: the temperatures until the Batropua also they moved to that
Speaker 3: area before they came to the free stage. And Basta
Speaker 3: also use this weight the name Basuto, which was also
Speaker 3: officially used in eighteen twenty four when Mastrature came to Tabaos.
Speaker 3: So if I look at that dictionary, there are a
Speaker 3: number of ways that are similar, and some of the ways,
Speaker 3: because of the land of the of the change in language,
Speaker 3: we see that some insto some of the ways have
Speaker 3: been lost. But if you look at this dictionary, we
Speaker 3: can say that the number of ways that as we
Speaker 3: translate some of the technologies in our sub subject that
Speaker 3: universities and schools, we can refer to that dictionary. So
Speaker 3: a dictionary is not only about the term least and
Speaker 3: so forth, but you also help us with the primitive
Speaker 3: vocabulary that we can now our tach in to really
Speaker 3: try and equate or try to get equivalents for our subjects.
Speaker 3: That we teach our students that schools and universities. So
Speaker 3: it is very important because it also carries the culture
Speaker 3: and that's very same history of the way that we
Speaker 3: come from. What is the relationship between these nations. It
Speaker 3: was it tried really to know, to discriminate and so
Speaker 3: that we look at each other with score while we
Speaker 3: orientate from the same person and our language are so
Speaker 3: related that we can learn from each other instead of
Speaker 3: just coming up with strange you know, technologies. So it
Speaker 3: is very important to we have very excited that we
Speaker 3: did and I needed to help and that they want
Speaker 3: to go. I need to publish the Disciperey Dictionary.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know, I'm interested in what prompted him
Speaker 2: and prompted you also to endorse such a project after years.
Speaker 1: You know, I know for a fact.
Speaker 2: That in terms of literature, even in church spaces, for example,
Speaker 2: they will use to the Sussoto hymns in many churches
Speaker 2: and they will just be extended to a baby and Bartswana,
Speaker 2: and the assumption is they should be able to understand
Speaker 2: it because they are similar languages. But something prompted you,
Speaker 2: you know, and the author to have a stand alone dictionary,
Speaker 2: particularly for this type of quote unquote sisto sal.
Speaker 1: What was that?
Speaker 3: Yeah, now that is a very important question that you're
Speaker 3: skin in the first place. It is not even the
Speaker 3: this dictionary only I know that I'm also involved with
Speaker 3: the dictioner's or the Situzalabua dictioner that is now at
Speaker 3: the University of Pretoria, where a professor Gedrute is also
Speaker 3: a professor Manpaka, Major Pilo and also Sadilla are looking
Speaker 3: at the speritiction where we are now bringing Sisu to
Speaker 3: the other languages, but this one in particular. There's Solomon
Speaker 3: Mutroguani who comes from Sonova Arana in Limpopo, comes from
Speaker 3: or originate from the place known as Bakropabahama Chak Sahama Chak. Now,
Speaker 3: he was telling us when we were launching the dictionary
Speaker 3: that he when he was still young and at school,
Speaker 3: he happened to meet with an African speaking person who
Speaker 3: from time to time used to you know, scanned him
Speaker 3: to say, you people, you don't write. I am with us.
Speaker 3: We have got everything to turn down and it would
Speaker 3: always feel very little belittle the for the fact that
Speaker 3: we the black people, we don't really resort to writing
Speaker 3: we always are oral most of the time. And eventually,
Speaker 3: as he graduated from the college to go and teach
Speaker 3: at primary school, he then collected all these terms into
Speaker 3: into a into a book. You know when we try.
Speaker 3: We first looked at the first manuscript. It was hand written.
Speaker 3: It was so interesting, so we said, you know, looking
Speaker 3: at the similarities that we have with the to group
Speaker 3: languages and Susanna, this book, we said, no, this dictionary,
Speaker 3: it is very important. That is where the interest came
Speaker 3: in to say, there are also technologists that we're so
Speaker 3: surprising to say. I've been struggling myself alone about and
Speaker 3: there is still a debate today. What do we call
Speaker 3: a widow and a widow for an example, I know
Speaker 3: that most of the people, yeah, I would, right, But
Speaker 3: there's also a term that I learned from dig six
Speaker 3: SCENARII about a divorce, and I didn't know about that.
