The Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV), the Department of Afrikaans and the Department of Linguistics of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and Vriende van Afrikaans (VVA) invite you to their multilingualism week which will be held from 26 to 29 March 2014 at the Soweto Campus of UJ.
The idea of a multilingualism week was born when the three groups wanted to launch their joint language project in Soweto.
For some years ATKV, UJ and VVA have been involved on a small scale in Afrikaans classes in Soweto. Afrikaans is one of the many languages spoken in Soweto and we intend celebrating this special multilingualism of Soweto in Soweto,” says Karien Brits, manager: language affairs at ATKV.
Amanda de Stadler, the executive officer of the VVA, says her organisation is over the moon, following an involvement of many years in Soweto, to make a contribution in a more constructive way towards an appreciation for all languages of South Africa.
“We are pursuing an ideal where children never feel that their language is inferior, or that they are not speaking their language ‘right’. We also want to utilise the opportunity, with Afrikaans as the vehicle, to foster a reading culture, especially among little children, out of which they will be able to derive lifelong pleasure.”
Dr Donovan Lawrence, senior lecturer in the Department of Afrikaans at the UJ, says the department is increasingly involved with the promotion of multilingualism and the learning of one another’s languages.
“We are particularly excited because we can escalate this involvement to practical effect in 2015 when for the first time we will be offering Afrikaans as part of the BEd course (Intermediate) at our Soweto Campus.”
According to Karien Brits the ATKV regards Afrikaans in a new light in a multilingual South Africa. “We would like to make a positive contribution to nation building. We believe that we can do that by speaking one another’s languages, something that bridges important language gaps.”
Come and speak your language at our multilingualism week, because interpreting facilities will be continuously available on the Soweto Campus of the University of Johannesburg, and participate in any of the following activities for young and old:
• Reading demonstrations where adults and older children learn to read to younger children
• A multilingual quiz: children learn one another’s languages in a playful atmosphere
• Afrikaans classes – come and see how we teach Afrikaans to children
• Symposiums about the impact and handling of multilingualism in the classroom and about educational interpreting
• A writing course – you could well be the next Nobel Prize winner of Soweto!
• Visit to the Hector Pietersen Museum
• Official launch of the multilingualism project in Soweto
• Language games for children
• Workshop for Afrikaans language teachers with a focus on second-language speakers
The programme starts daily from about 08:00 and runs until 16:00. The provisional programme is available at www.atkv.org.za.
Come and learn about one another’s languages with us, because we want to understand one another.
Interested individuals can find out more about the week and book a seat from Karien Brits by phoning 011 919 9136 or emailing karienb@atkv.org.za.
