A BRIEF HISTORICAL LOOK AT A LANGUAGE

Original tin school on a farm near Mossel Bay
Photo S. Howes Centre for Conservation and Education 1910

Educational institutions – schools, colleges, universities- are more than half way through their teaching/lecturing year.  For some it has been a period of hard work,  for others unless they apply themselves very quickly, they might be repeating the year.  There are those individuals who take the benefit of gaining an education for granted forgetting that the subject of learning was, in the past, not always so readily available.

At first the Dutch language was the prevalent language of the Cape of Good Hope settlers with smatterings of French and German.  The Khoi clans had  their own spoken but not written speech. Some learnt Dutch and became translators.   Over time isi Xhosa was heard, then the path of the English language was advanced by the governing authority. As the lightly populated open spaces that would become the Union and then the Republic of South Africa attracted more settlers the newly formed African language called Afrikaans was more frequently heard but English was the more frequently used. The other spoken tribal languages tended to be used amongst themselves.  Today the Republic has eleven offical languages: Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sesotho sa Leboa, Sesotho, Setswana, isiSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsongo.  However, the English language, at this time, is dominant because of its world wide political and comercial recognition.   Mind you it is only the fifth most spoken home language!  The Constitution also mentions the Khoi, Nama, San and sign languages.  Others included are Arabic, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Portuguese, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telegu and Urdu.

Initially at the Cape certain colonists could sign their names and maybe a few slaves could as well. Some slaves who had undergone religious studies in their original homelands set about teaching those interested. Ownership of books was rare but with Christian missionaries arriving at a greater rate, the Bible was often the means by which reading and writing was taught.  Slowly formal schools were erected. Often with only one room to house different levels of teaching.  Learning for boys was perhaps more stressed than for girls who often had household and craft work offered as suitable for them.  Nothing wrong with those subjects, they were practical and girls often found work in a variety of households.  But a wider view of an education was withheld.  That certainly has changed.

Consider how education has developed and how language opens up horizons unlimited.  I have had the pleasure (my goodness did I really write pleasure?) of aiding sometimes reluctant learners using the English language to appreciate grammar:  parts of speech, figures of speech, homonyms, homophones, idioms, punctuation, increased vocabulary etc. To read Shakespeare and try to understand his writing; to read poetry and enjoy it. Perhaps not always to find it enjoyable but at least not to discard these works with statements like” I am not interested, it does not make sense, what use is it going to be to my future?”  At least try and remember the rules when “you” as an individual have to stand up and talk someone into buying a product you sell or “you” have to make a speech and have little to say.  Some years back I had a frantic telephone call from a friend, a medical doctor, who was going to talk at a local medical conference.  “Quick” she said  “ give me the correct wording of that statement Macbeth refers to” she was making reference to a specific detail in this play.  I later heard that her speech was said to have been much appreciated for that particular Shakespeare reference! 

Words are wonderful, they expand one’s mind, open levels of understanding. This of course applies to words of other languages as well.  English, however, is my mother tongue.

One on one tutoring via Skype for high school learners (10 - 12)

Need to improve your spoken English? Conversation via Skype for your convenience.

CONTACT DETAILS:  Topmarks@isat.co.za   OR   021: 715 91 56 Cape Town