Speaker 3: I said, well, what to do we have first hands? Yeah,
Speaker 3: so I would. And also when I looked at that,
Speaker 3: it says here chala, it is to divorce, yes, yes,
Speaker 3: but if it is the person who have divorced is
Speaker 3: a man. The dictionary is saysa but Masadi it says
Speaker 3: had probably it is the stem it's about mosala. If
Speaker 3: it is a man masalakadi masala. So for me it
Speaker 3: was say, maybe we should then reserve, preserve this type
Speaker 3: of terminology so that when we are busy with the
Speaker 3: translation and terminology building, we're able to differentiate, we're able
Speaker 3: to use this term. So so we did have them,
Speaker 3: probably they did disappear, as will we interact with other people,
Speaker 3: and those languages always they just disappear with time. So
Speaker 3: for me that was what brought the interest to say,
Speaker 3: it is always important to preserve whatever we have. I mean,
Speaker 3: what is an old guy a person? So it means
Speaker 3: the vocabulary it might behaving, you know, primitive, the vocabulary
Speaker 3: that we might also tap into when we're doing and
Speaker 3: developing our terminal ladies, you.
Speaker 2: Know, I presume you have the dictionary there with you.
Speaker 3: Yes, okay.
Speaker 2: I want to invite our listeners, particularly those who have
Speaker 2: an interest in speed, that might feel you know, sometimes
Speaker 2: you've got the word in English, but you just don't
Speaker 2: have it, you know, in your language or in your
Speaker 2: mother town. Or sometimes you have it in your mother
Speaker 2: town but you just don't have the English word. It
Speaker 2: happens a lot to people who are second third, you know,
Speaker 2: English is their second or third language. I'm going to
Speaker 2: encourage you to get in touch with us and share
Speaker 2: your views. Also under development zero double one, double a
Speaker 2: three seven two. That's the number that you can call.
Speaker 2: What do you think of this new dictionary, this new project.
Speaker 2: I think it's very exciting and I think it lays
Speaker 2: the foundation for lots more like it, particularly in other
Speaker 2: languages that might not necessarily be considered official languages.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: I'm thinking of dialects like Sipulan, you know, or talk,
Speaker 2: and I'd imagine those two might have interesting pieces of
Speaker 2: their language that risk being lost if they are not documented.
Speaker 2: Maybe let's at doctor Militiam, Maybe let's go towards just
Speaker 2: how comprehensive is this dictionary. I think the average dictionary
Speaker 2: is what like five hundred seven hundred pages.
Speaker 1: That's a pocket dictionary.
Speaker 2: How comprehensive is the dictionary that we're talking about here.
Speaker 3: Yes, that are quite a number of different dictionaries that
Speaker 3: one can refer to. We might be having a multilingual
Speaker 3: dictionary where it is almost with almost like just a
Speaker 3: list of terminologies, and the other one that would also
Speaker 3: be giving a synonyms. But this one is a more
Speaker 3: nonlnual dictionary. It gives very short description of these ways.
