tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833781365332925585.post2517639127222795588..comments2023-09-27T17:30:10.091+02:00Comments on VOX POPVLI: "Afrikaans versus Modern Society" by N SmithVOX POPVLI :http://www.blogger.com/profile/12066568323733418958noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833781365332925585.post-83630703277134385572010-10-31T20:23:37.612+02:002010-10-31T20:23:37.612+02:00"Even those who do not immigrate will lose in..."Even those who do not immigrate will lose interest in a minority language such as Afrikaans when pursuing a tertiary education in their home language, and their knowledge of the language will gradually fade to black, so why waste precious time teaching it to them now?"<br /><br />I'm sorry to say, that is a complete generalisation. I, for one, will not "lose interest" in Afrikaans. <br /><br />"Do not get rid of Afrikaans as a secondary language in schools, but offer it alongside the other official languages of South Africa"<br /><br />It would obviously be nice if all our 11 official languages could be offered at our school, but logistically it is impossible. <br />A more realistic option is to offer the Western Cape's official languages, which are English, Afrikaans and Xhosa. Oh that's funny, they are offered already.<br /><br />The matter of a other languages such as Latin, Mandarin and Spanish being available at our school is interesting. Ideally, we should be able to choose from these languages, but it is impossible to offer German, French, Spanish, Latin and Mandarin. Demand is too low to offer all of these. What should be determined though, is which of these languages are under the most demand to be taught. If Mandarin is more in demand than, say, German, I think it should replace it. I doubt this is the case. Of course it would be nice to be able to choose any language you want, but just think of it practically and you'll realise that it is unfortunately not possible.Rickynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833781365332925585.post-37293051846517141552010-10-20T21:40:34.673+02:002010-10-20T21:40:34.673+02:00The fact that people are seemingly more interested...The fact that people are seemingly more interested in Afrikaans, therefore there not being a demand for other second language teachers is purely due to the fact that students are not introduced to these choices from a young enough age. From the beginning of my schooling I was introduced to Afrikaans as a secondary language. Many of the prep school students have learnt Xhosa as a third language since primary school and I am certain there are those that would be interested in being given the choice to learn Xhosa as a second language.<br /><br />As for Spanish and Latin I know many of my fellow peers are very interested in the language and would in fact prefer to learn those languages as a third language.The fact is, people just couldn't be bothered enough to go to the trouble of finding a Mandarin teacher and inquiring about the best interest of the students as tradition has become a comfort.N Smithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833781365332925585.post-45986405939109723612010-10-19T15:35:20.844+02:002010-10-19T15:35:20.844+02:00A Official language of South Africa is compulsory ...A Official language of South Africa is compulsory at _2nd language_ level. Why College doesn't offer the other languages is a matter of teacher availability and student interest.<br /><br />It's been asked why Spanish and Latin aren't offered at College - (as 3rd lang)the answer would also apply to Mandarin:<br />Not enough students have asked for it, to oughtweigh the difficulty of finding a teacher, expenses involved and timetabling.Iŏn la Teğanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15441595245552922038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833781365332925585.post-4857346106265479642010-10-19T06:20:35.206+02:002010-10-19T06:20:35.206+02:00Thank you both for taking your time to comment on ...Thank you both for taking your time to comment on my essay.<br /><br />The fact that I do not know that Afrikaans is compulsory as a second language choice, is evidence of an established mindset on the default to Afrikaans. The issue is not with the language per say, but the rut we are in. Why I asked, is Mandarin not offered at a school like Somerset College? The technical similarities between English and Afrikaans, seem to fade when either first language users attempt the other. I have Afrikaans family who do not speak English at all.N Smithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833781365332925585.post-54315930173216304802010-10-18T16:53:51.912+02:002010-10-18T16:53:51.912+02:00DO SOME RESEARCH!!
Afrikaans is not (technically)...DO SOME RESEARCH!!<br /><br />Afrikaans is not (technically) compulsory. By educational law, only a _2ND language_ is. If you're willing to do Xhosa as a second language - you may. Jess Coxon (grade 11) does; but separately from the 3rd language students.<br /><br />Also - Afrikaans is not "completely different to English." Syntactically, semanitically and morphologically Afrikaans and English are _almost identical_.<br />The Nguni languages (like Xhosa and Zulu...) are nothing like English and Afrikaans, even at a lexical level. and theyre agglutinating and have killer phonologies.<br /><br />BTW : Afrikaans is highly respected internationally - amoung Diets, Frankish and Scandanavian linguists especially.<br /><br />----<br />As a cosmic language, cf: Sanskrit, used in especially pagan chanelling. (et cf: glossolalía)<br />----<br /><br />I'M PRO CHOICE TOO, but you obviously have done nothing to construct a sound agrument.Iŏn la Teğanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15441595245552922038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833781365332925585.post-42674784146975880422010-10-18T13:52:35.919+02:002010-10-18T13:52:35.919+02:00N Smith is way too unambitious. Once Coenie de Vil...N Smith is way too unambitious. Once Coenie de Villiers had an interview on Pasella, an Afrikaans magazine show on television, with a man who is a specialist about angels. The further the interview progressed, the more the specialist spoke English. This he explained by saying that when he is speaking English, he is actually channelling angels. This proves that English is not only the universal language that N Smith professes, but truly a cosmic language. In that light I would support the move to make the entire cosmos monolingual - no more squiggly Babelfish in your ear. The sooner that happens, the sooner I can retire and read all the Afrikaans books I don't have time to read because I have to read and mark Afrikaans essays and exams. Think how unusual my tomb will be one day... all those unreadable books...Mr. Waltersnoreply@blogger.com