A group of architecture industry captains, academics and students recently held a workshop to agree on the translation of complex industry terms into isiXhosa and Afrikaans.
The move is in line with the Western Cape government’s language policy.
CPUT’s Prof Monwabisi Ralarala, Head of Language Unit at Fundani, told the participants that the process of developing multilingual glossaries started at CPUT in 2012 when he was appointed as the Institutional Language Co-ordinator.
Ralarala said that the glossaries are in line with the institutions drive to develop local languages at CPUT.
He announced the appointment of two Language Specialists, Nomxolisi Jantjies (isiXhosa) and Theo Rodrigues (Afrikaans), who facilitated the verification of the glossaries.
Dr Ernest Pineteh, Language Co-ordinator in the Faculty of Informatics and Design, says the workshop was part of assuring the quality of the glossaries.
“It’s an academic exercise as well as a moral responsibility geared towards the intellectualization of local languages,” he says.
Pineteh is responsible for ensuring that his faculty is actively involved in CPUT’s multilingual projects.
He adds that students were also invited to participate in the workshop as they will be using the glossaries.
Participants in the workshop came from government, industry, various universities and BTech Architecture students from CPUT.
The workshop was sponsored by the National Lotteries Commission.