Speaker 3: It does not even go into details, no describing whether
Speaker 3: this wade is a noun or a verb, or even
Speaker 3: showing the derivations from different if we apply a lot
Speaker 3: of suffixes if you are a limit or gramarian. But
Speaker 3: it is very simple. It can be a pot of
Speaker 3: the dictionary. It can run two more or less more
Speaker 3: than one hundred pages, just small. But of course it
Speaker 3: can be very useful just to have. For an example,
Speaker 3: here a heavyweight says a more too more really one
Speaker 3: more yes, But here it says the explanation is more
Speaker 3: to yo bot so bad one. Then maybe I might
Speaker 3: be pronouncing it's differently here. And then if there's another
Speaker 3: way here that says shi yeah. So it gives but
Speaker 3: those short type of descriptions. So for us it was
Speaker 3: important that we take it. We take it as it
Speaker 3: as a manuscript, but it needs father development and that
Speaker 3: is where also we can probably come up with the
Speaker 3: grammatical descriptions of every weight and then how they with
Speaker 3: the application of certain parts of speech, then they can
Speaker 3: we can have different meanings. But then that will also
Speaker 3: help us to have an a preamble where we discuss
Speaker 3: and explain the relationship between this Suto group and maybe
Speaker 3: also direct Arran to say, I know that there's a
Speaker 3: controversy to whether the group, being that the Suto group
Speaker 3: includes Vajana, Bapedi and Basuto, which of course I do
Speaker 3: agree that it refers to Wapedi and Batu and not
Speaker 3: Batana Vagana. They are stand alone because they are the
Speaker 3: ones that produce the two groups. And that is why
Speaker 3: if you are in Hawking and Limpopo, when you say
Speaker 3: adam Mosto, the Vapi would say, oh, just to differentiate
Speaker 3: between the two. So this dictionary, it is for a
Speaker 3: little bit of more elaboration, is more linguistics. It is
Speaker 3: a monolingual dictionary, but with short descriptions, but it is
Speaker 3: more loaded with the M alphabet. But it is more
Speaker 3: This is the case the same with all the the
Speaker 3: African languages group. The M has got more terms and names,
Speaker 3: equivalents and so forth. Because the name as the noun
Speaker 3: in English, then it is the one that is easily
Speaker 3: land and the M it is heavily loaded with names
Speaker 3: and so forth. Yeah, that is how I can explain
Speaker 3: it that this dictionary, but it is important to really
Speaker 3: encourage people to say, if we still have a list
Speaker 3: of ways that with the short description, they can submit
Speaker 3: them and be published so that we can have them
Speaker 3: preserved for future reference generations.
Speaker 1: All right, I'm.
Speaker 2: Gonna go to the phone lines now. I see you, Sheldon.
Speaker 2: They're wanting to comment on the Khoisan language. I think
Speaker 2: it's an important conversation that you want to introduce because
Speaker 2: it leads us to where I was going in our
Speaker 2: conversation here, the idea that you know there are other
Speaker 2: languages too that need to be developed and preserved in
Speaker 2: this way.
Speaker 1: Go ahead, Sheldon.
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, I'm yeah, I'm yes. The The only thing
Speaker 4: that I would like to say is like the poison
Speaker 4: was a very very important people you understand them. I
Speaker 4: think you meanhow okay, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2: I think we're having a problem there with that line, Sheldon.
Speaker 2: But we'll come back to you and just hear properly
Speaker 2: what you have to say there. You know, I want
Speaker 2: to ask your doctor, because you work in the space
Speaker 2: in terms of the other languages, the official languages that
Speaker 2: we have in this country. I mean, how do we
Speaker 2: find dictionaries of this kind regularly? You know, when I
Speaker 2: was reading about this. It really surprised me because you'd imagine,
Speaker 2: because Sabati is one of the most one of the
Speaker 2: official languages, they would have already be happy, you know,
Speaker 2: this type of literature available, and then you would expect
Speaker 2: with some of the smaller quote unquote or the ones
Speaker 2: that are less spoken of, then you would imagine that
Speaker 2: we're still lagging behind. But the sense I'm getting, doctor,
Speaker 2: is that we're lagging behind generally with many of our
Speaker 2: African languages in preserving the languages through this form of literature.
Speaker 3: When you know, Luckily in Love comments so we our
Speaker 3: country has got legislations and institutions that mandated to develop
Speaker 3: and preserve the African languages, and one of them is Penciled,
Speaker 3: and I must just point out that it has done.
Speaker 3: The pencil has done a great deal in regard to
Speaker 3: the development of African languages. I think Pey is one
Speaker 3: of the languages that has got more dictionaries. Unfortunately, they
Speaker 3: are written not by the native speakers of those languages,
Speaker 3: and that is what is important to here. The trogon to
Speaker 3: say he's a Spaedish speaking person, and he is he
Speaker 3: has lid write this dictionary. We did have for an
Speaker 3: example in so Soto got Paroles that is an old dictionary.
