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<div class="gmail-primary-title"><h1 class="gmail-article-title gmail-article-title-primary"><span>Ayanda Borotho explains why she has a no English policy in her house</span>
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By <span>Kyle Zeeman </span> -
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21 November 2018
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<a class="gmail-image" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2dnUeYfMb5ybwEF_jW-40dcobLCCMg9WOJh2U54TdvHNiiqpBkwYoFg2IVSxANfFkHVa2KtC6Rbx2XiSy44BZy0Sc3j1XUiHMA=s1200" style="padding-top:58.6207%">
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2dnUeYfMb5ybwEF_jW-40dcobLCCMg9WOJh2U54TdvHNiiqpBkwYoFg2IVSxANfFkHVa2KtC6Rbx2XiSy44BZy0Sc3j1XUiHMA=s750" alt="Isibaya actress Ayanda Borotho.">
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Isibaya actress Ayanda Borotho.
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Image:
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Kyle Zeeman / File
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<p>Ayanda took to social media recently to post a quote
about English not being a sign of intelligence and explained her stance.
She said it was her personal feeling and she wasn't judging people who
thought differently.</p>
<p>"I honestly don't want anyone feeling judged by this post‚ these are
my personal views and no one has to do what I prescribe to in my life.
Anyone that knows me well will know that I have a zero English policy in
my house. I went to model c schools from standard 1/ grade three and I
never spoke English at home.</p>
<p>"A few years ago my now 5-year-old son was ready for nursery school.
After 2 weeks of going‚ I took him out. The fact that English had begun
eroding his mother tongue freaked me out. I have delayed nursery school
for this reason."</p>
<p>She said all her children speak Sotho and Zulu as their default language.</p>
<p>She also recounted how her sons had started swimming classes last
year and their instructor picked up that they did not speak English. She
responded by saying he was a "mo sotho boy born of a Zulu mother. He
speaks his languages."</p>
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<h3>Growing Xhosa for 50 years</h3>
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<p>Ayanda admitted that she got weird looks from people
who try speak to her children in English and she asks them to speak in
Zulu or Sotho.</p><p>"I've had issues with my own people (black) look at
me like I'm weird when they speak to my kids in English and I kindly
ask them to speak Zulu or Sotho. I don't understand this attitude.
Isingisi asinanhlonipho for one. 'hi mom' and 'sawubona ma' are two very
different things (again‚ my opinion). Language is our first point of
connection with who we are."</p><p>She said the world was doing all it could to destroy indigenous languages.</p><p>"There
is so much of our identity as 'a people' that is embedded in our
languages. The truth is‚ when these kids come of age (early 20s) and are
grappling with identity‚ they will blame us for robbing them of a very
core and intimate part of who they are and of one that connects them
with who we are to them. The world is doing all it can to rid us of our
languages in schools and we are aiding the agenda. Silele</p></div></div></div></div>
Ay<br><div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div></div>