[lg policy] RE: lgpolicy-list Digest, Vol 13, Issue 45

Kerry Taylor-Leech Kerry.Taylor-Leech at USQ.EDU.AU
Sun May 23 23:41:48 UTC 2010


No worries! No offence taken and none given I hope. It's all good and I got the jokes. Sorry for hogging the list Professor and thanks for the tip.
Kerry

________________________________________
From: lgpolicy-list-bounces+kerry.taylor-leech=usq.edu.au at groups.sas.upenn.edu [lgpolicy-list-bounces+kerry.taylor-leech=usq.edu.au at groups.sas.upenn.edu] On Behalf Of lgpolicy-list-request at groups.sas.upenn.edu [lgpolicy-list-request at groups.sas.upenn.edu]
Sent: Monday, 24 May 2010 2:00 AM
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Subject: lgpolicy-list Digest, Vol 13, Issue 45

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: RE: lgpolicy-list Digest, Vol 13, Issue 37
      (Christina Paulston)
   2. book notice: The Lesser-Known Varieties of English:       Schreier,
      Trudgill, Schneider, Williams (Eds) (Harold Schiffman)
   3. South Africa: Implementation of language policy at
      Grootfontein College of Agriculture (Harold Schiffman)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Sat, 22 May 2010 14:20:21 -0400
From: Christina Paulston <paulston at pitt.edu>
Subject: Re: [lg policy] RE: lgpolicy-list Digest, Vol 13, Issue 37
To: Language Policy List <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
Message-ID: <0A7FABFE-F780-4E6D-87B9-CB24B7FD47B9 at pitt.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes

Mea culpa, mea culpa.  I will refrain from any further ad hominem (ad
feminem?) attacks but my ill tempered lines were never intended as
such, only as ( very bad, I agree) jokes.  Black listing is hardly a
cure for censorship. Etc.  But humour translates poorly across
cultures  -- how about that as a topic for discourse analysis.
Christina





On May 22, 2010, at 8:58 AM, Harold Schiffman wrote:

> Dear Kerry and all,
>
> I am in favor of interrogating the discourses, as I have stated
> earlier. We don't have a policy of NOT
> doing so, so there's no problem with it.  I would like to avoid ad
> hominem responses, and I would
> strongly recommend that we respond to the *original* message sender
> (i.e. the BNP, the US English people),
> whoever originated the odious message that I or others have forwarded
> to the list.  I also don't object
> to such a rejoinder being sent to this list, too, especially if it
> will clear things up as to who the BNP (or
> whoever) are.  It's true that a lot of Americans don't know what the
> BNP says or does; it hasn't reached
> our "radar screens".
>
> I think also the list and its archives are a resource that ought to be
> exploited more.  I don't get that everyone
> uses the archives (since I sometimes get people asking me how to
> access them) so I'd like to recommend
> we consult them more often.  See if there are topics that can be
> presented to a class there; encourage
> students to use them for research papers or whatever. (To access the
> archives, to go http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/plc/clpp
> and click on "listserv".  This page will tell you how to access the
> "archives".)
>
> HS
>
> HS
>
> On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 8:55 PM, Kerry Taylor-Leech
> <Kerry.Taylor-Leech at usq.edu.au> wrote:
>>
>> That's just it Gareth. We don't analyse any discourses on this
>> list. Articles are generally posted here without comment . That's
>> because the list operates as a sort of resource or repository for
>> various discourses as you say, and not all of them to our liking.
>> There are two issues really: The first is the question of whether
>> to post up inflammatory material like the BNP stuff at all. The
>> second, is whether we critically interrogate the ideas/discourses
>> in this sort of material.
>> The general consensus seems to be that we want to see this sort of
>> thing on the list. It's useful because we can't always find it
>> anywhere else. I'm not saying we should censor this list. I'm
>> saying either we develop a statement to make it clear what this
>> list is about or we do actually get down to the business of
>> interrogating the discourses. Last rejoinder from me.
>> Kerry
>>
>> Dr Kerry Taylor-Leech
>> Lecturer in Applied Linguistics
>> Faculty of Education
>> University of Southern Queensland
>> ________________________________________
>> From: lgpolicy-list-bounces at groups.sas.upenn.edu [lgpolicy-list-bounces at groups.sas.upenn.edu
>> ] On Behalf Of lgpolicy-list-request at groups.sas.upenn.edu [lgpolicy-list-request at groups.sas.upenn.edu
>> ]
>> Sent: Saturday, 22 May 2010 2:00 AM
>> To: lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
>> Subject: lgpolicy-list Digest, Vol 13, Issue 37
>>
>> Send lgpolicy-list mailing list submissions to
>>        lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
>>
>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>>        https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list
>> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>>        lgpolicy-list-request at groups.sas.upenn.edu
>>
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>>        lgpolicy-list-owner at groups.sas.upenn.edu
>>
>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>> than "Re: Contents of lgpolicy-list digest..."
>>
>>
>> Today's Topics:
>>
>>   1. Re: lgpolicy-list Digest, Vol 13, Issue 36 (Gareth Price)
>>   2. Lie to me: Research shows young liars destined for
>> greatness?
>>      (Dennis Baron)
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 20:31:40 -0400
>> From: Gareth Price <gareth.price at duke.edu>
>> Subject: [lg policy] Re: lgpolicy-list Digest, Vol 13, Issue 36
>> To: lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
>> Message-ID:
>>        <AANLkTikuZU80P0qqFKPu6IbM9HWeaa8WPRY6knsZLA2l at mail.gmail.com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>>
>> I wasn't going to chime in on this, but here's my two cents, for
>> what it's
>> worth. Kerry - I think you're getting things a little mixed up
>> here. For
>> starters, much (though not all) language policy analysis is
>> situated -
>> broadly - within the church of discourse analysis. It's not
>> possible - or at
>> least it's intellectually sloppy - just to pick and choose the
>> discourses we
>> like, and fit our arguments, and discard those that we don't, and
>> don't.
>> Disregarding discourses we don't like to hear about is also quite
>> dangerous:
>> we can put our heads in the sand, but these are discourses that
>> *will*
>> operate  - in public spheres and private - regardless of whether
>> they appear
>> on this list. We have a hard enough time trying to talk about
>> social justice
>> and equality and rights - our task is made very much harder if we
>> have no
>> idea what our audience (our students, laypeople, policymakers)
>> actually
>> think.
>>
>> At the end of the day, these discourses work *precisely* because
>> they make
>> sense to someone, somewhere. Ideologies and discourses aren't some
>> 'falsehood' counter-posed to some objective 'truth'. Language policy
>> researchers who believe that 'everyone should be able to speak
>> whatever they
>> want' are as ideologically encumbered as the BNP who think that
>> language -