Speaker 3: I think we published through pencil the Socuti dictionary also
Speaker 3: that was developed by Elexocratic Unit the universt of the
Speaker 3: Free State. So yes, we are doing well in terms
Speaker 3: of you know, the development of dictionaries, but we are
Speaker 3: still leaking, especially if with regard to monolingual dictionaries where
Speaker 3: which are written by the African people themselves, because like
Speaker 3: this one, this person, he didn't go to school to
Speaker 3: learn about this these terms. It is the terminology that
Speaker 3: is developed because of the experience when they are still
Speaker 3: and also learning from the environment how they we are
Speaker 3: used by the other people in the same community. So
Speaker 3: for me really it is also to say and this
Speaker 3: is what we are also looking at the our you
Speaker 3: know programs as well that you know, with with with
Speaker 3: the within the University of the Free Stage, I see
Speaker 3: more speaking people coming down to the university here to
Speaker 3: such an extent that we are also thinking of when
Speaker 3: we read language. We made an example in English Spedians
Speaker 3: as well, so that the study guide becomes multilineoirs. So yes,
Speaker 3: I think that we still have a long way to
Speaker 3: go where we will have the multilinual dictionaries as well.
Speaker 3: You said something here that there are times where you
Speaker 3: would want to know a or Sipedi term, but you
Speaker 3: know it in English. We should have such dictionaries where
Speaker 3: we have a list and a description in soto or sapedi,
Speaker 3: but we also have a list of what does that
Speaker 3: way to mean in English? That could also be very useful.
Speaker 1: That that that, you know, I I long for the day.
Speaker 2: Who are more of our languages have those resources, you know,
Speaker 2: because it's important for us to get to the point
Speaker 2: where our languages are preserved through literature.
Speaker 1: All right, let's take a call from Bullet.
Speaker 2: You're in boxburd then you also want to speak about translation.
Speaker 1: Good evening, Good evening?
Speaker 5: How are you?
Speaker 1: I'm good? How are you?
Speaker 5: Yes? No, man, you know, I just want to ask
Speaker 5: the professor there, because you guys have been a very
Speaker 5: interesting to be you know, I did once called, but
Speaker 5: I wanted to to to to know how it can
Speaker 5: heat perhaps or where can he direct me to because
Speaker 5: I have got a collection of extra I've came up
Speaker 5: with about more than four hundred ten or or where
Speaker 5: to that sort of explain this, you know, technological ten
Speaker 5: like the meanings of this technological change the terms that
Speaker 5: are used today but in my own life like for example,
Speaker 5: your sim cards, your memory cards.
Speaker 1: You know what language is that.
Speaker 5: I want. I've got like a translation in my language
Speaker 5: for those terms, like those technological terms. It is Ryana.
Speaker 5: So I've got all those language and in those terms
Speaker 5: in in Chanaana. So what I need sort of from
Speaker 5: from from the professor is perhaps where can where can
Speaker 5: he guide me to sort of make my my my
Speaker 5: sort of findings to be you know out there, so
Speaker 5: that can be test published in in a way because
Speaker 5: I believe that it can sort of contributing to grow
Speaker 5: into us in helping grow in my language and also
Speaker 5: other language that are you know, our native language, because
Speaker 5: it's going to be easy if if if if if,
Speaker 5: if something is translated into the sec A language like
Speaker 5: a native language, then it can be easy to be
Speaker 5: transcered to other native languages. And like they say, if
Speaker 5: there is no term for that at all, for me,
Speaker 5: I found it, you know, to to to to have
Speaker 5: needed where for myself to sort of get get those names,
Speaker 5: those difficult terms that can can explain the technological terms
Speaker 5: that we are using on a daily basis, like your smartphones.
Speaker 5: You know, we don't we normally don't have those names
Speaker 5: in our native language. So I have managed to find
Speaker 5: the meanings for those terms.
Speaker 2: So I just want ye smartphone I found out for smartphology.
Speaker 5: Calls talisy, but yeah was talis. It's just something like that,
Speaker 5: so so and bobo like sim card, yes, Jim super
Speaker 5: harla and then exactly and then compute. I just lo harmano.
Speaker 5: You know laptop gari. You see things like that sim card,
Speaker 5: capa and and and I mean America, you see. So
Speaker 5: I want to put things out there so that it
Speaker 5: is we must know this thing once and for us,
Speaker 5: you know, so that our language can be like move
Speaker 5: forward whole lot.
Speaker 1: I love that idea.
Speaker 5: Doctors in this patalas you know, yeah you even.
Speaker 1: Yes, what's YESTV like this?
Speaker 5: It's such a light this theme.
Speaker 1: Let's hear from the doctor.
Speaker 2: Yes, you sounds like you have a comprehensive list a doctor.
