Although Minister Angie Motshekga announced that her department is working to introduce several second additional languages as part of the country’s school curriculum. A panel of language activists have initiated a campaign that aims to get San languages added as part of the curriculum in the next five years.
Schools in the Northern Cape have already been teaching one of the San languages called Nama as an extra-curricular, but language experts and activists are not satisfied and have appealed to the education department for San languages to be practiced and taught at schools and they are hopeful that one day it will be added to the list of official languages of South Africa.
Language activist Gerhard Damarah says:
It is important for us to harmonize all of the San and Khoi languages. The languages must come under one umbrella and from that we will move forward as an united front.
Activists say that having the languages included into the curriculum will not only give learners an opportunity to learn it, but it also adds a sense of representation and validates their culture and beliefs.
“If they can bring that in now whilst they are still young, it will make sure that they know who they are and what their culture is” says Athea Damarah
The panel is hopeful that the department will implement San languages along with the necessary learning and teaching materials as well as qualified teachers to teach the language.
In an effort to help revive the language and to encourage young children to engage, language activists have already begun developing books in the languages and an app is being constructed to help learners read and understand the language easily.
The campaign was launched in Upington in the Northern Cape on Friday and aims to target numerous schools in the Northern Cape.
