dialectic

Clearing a Path to Academia A Tribute to Lungisile Ntsebeza Light heart and strong commitment Lungisile Ntsebeza’s commitment to his chosen path of intellectual enquiry came at a turning point in his life, while he was facing trial in Umtata (now Mthatha) on charges under the Suppression of Communism Act in 1977. [1] Many obstacles were put in the way of this commitment in the years that followed: imprisonment; then banishment to his home town of Cala; the murder of his cousin-brother Batandwa Ndondo by an apartheid death squad, followed by extended cover-up of the murder, including Lungisile’s detention without trial and further banishment to a remote area, cutting him off from the outside world; obstruction and hostility from the humanitarian agency meant to support victims of apartheid repression; then a return to the conventional banishment of before, now driven by the anger of a dictatorial president, and seemingly extended into the indefinite future. By the time Lungisile was abl...

Stellenbosse Taalbeleid Die Oortjies van die Seekoei Ter gedagtenis van Ampie Coetzee, 1939-2020 Die seekoei en die taalbeleid Waarna ons ookal kyk, sien ons met die eerste oogopslag gewoonlik minder as die hele prentjie. Die oortjies van die seekoei lyk vir ons soos net nog ‘n deel van die riviertoneel. Maar as die seekoei eers uit die water klim, is dit ‘n ander saak. [1] Met enige beskouing oor taalbeleid in Suid-Afrika vandag, is dit soos wanneer ons die oortjies van die seekoei sien: Dit is belangrik om vroegtydig so volledig moontlik ‘n beeld van die situasie te vorm, insluitende dit wat nie eksplisiet gemaak word nie. As jy met ‘n gedeeltelike beeld probeer klaarkom, sal jy onkant gevang word. Met taalbeleid, sal jy dit moeilik vind om te verstaan waarom mense met soveel mag en aansien—kanseliers en vise-kanseliers, raadslede en professore, mense wat jy vertrou het—sonder blik of bloos hulle ondernemings kan verbreek of verdraai of vergeet. Die groter prentjie wat nodig is om di...