The Zulu-language Defender

CONTROL OF ISIZULU RETURNS TO THE ZULU HEARTLANDUNIZULU LECTURER TO CHAIR NATIONAL LANGUAGE BOARD
Clare Taylor

University of Zululand, Friday 11^th March 2011. Acting head of the University of Zululand’s department of Isizulu, Dr Thulani John Mbuli, has been appointed chairperson of the IsiZulu National Language Board bringing control over the Zulu language back to the Zulu heartland.

Dr Mbuli, 36, is by far the youngest person to chair the IsiZulu National Language Board replacing outgoing chairperson UNISA Emeritus Professor, Dr BZ Ntuli who had served since the year 2000.

Dr Mbuli was selected from approximately 450 candidates countrywide, shortlisted to 30 with 11 candidates selected for interview.

“It is indeed a great honour to be given custody of such a national treasure as the Isizulu language”, says Dr Mbuli about his appointment. “I feel I am accountable to my forefathers who died without seeing responsibility for its development restored to its true home”.

The IsiZulu National Language Board is one of 13 language boards in the country which fall under the umbrella Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB, set up in 1995 to promote multilingualism. Specifically, this involves advising and making recommendations on such matters as standards, dictionaries, terminology and literature as well as promoting, developing and maintaining the languages concerned.

With Dr Mbuli on the IsiZulu board are eleven members, three of them lecturers at Unizulu and the others all alumni from the university. Their job will be to advise, through sub-committees, how Isizulu should be represented in education, literature and the media, and also to control the standardization of the language as well as the provision of translation and interpreting facilities.

Deputy to Dr Mbuli is Professor Langalibalele Mathenjwa, also a former staff member at Unizulu.

One of Dr Mbuli’s first tasks as chairperson was the delicate one of reproving Oxford University Press for not having sought the advice of the National Language Board before publishing its new IsiZulu-English/English-IsiZulu dictionary. This he has done with his customary grace and tact ensuring that future editions will have been vetted by specialists in IsiZulu language and language usage and other skills to edit out any errors, misconceptions and inconsistencies.

Isizulu – which Dr Mbuli smilingly describes as ‘a divine language of heaven, the language the angels would be talking’ - is spoken in seven of the country’s provinces. PanSALB, which is headquartered in Pretoria, has a provincial office in Durban in Dr Pixley Kaseme (West) Street.