Our language, our heritage

We spoke to Mossel Bay residents about preserving their language and culture, seeing that September is Heritage Month.

Interviews, photos: Linda Sparg MARITA KRITZAS: “My mother tongue is Afrikaans. My husband is Greek. We speak English at home and send our child to an English-medium school. I speak a little Greek and our son is exposed to the language when we go to Greece on holiday, but it’s a difficult language to learn.”

VIRGIL AND VERUSHA MICHAEL: “We’re from KwaZulu-Natal. Our heritage is Tamil and Hindi, but neither we, nor our parents speak those languages, only our grandparents. One of our daughters goes to Milkwood Primary and the other to Point High.”

ROCHELLE SENWANA: “My man is Shangaan, van Limpopo. Ons en ons twee kinders praat Engels by die huis, maar my moedertaal is Afrikaans. Met ons een kind kan ek ‘n bietjie Afrikaans praat, maar die ander verstaan dit glad nie.”

LUCKY TSHABALALA: “I’m Zulu. My children speak English at school. I don’t feel they’re losing their heritage. My mom was born in Newcastle in a rural environment. We visit, so my children are exposed to these roots. It can be difficult to preserve culture and language because the children interact with English speakers and would choose a more modern way of life over a rural environment.”