Speaker 1: That sounds like a good opportunity.
Speaker 3: Yes, I'm also excited, and I'm gonna say, you know, yeah,
Speaker 3: he must have you know, get assistant, because it's very
Speaker 3: important to have such terms. You know. There are, of
Speaker 3: course stages that have such technology. Would have to go through.
Speaker 3: And what I like about it is that it should
Speaker 3: be the terms that are used every day, and that
Speaker 3: terms that are not formulated by academics when we are
Speaker 3: sitting in office, because we have a lot of such
Speaker 3: tereminology that just sitting there in the shelves, but are
Speaker 3: not useful because those are they they are not being
Speaker 3: used in every day line. I was listening a student
Speaker 3: from one of the stations who said, well, because I
Speaker 3: have this list, but we rarely use such you know,
Speaker 3: temninology that has been produced. But now if I'm listening
Speaker 3: to just a few of the terms that and that
Speaker 3: have just alluded to, it's quite interesting. He has to
Speaker 3: come up at least when he sign it to the publisher,
Speaker 3: he must just make sure that he keep a copy
Speaker 3: with himself. And then but that terminology has to go
Speaker 3: through maybe to the National Language body. They look at
Speaker 3: those terms and the space and so forth, and then
Speaker 3: they can publish its through pencils as well, and you
Speaker 3: will find that it is it will be useful in
Speaker 3: this in the sense that instead of just cracking your head,
Speaker 3: we already have people who have formulated as these terms.
Speaker 3: Because this one I can understand that because in the
Speaker 3: terms of technology in formation, it's either you have an equivalent,
Speaker 3: but because we the our in life, you know, these
Speaker 3: technology developed, development and so forth, so we realize that
Speaker 3: there are no terms that are coming in and we
Speaker 3: have to come with innovations. If we can't have an equivalent,
Speaker 3: you innovate like the examples that that have now used.
Speaker 3: So in that way it is we can have you know,
Speaker 3: if in as much as we would say, how do
Speaker 3: we publish them? But I think wherever he is, where
Speaker 3: he can, if he can go through the pencil, we
Speaker 3: can get maybe some contact details there where he can
Speaker 3: submit the times. But like we did with the superio,
Speaker 3: even if with this mostly where mostly soudents begin the
Speaker 3: free stage, we can also assist with the building of
Speaker 3: the terminology or see if maybe the dictionary is I
Speaker 3: mean the technology is authentic. We have to have it
Speaker 3: often authenticated by one of the structures of pencil process. UNA.
Speaker 2: For an example, I'm going to ask you for a
Speaker 2: step by step approach. You know that he can take
Speaker 2: and others who are listening, you know, where do they start,
Speaker 2: how do they go? But also at the end of
Speaker 2: the conversation you'll give us your details so they can
Speaker 2: get in touch with you as well. Let's take another
Speaker 2: the call from Tabiso in Kimpton Park.
Speaker 6: Jumela, Yes, lay no, thank you and also thanks for
Speaker 6: the top there said doctor, thank you very much. Look doctor, well,
Speaker 6: I think maybe for the fault of not of our own.
Speaker 6: Maybe one of the reasons.
Speaker 3: Our languages today we still speak.
Speaker 6: About the dictionary is that maybe they have not been
Speaker 6: turned into the languages of.
Speaker 4: You know, of.
Speaker 6: Science and comments. Maybe if I may get your opinion
Speaker 6: there and say them more, if maybe you can also
Speaker 6: have an opinion on this one. You know, in Soto
Speaker 6: Insoto stucture Southern Suto, for example, initially we have an
Speaker 6: old old writing incestu, you know, into the G was
Speaker 6: l fine, and and later I think in the SO
Speaker 6: too and that they're still using the L as a
Speaker 6: D in the SO is an L. And then in
Speaker 6: South Africa in Soto's ad it's a D as in
Speaker 6: alphabet a pc D. Maybe can you maybe a comment
Speaker 6: of on that if I'm and also a doctor. And
Speaker 6: the other thing, it's also in our names, the way
Speaker 6: our we actually name our children, you know, a name
Speaker 6: like Cephalani Cephalani. When I wanted to find out. But
Speaker 6: now what is the meaning of this weight? Thephalani yahm
Speaker 6: cephalan is actually after the harvest what they keep for seed.
