Global university partnership to preserve African languages

Times Live 21 August 2021

Rhodes University in South Africa has collaborated with local and foreign universities in an effort to revive and preserve indigenous African languages, writes Nomahlubi Sonjica for Times Live.

The project is called ‘Baqonde’ and is funded by the European Union. Its aim is to facilitate and promote the use of indigenous African languages as mediums of instruction at higher education institutions in South Africa, and advance the objectives of the Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions. The name Baqonde stands for “Boosting the use of African languages in education: A Qualified Organised National Development strategy for SA”. The literal meaning of the word is “let [them] understand” in the Nguni languages.

South African universities involved in the project are North-West University, the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the University of the Western Cape. The University of Salamanca in Spain, Trinity College Dublin in Ireland and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands are the three European institutions taking part in the initiative.
Full report on the Times Live site

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