June 16, 1976 was a normal working day. It was cold and cloudless sunny winter weather. At the time I was working as a social-worker supervisor for the West Rand Development Council in Soweto and my office was in Diepkloof, … Read the rest
Tag: Afrikaans
Black woman regards Afrikaans as ‘model of decolonisation’
Seeing the Afrikaans language as a decolonised language, speakers at the Breaking Down Borders Africa Youth Summit conference shared how central language is in decolonising education.
Dr Edith Phaswana, a senior lecturer at the University of South Africa (Unisa), said … Read the rest
Dan Roodt: Anglicising Afrikaans schools will speed up the country’s decline
It is astonishing that Mary Metcalfe, whose educational legacy in Gauteng was characterised by one foolish, abandoned experiment after the other, should pontificate on the issue of Afrikaans schools (“War talk won’t end language row”, June 5). The … Read the rest
Letter: By what right may government decide what language I should use?
I write in English to accomodate readers who aren’t bright enough to speak more than one language; those who do not understand Afrikaans.
I write anonymously as I am not pursuing a career in politics or in media. Further I … Read the rest
Stellenbosch promises to ‘remove racists’
Rector and vice-chancellor Professor Wim de Villiers promised Parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education and training on Tuesday Stellenbosch University would root out “racists”.
Stefan Lang, the outgoing SRC chairman, having to rush through his address in order to provide … Read the rest
Opinion: South Africa is sleepwalking into disaster
The worm has turned and virtually every South African political commentator whose legacy was to encourage a one man one vote ANC takeover in South Africa is now tearing into the government and its alliance partners. The country is on … Read the rest
Battle lines drawn for Gauteng Afrikaans schools
The Gauteng Education Department’s decision to change single-medium Afrikaans schools into parallel-medium schools will be challenged in the Johannesburg High Court.
The Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools are calling for the preservation of Afrikaans as a language … Read the rest
PRAAG denounces interference by Panyaza Lesufi in Afrikaans schools as ‘linguistic genocide’
Commenting on the current conflict around Afrikaans-only schools in the Gauteng Province, Dr. Dan Roodt, leader of PRAAG, has called for seeing it in its historical context.
“Issues around culture, language, identity and education go to the heart of the … Read the rest
8 South African films to be screened at Cannes film festival
Music mockumentary Stone Cold Jane Austen will be one of eight South African films screening at the Cannes Film Festival later this month.
The films form part of the Marche Du Film programme which takes place from May 12 to … Read the rest
SABC scraps Afrikaans for minority killer language
The SABC will do away with Afrikaans news bulletins on its 24 hour news channel on DStv.
Black indigenous South African language bulletins, including Zulu, Siswati, Tsonga, Xhosa, isiNdebele, Sotho and Venda will also be scrapped.
As from April 1, … Read the rest
Why are we so ‘backward’, Allister Sparks?
Allister Sparks is one of those raving left-liberal journalists for whom nothing in South Africa will ever detract from the utopia of being ruled by the ANC and South African Communist Party. Together with his protégé, Helen Zille, current leader … Read the rest
Hofmeyr, Roodt vow to fight on for Afrikaans
A magistrate at the Randburg Magistrates Court, Naren Sewnarain, accepted the arguments put forward by Conrad Koch that there exists American-style freedom of speech in South Africa and everyone may insult everyone else in the grossest of manners, as well … Read the rest
BBC discovers Afrikaans is spoken in Orania!
In the sparsely populated Karoo desert in the heart of South Africa’s Northern Cape, the spirit of Afrikaner independence lives on.
I spent a few days in Orania, a town established in 1991 where no black people live.
I was … Read the rest
In the sparsely populated Karoo desert in the heart of South Africa’s Northern Cape, the spirit of Afrikaner independence lives on.
I spent a few days in Orania, a town established in 1991 where no black people live.
I was … Read the rest
Excerpt from ‘Raiders of the lost Empire’ by Dan Roodt
From Vanuatu ‘our’ flag and penchant for imitation
South Africa, especially these days, is trying to decide whether we should emulate Idi Amin’s Uganda or some cargo cult on the island of Vanuatu. You could call the system here a … Read the rest
From Vanuatu ‘our’ flag and penchant for imitation
South Africa, especially these days, is trying to decide whether we should emulate Idi Amin’s Uganda or some cargo cult on the island of Vanuatu. You could call the system here a … Read the rest