Provincial isiXhosa Terminology List Finalised

A list of isiXhosa words for the use of the Western Cape Government was finalised at a terminology verification workshop in Cape Town on 11 and 12 April 2013. The meeting was jointly organised by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) and the Western Cape Language Committee (WCLC).

IsiXhosa is one of the three official languages of the Western Cape. Provincial legislation requires the active promotion and development of previously marginalised indigenous languages. The final isiXhosa terminology list is the culmination of five years of work by members of the Western Cape Provincial Language Forum (PLF).

Participants in the verification workshop included language practitioners from various provincial government departments, freelance specialists, the Western Cape office of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), the WCLC and tertiary education institutions such as the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). The National isiXhosa Language Board was invited to the event, but was unable to attend.

Now that the provincial term list has been verified and standardised, it will be published as a pocket-sized English-isiXhosa terminology booklet. The publication will be launched in September 2013 at an event to celebrate International Translation Day.

This is an important step forward because it will help the people to work better together by supporting equal treatment for all the official languages of the Western Cape.