University of KZN steps up focus on developing Zulu

STUDENTS at the in Zulu.

The university will, later today, launch a Zulu spell-checker, a “term bank” of technical words and phrases, a Zulu lexicon mobile app and one of the biggest indigenous language corpuses anywhere in the world.

“UKZN has a language policy that seeks to improve the two official languages (of the university) so that they can effectively be used in teaching, in learning and in research. The two official languages are English and Zulu but, of course, Zulu is not as well developed as English,” said University Language Planning and Development Office director Langa Khumalo.

While a call for the “decolonisation” of higher education in South Africa and the inclusion of indigenous languages has been made during ongoing Fees Must Fall protests – Khumalo said UKZN’s approach to languages has gone a long way to shielding the university from these controversies.

At a cost of R5-million and developed over more than three years UKZN has developed terminology in scientific disciplines which did not have such complex terms.

English will remain the language of instruction at UKZN, said Khumalo, but ongoing development of Zulu could see this change in the future. University of KwaZulu-Natal could soon be learning architecture