BBC’s CBeebies to celebrate South African languages this Heritage Month

BBC Studios’ dedicated pre-school channel CBeebies will translate seven Sleepy Time Stories on the channel into an African languages this Heritage Month.

“To mark Heritage Month and celebrate the diversity of our nation, we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our African languages with the help of our pre-school channel, CBeebies,” commercial director at BBC Studios in Africa Pierre Cloete.

Kids’ shows such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Magic Porridge Pot and The Elves and the Shoemaker will be translated into isiZulu, Sesotho, Xitsonga and Afrikaans.

“As CBeebies is for little learners, translating a selection of the Sleepy Time Stories to four languages will allow our little viewers and parents to learn or develop their language skills while enjoying the shows throughout September,” averred Cloete.

The British channel isn’t the first to accommodate language diversity in their kiddies programming. Earlier this year, Nickelodeon had SpongeBob SquarePants in Afrikaans and isiZulu.

This is part of SpongeBob SquarePants‘ 25^th anniversary and the Nick In Your Language initiative aimed at promoting local languages.

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Celebrating languages throughout the year

Founder of Mahlahle language app, Mukondleteri Dumela said it was important to show pride in indigenous languages throughout the year, not just during Heritage Month.

“It’s essential to move beyond token recognition during specific months and integrate African languages into our daily lives,” Dumela told The Citizen.

Mahlahle is a vibrant app designed for children aged two to eight. This initiative is part of Angula, another company founded by Dumela.

The app was launched in July 2024, but together with his team, Dumela has been working on it for the past six months.

Dumela first established Angula, which is an award-winning app with more than 20 000 registered users, tailored to help adults learn and appreciate African languages.

The company started as a form of language activism. Dumela initially founded the Xitsonga.org project to bring the Xitsonga language into the digital age.

As the Xitsonga.org project gained popularity, the concept of Angula emerged, spurred by suggestions to expand Xitsonga.org’s scope to encompass more languages.

“It features the same languages as Mahlahle, but with more complex topics suitable for adult learners,” said Dumela

“Mahlahle is an addition to help young children explore and appreciate African languages and cultures.” Sentimentally, Mahlahle is the name of Dumela’s daughter which is a Xitsonga word for planet Venus.

NOW READ: For the kids: Mahlahle app teaches and preserves African languages