Speaker 6: They call it cephalanpalan you'll see. Yes, so I think
Speaker 6: also it's so important that maybe and uh, and I'm
Speaker 6: happy that they and an initiative has been taken. As
Speaker 6: you rightly say that you are based in the Fisty,
Speaker 6: which is as sol to southern so to speaking province,
Speaker 6: and you took up this to say, as they say,
Speaker 6: as a baby dictionary, and maybe also to also get
Speaker 6: your opinion, how far are we in really developing our
Speaker 6: languages into language of trade and industry and uh and
Speaker 6: uh and commerce? And that will in a way also
Speaker 6: you know, make sure that they we actually develop our
Speaker 6: languages in that day. Yeah, in that direction, because I'm
Speaker 6: of the view that if you can take the European languages,
Speaker 6: most of the things that are English, you find that
Speaker 6: there they are there in in German and Russian in
Speaker 6: all of this say you know of this, say yeah, okay,
Speaker 6: so those are the European based languages. Yes, if I
Speaker 6: can just get you you know on that doctor, don't
Speaker 6: you Okay.
Speaker 1: Before before you answer talks.
Speaker 2: I just want to make sure so we have all
Speaker 2: your all your questions, because you you you'd ask I
Speaker 2: think a count three questions the doctor.
Speaker 1: Do you have all the types of questions? Yes, okay,
Speaker 1: you can go ahead.
Speaker 3: I think the first one is about the technical dictionaries. Yes, yeah,
Speaker 3: I think that is also a very important consent that
Speaker 3: we have raised. That Yes, we can talk about the
Speaker 3: monolingual dictionary, bilingual multilingual dictionaries, but do we have the
Speaker 3: technical dictionaries for example, or specialized dictionary Let me say,
Speaker 3: maybe in a way a dictionary regard to linguistics, a
Speaker 3: dictionary with regard to accounting and so forth, fitting in
Speaker 3: the our own languages. What I can say is that yes,
Speaker 3: currently just make an example of the investor with the
Speaker 3: Free State here our language policy allows for language it
Speaker 3: is English, Afrikaans to end, and then I think they
Speaker 3: are considering Splosa and Crana. But what is important here
Speaker 3: is that we have what you call the multilineral academy.
Speaker 3: It is responsible for the development, especially in particulars because
Speaker 3: I think it is the universe of the Free State
Speaker 3: mostly that is having that mandate. Otherwise the other languages
Speaker 3: are well catered for, so the margin. Normal Academy is
Speaker 3: responsible for term lists and so forth CEUT for an example,
Speaker 3: the Department of Others and Culture Pencil itself, they have
Speaker 3: a long list of terminoraries. I know that I was
Speaker 3: also involved in the development of scientific terms for great
Speaker 3: for to grade seven. It is there. If you go
Speaker 3: to Pencil website and you go there to the publications
Speaker 3: and then with different languages, you will get those terms there.
Speaker 3: So yes, it is important to health scize. But the
Speaker 3: other question that you also raised, it is about the
Speaker 3: different orthography orthography look, and this is the challenge that
Speaker 3: we're having where our languages were put or coded by
Speaker 3: people who are not the speakers of those languages, and
Speaker 3: that is why we have difficulty in if I'm Suto
Speaker 3: a country so Tuana because of the alphabet that are
Speaker 3: given to so Tuana, which is different from us. For
Speaker 3: an example, if you say what you're doing in in Chicana,
Speaker 3: then it's C in other be tj W. So if
Speaker 3: we can you know, standardize and harmonize such type of
Speaker 3: difficulties or differences, then it will be easy. But the
Speaker 3: history of listen to I think it has been identifying
Speaker 3: that there are sounds that are written differently between the
Speaker 3: South African orthography and the orthography and the one the
Speaker 3: other one that is that they mentioned is that of
Speaker 3: N and D the academics and the ste A grade
Speaker 3: of those differences. But because of the political reasons, they
Speaker 3: need to have their own unique orthography. So yeah, now
Speaker 3: you would see also that most of our sin names
Speaker 3: that we have in South Africa, like Mokwain, most people
Speaker 3: are still using the orthography because of the ideas that
Speaker 3: they have taken a long time ago. And then if
Speaker 3: you have to have the offsprings with the same same name,
Speaker 3: I think the spelling will have to be the same
Speaker 3: otherwise you'll be in trouble. So that is why in
Speaker 3: such say names you'll find that we still use the orthography, yes,
Speaker 3: which is the olde and then in South Africa the
Speaker 3: new orthography that stent in nineteen sixty one it is
Speaker 3: w Eka, so that orthography is. And then the naming
Speaker 3: of course that we say like in the hyds in
Speaker 3: the Bible, the Bible you know where they were initially
Speaker 3: translated into. So so too happy if you look at
Speaker 3: Howting for an example, how do we spell howting with
Speaker 3: G that is also the old orthography. You know, if
Speaker 3: we can learn and study how the way Musu to
Speaker 3: us written fatal because of the influence of the French people,
Speaker 3: you would be so surprised it was Musu too, you know,
Speaker 3: with the m O double s O, you double t o.
