SANDEVA hosts the Nama language workshop
The purpose of the workshop was to educate as well as to remind the community of Eldorado Park about the Nama language and its rebirth.
On Saturday May 27, the South African Nama Development Association (SANDEVA) conducted the Nama language induction workshop at the Faith Temple church in Eldorado Park.
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The purpose of the workshop was to educate as well as to remind the community of Eldorado Park about the Nama language and its rebirth.
The event conducted basic teachings of the language as a way of implementing the use of the Nama language in the community.
Leilani Jacobs, CEO of SANDEVA and educator by profession said, “We are here to promote the Nama language to different communities because it has been recognised by the government to be implemented in schools. For our language to not to die, we need to get it out there, the right pronunciation and the correct writing. That is why we are beginning with Grade R lessons.”
SANDEVA is an organisation that aims to restore the Nama language and its heritage in the Khoi-San communities.
Their vision is to witness South Africans, especially those from the Nama decent being able to speak, write, read and understand the Nama language.
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According to Moira Daya from the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), the recognition of the Nama language by the South African constitution has given her the urge and desire to want to learn her language. This resembles the rebirth of their authentic identity and not the one given to them.
“We were colonised and denied to speak our language. It is an absolute dream being given the platform to learn our language and to really find out who we are and that we are not coloureds,” she said.
As a way to spread the language in communities, Eldos FM has offered the association space to conducts the Nama language lessons for both the youth and children.
“I would like to see more of our young people in the community reaching out to learn the language. I will be conducting classes from Eldos FM studio for everyone who wants to learn Nama language,” Jacobs concluded.
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