WSU LINGUIST TRAVELS AFRICA TO DEVELOP ISIXHOSA

Walter Sisulu University’s acting Languages Manager, Sinoyolo Nokutywa, is headed to Universities in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya in August to forge collaborations to develop African languages.

Nokutywa also a member of the Southern African Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Society (SALALS) will be visiting the University of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania, Makerere University in Uganda and Moi University in Kenya.

“Swahili is one of the well-developed African languages and it is taught in these universities. This is an opportunity to sit with them and benchmark how they developed it so that we can also develop isiXhosa as a language,” said Nokutywa.

Nokutywa added that WSU is an African university, and this benchmarking exercise will help internationalise it through identifying programmes that can be collaborated with other African universities.

“I am in communication with the university of Howard in the United States of America about them teaching isiXhosa as  Boston University already does. I want to approach and convince  these three universities that represent and accommodate the African diaspora to teach isiXhosa.,” said Nokutywa.

Nokutywa said to ensure meaningful empirical research results, it is crucial for academics to actively involve Madiba's community by communicating in their native language.

This approach allows for a deeper understanding of cultural and historical nuances in the Eastern Cape region, thus facilitating stronger connections and reception from the locals. As Madiba famously stated, "When you speak to a man in a language he understands, it goes to his head. But when you speak to him in his own language, it goes straight to his heart."

“If their Natural Sciences and Health Sciences programmes are good,  I will link them with our faculties , so that the students can go learn different ways of doing things. Their programmes in school should also incorporate isiXhosa because if our students go to Cuba and can be taught in Spanish, why can’t we teach them in isiXhosa when they get here so that they can be able to communicate with our elderly people,” said Nokutywa.

Nokutywa said this trip is the first of many and he hopes that they will bare fruits and WSU be known internationally with isiXhosa being fully developed and taught in many universities outside South Africa.

By Anita Roji