AFRICAN LANGUAGES AND CULTURE MUST BE PROMOTED AND PRESERVED
“THE INCLUSION OF AFRICAN LANGUAGES ENSURES THAT WE ELIMINATE THE EXCLUSION
OF AFRICAN INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE FROM THE
CURRICULUM, AS HAS BEEN THE CASE SINCE THE DARK DAYS OF COLONISATION AND APARTHEID.” – PROF BONI ZUNGU
The Department of African Language’s vision is to teach African languages to every student at UJ. “English is not the measure of intelligence, and it is a myth that if you speak the previously marginalised African languages, you cannot compete with the speakers of European languages,” says Prof Bonisiwe Zungu, head of the Department of African Languages. The department has existed since 1967 and has proudly taught and developed African languages ever since. The future of African languages Zungu says there is a need to promote and preserve African languages and culture in the 21st century. “We live in a multicultural country; therefore, multilingual education is needed. The constitution protects African languages, and promoting their use in institutions of higher learning is imperative. Knowing your mother tongue gives one a sense of pride and makes learning additional languages easier.” The Department offers mother-tongue and non-mother- tongue streams to accommodate beginners and those who studied African languages in high school. Zungu says cultural heritage, arts and African epistemologies lie at the core of African languages. African languages come in handy in most environments.
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ALUMNI IMPUMELELO
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