Speaker 3: Then issually they with they glinted until we get ourselves
Speaker 3: ready and clean. So the other thing that they talked
Speaker 3: about it is the the development of our languages so
Speaker 3: that they can be useful into our industry and otherwise
Speaker 3: our languages should also so you know, the other people
Speaker 3: would say, hey, I want our languages. Don't put bread
Speaker 3: on the table, and that is true. If your language
Speaker 3: can't you know, be used in politics and commerce, even
Speaker 3: in in certain social you know platforms. So but currently
Speaker 3: I will let me say it wouldn't it was we
Speaker 3: would have the terminology, put them in the shelves. As
Speaker 3: long as we don't use those languages ourselves, and then
Speaker 3: as long as we don't even teache so with in
Speaker 3: soto in at university level, those languages would not develop,
Speaker 3: you know, the languages that we see them now being
Speaker 3: popular and also having books written in that lenge. Rightly,
Speaker 3: for an example, I'm told that one that professor just
Speaker 3: used tap mathematics in one of the Russian languages and
Speaker 3: it it developed. So as long as we are afraid
Speaker 3: to use our languages in teaching, even so Souto as
Speaker 3: a subject, then we have a problem. But the regulations
Speaker 3: are there with the terminologists, that their funding is there
Speaker 3: provided by the Department of Asian Culture as well as
Speaker 3: Pencil for the Development of African Languages. At least the
Speaker 3: Constitution give us the support the development of such languages,
Speaker 3: and the universities have been given that mandate.
Speaker 2: Yeah, doctor, we only have a few minutes left and
Speaker 2: I want to get through some of the WhatsApps and
Speaker 2: voice notes, So let me have this one. Someone here asking,
Speaker 2: who's very happy with your contribution, and he's asking about
Speaker 2: the word entirety or the word father in your dictionary.
Speaker 1: It should still saying that they know.
Speaker 3: Yes, no, my computational down, take me down.
Speaker 2: Okay, he's asking. He's just very interested because he's yeah,
Speaker 2: he's asking, isn't that his father's don't in in uh
Speaker 2: Salaba or is it different?
Speaker 3: I would because I also have people who are speaking
Speaker 3: as a berry here than the rest of the free stage. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Uh Diddy, No, I can't. I can't answer that. I
Speaker 3: would have to take it all right.
Speaker 2: And then someone else here is asking whether it's a
Speaker 2: fact that the very people originate from Central Africa.
Speaker 3: Well, there are there are a number of theories about
Speaker 3: the origins of the Africans and especially the Soci group
Speaker 3: and angulis the theory. One theory it says we come
Speaker 3: from the the Victorian Lakes, and then some say from Egypt.
Speaker 3: And then there's a US research that was done when
Speaker 3: second technology is second you know, play products that are
Speaker 3: similar to that of to those of the sot in
Speaker 3: the southern or in the southern part of the of
Speaker 3: the continent that are similar. That shows that maybe there
Speaker 3: is there was an interaction all these people comes from
Speaker 3: that area. But there is a theory that the first
Speaker 3: people that came from Egypt were the Bafricane and the
Speaker 3: Bahurut and then they matched to as they come down.
