<div dir="ltr"><h1 class="gmail-post--title" style="box-sizing:inherit;font-size:3.42857rem;margin:0px 0px 0.71429rem;color:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-weight:400;line-height:1.1">Language at the forefront of Human Rights Day</h1><p class="gmail-post--meta" style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0.28571rem 0px 0px;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-size:1rem;float:left"><span class="gmail-icon-clock" style="box-sizing:inherit"></span> Updated March 21, 2019, 11:52 a.m. <span class="gmail-separator" style="box-sizing:inherit;color:rgb(204,204,204);margin:0px 0.14286rem">|</span> By <span style="box-sizing:inherit;font-weight:700">Portia Cele</span></p><div id="gmail-fb-root" style="box-sizing:inherit"></div><div class="gmail-share-bar gmail-share-btns gmail-floated-right gmail-has-no-margin" style="box-sizing:inherit;margin-bottom:0px;clear:none;float:right"><p class="gmail-share-bar--title" style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0.64286rem 0px 0px;color:rgb(153,153,153);float:left;font-size:0.875rem;line-height:2.14286rem">Share this:</p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.ecr.co.za/news/news/language-forefront-human-rights-day/" class="gmail-share-bar--btn-facebook" style="box-sizing:inherit;background-color:rgb(59,89,152);color:rgb(255,255,255);text-decoration-line:none;float:left;font-size:1.25rem;padding:0.28571rem 1.85714rem 0.07143rem"><span class="gmail-icon-facebook" style="box-sizing:inherit"></span></a><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?via=ecr9495&url=https://www.ecr.co.za/news/news/language-forefront-human-rights-day/" class="gmail-share-bar--btn-twitter" style="box-sizing:inherit;background-color:rgb(85,172,238);color:rgb(255,255,255);text-decoration-line:none;float:left;font-size:1.25rem;padding:0.28571rem 1.85714rem 0.07143rem"><span class="gmail-icon-social-twitter" style="box-sizing:inherit"></span></a></div><div id="gmail-div-gpt-ad-1503476893706-0" style="box-sizing:inherit;color:rgb(55,58,60);font-family:"open sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;background-color:rgb(247,247,247)"><div id="gmail-google_ads_iframe_/7938/East_Coast_Radio-Web_0__container__" style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0pt none"></div></div><div class="gmail-row" style="box-sizing:inherit;color:rgb(55,58,60);font-family:"open sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;background-color:rgb(247,247,247)"><div class="gmail-col-ad-300" style="box-sizing:inherit;float:left;min-height:1px;padding-left:8px;padding-right:8px;margin-bottom:0px;width:616px"><div class="gmail-post--intro" style="box-sizing:inherit;margin-bottom:1.42857rem"><div class="gmail-post--blurb" style="box-sizing:inherit;font-size:1.55rem;line-height:2.3rem;width:570px"><p style="box-sizing:inherit;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:1rem"><i style="box-sizing:inherit"></i></p><div class="gmail-rich-text" style="box-sizing:inherit"><p style="box-sizing:inherit;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:1rem"><i style="box-sizing:inherit">The Pan South African Language Board is hopeful placing indigenous languages at the forefront of Human Rights Day will start conversations on implementing a multi-lingual language policy.</i></p></div><p style="box-sizing:inherit;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:1rem"></p></div><img alt="SA flag" height="600" src="https://turntable.kagiso.io/images/SA-flag-afp.width-800.png" width="800" style="box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; height: auto; max-width: 100%;"><span class="gmail-icon-camera" style="box-sizing:inherit;margin-right:0.5rem"></span>AFP</div><div class="gmail-section-margined gmail-ad-container" style="box-sizing:inherit;text-align:center;margin-bottom:30px"></div><div class="gmail-post--body" style="box-sizing:inherit;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.1);clear:both;color:rgb(77,77,77);font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.9rem;margin-bottom:2.14286rem;padding-bottom:2.14286rem"><div class="gmail-block-paragraph" style="box-sizing:inherit;margin-bottom:1.57143rem"><div class="gmail-rich-text" style="box-sizing:inherit">Government says this year's Human Rights Day will pay tribute to native South African Languages. <br style="box-sizing:inherit"><br style="box-sizing:inherit">The board held public hearings back in 2017, inviting 42 officials from the country's national departments, to drive the use of nine languages within their departments. <br style="box-sizing:inherit"><br style="box-sizing:inherit">The board's Rakwena Monareng says little progress has been made since 2012's Use of Official Languages Act.<br style="box-sizing:inherit"><br style="box-sizing:inherit">Monareng says space must be made for African and indigenous languages in everyday environments -- including business, education, science and the church.</div></div></div></div></div><div><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>