Speaker 3: They went to Botswana and that is why we have
Speaker 3: buff Gang also in and in Botswana, and then we
Speaker 3: have Bafutkan in Wassotu and we Baffugay in the clost
Speaker 3: because of that migration. So it is because of the
Speaker 3: archeology they believe that we come from that area. But
Speaker 3: the migration should not be described in a negative way
Speaker 3: to really do away with the inhabitants of the Africa,
Speaker 3: to say probably we have arrived in the southern part
Speaker 3: of the of the continent together other the white groups.
Speaker 3: Now that is not the explanation of that theory. But
Speaker 3: if you look at the name was the recurrent force
Speaker 3: where the Vasta Sayatuna, then you would understand that mayby
Speaker 3: there were people that Basuto, that or that also residing
Speaker 3: in that area. If you study your history very well,
Speaker 3: they moved down to a certain part of Africa. But
Speaker 3: during the Diffaghani, we see that one of the Zulu
Speaker 3: group with the Mozilicas. Then they moved to what you
Speaker 3: call what we have today as Zimbabwe. And there was
Speaker 3: a move again which is called who is called Sebituan
Speaker 3: who also fled into Zimbabwe is Musoto. That is why
Speaker 3: we have the Basuto also there. But the language is
Speaker 3: a mix of Zulu and Sootu. And they also moved
Speaker 3: to Zambia. So we have rose for an example in Zambia.
Speaker 3: Actually you see there is that interaction between the Cito group. Yeah,
Speaker 3: so we might say because you don't have any other
Speaker 3: history oral that can give a different explanation, would say, yes,
Speaker 3: we originate from that space, and it will look very carefully.
Speaker 3: The northern part of Africa was occupied by the Blacks,
Speaker 3: but the agents came afterwards when they invaded them. I
Speaker 3: think then they migrated towards across the desert and intro
Speaker 3: into the Victorian Falls. Yeah, that's how I can explain
Speaker 3: that it is true. But only we can only depend
Speaker 3: on archology and the history written by other people.
Speaker 2: Well, we appreciate that because it really enlightens us and
Speaker 2: gives us an idea maybe of where we may come from.
Speaker 2: Let's take one voice note. I can see there's a
Speaker 2: number that have come through. Unfortunately we're not going to
Speaker 2: be able to get through all of them. But let's
Speaker 2: take one.
Speaker 1: Believening everybody.
Speaker 3: The men that just called.
Speaker 1: Just now about the the.
Speaker 7: Native terms for for these these new age words that
Speaker 7: a little bit of that conversation got me.
Speaker 1: Extremely excited to. Yeah, that man just got me very exciting.
Speaker 7: In it would be lovely to have these these these
Speaker 7: terms recorded, you know, on paper, these new terms. But
Speaker 7: now we can say them in our in our language,
Speaker 7: and you don't have to keep interrupting our language with
Speaker 7: with English. It's it's an exciting thank you.
Speaker 1: Oh that's amazing.
Speaker 2: Yes, I'm so glad that you are excited by this
Speaker 2: conversation because I am too, and I look forward to
Speaker 2: a time where we'll be able to have an entire
Speaker 2: sentence about our work in finance, our work in tech,
Speaker 2: our work here in journalism, and have it in our
Speaker 2: mother tongue, full sentence Costwana and continue without a single
Speaker 2: word of English. I think that is the goal really,
Speaker 2: that one day we will get to that point. But
Speaker 2: doctor Elias Malide, we have run out of time. It
Speaker 2: went by so quick, and I really look forward having
Speaker 2: this conversation with you again in the future as we
Speaker 2: record the developments that are happening in the space of
Speaker 2: African languages.
Speaker 3: It is now. Thank you so much as well for
Speaker 3: inviting me. It was also very interesting and also the
Speaker 3: questions that our listeners have usked, they really show that
Speaker 3: they lived their languages and we should also be of
Speaker 3: assistance to them, especial those that would like their manuscript.
Speaker 3: So there's no way that we as when we have
Speaker 3: the opportunity to can help and get people things published
Speaker 3: and reserve reserved that we can deny that people such opportunity.
Speaker 3: We have heard the time away our things are being
Speaker 3: rejected for no reason.
Speaker 2: Current all right, That was doctor Elias Melete, the head
Speaker 2: of the Department of African Languages at the University of
Speaker 2: the Free State.
Speaker 1: It is time for eyewitness news