>> and race - should be the defining criteria of citizenship, democratic
>> participation and basic human rights.
>>
>> Our task is to try and unpick what these discourses mean, and *how*
>> they
>> operate, not referee their acceptability or otherwise. I'm going to
>> use a
>> crass analogy here, but I think it works: I can't imagine many
>> surgeons are
>> very fond of cancer, but it wouldn't be very helpful if the field of
>> medicine en masse decided to believe that cancer didn't exist.
>>
>> It's not, either, necessarily that BNP discourses have become more
>> 'acceptable' and they are posted here 'without comment'. I'm not
>> sure that's
>> the whole dynamic here: what seems to be clear is that this has
>> definitely
>> raised the hackles of at least a few people here. I don't think
>> anyone here
>> finds them 'acceptable' or thinks that this is 'free airtime' or
>> uncritically accepts them. In fact, the list serves an extremely
>> important
>> purpose *by the very fact* that it is something of a repository for
>> counter-discourses - and acts as a good barometer for what's really
>> going
>> on, out there - on the streets. I also don't think there needs to
>> be a
>> statement 'condoning material that encourages race hate, conflict and
>> discrimination' - I think that's a given. But what I do think we
>> need to do
>> is critically interrogate these ideas - and try and understand why
>> - for
>> some people - they make a whole lot of sense.
>>
>>
>> Dr. Gareth Price
>> Visiting Assistant Professor
>> CSEEES/Linguistics Program
>> Duke University
>> Durham, NC
>> 27708-2960
>>
>>>
>>> Anthea
>>> Your response seems contradictory to me. First you jump on the the
>>> list
>>> member who dared to question why material was being taken direct
>>> from the
>>> website of an extreme right-wing organisation which affliates
>>> itself openly
>>> with Nazism. You want this member not just excluded from the list
>>> but
>>> blacklisted as well. Then you want everyone to be open and
>>> unpolitical and
>>> you seem to be saying that we can't differentiate a fascist
>>> organisation
>>> from any other group. These are old arguments - they were used to
>>> stall anti
>>> racist movements in the UK years ago. Thankfully the local
>>> communities
>>> didn't listen to them and there was a time when groups like the
>>> BNP found it
>>> hard to spread their lies and hate. In posting on their materials
>>> for them -
>>> for free and without comment - you are doing organisations like
>>> the BNP a
>>> big favour. It's not about being politically correct or not
>>> offending
>>> people. It's about being careful not to give free airtime to these
>>> dangerous
>>> organisations. It would be!
>>>  quite possible for this list to have a clear statement of its
>>> values and
>>> an explanation of its practices. It would make it clear that the
>>> list does
>>> not condone material that encourages race hate, conflict and
>>> discrimination.
>>> Kerry
>>>
>>> Dr Kerry Taylor-Leech
>>> Lecturer in Applied Linguistics
>>> Faculty of Education
>>> University of Southern Queensland
>>>
>>> Message: 2
>>> Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 09:31:04 +1000
>>> From: Kerry Taylor-Leech <Kerry.Taylor-Leech at usq.edu.au>
>>> Subject: [lg policy] RE: Policy on publishing racist and fascist
>>>        material on     the list
>>> To: "lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu"
>>>        <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
>>> Message-ID:
>>>
>>> <FF76F99476D1B84DB0A8A96DC7AA53DA2E5158BB20 at EXCHMB.usq.edu.au>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>>>
>>> I agree that it is useful (if sickening) to read these types of
>>> article so
>>> that we can "know our enemies" but with this kind of fascist
>>> material one
>>> can never be complacent. Any exposure of this kind of "literature"
>>> provides
>>> it with oxygen and airtime. These organisations know what they are
>>> doing
>>> when they write their inflammatory material and they aim to insert
>>> thmelseves into debates anywhere they can.
>>> I think it is quite wrong to attack those list readers who
>>> question the
>>> posting of this stuff on this list. Fascist material cannot appear
>>> on the
>>> list uncriticised. Doing so provides these organisations with
>>> another
>>> platform. Let's not forget that the NP ran for a seat in the
>>> recent British
>>> elections in a constituency where they would have once been run
>>> off the
>>> streets. That's how acceptable their ideologies have become. Yes
>>> post this
>>> garbage up but not without a loud and clear statement that this
>>> list does
>>> not support racist and fascist ideologies.
>>> Kerry
>>>
>>> Dr Kerry Taylor-Leech
>>> Lecturer in Applied Linguistics
>>> Faculty of Education
>>> University of Southern Queensland
>>> ________________________________________
>>>
>>> ________________________________________
>>> From: lgpolicy-list-bounces+a.f.gupta=leeds.ac.uk at groups.sas.upenn.edu
>>> [lgpolicy-list-bounces+a.f.gupta=
>>> leeds.ac.uk at groups.sas.upenn.edu] On Behalf Of Kerry Taylor-Leech [
>>> Kerry.Taylor-Leech at usq.edu.au]
>>> Sent: 20 May 2010 00:31
>>> To: lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
>>> Subject: [lg policy] RE: Policy on publishing racist and fascist
>>> material
>>> on    the list
>>>
>>> I agree that it is useful (if sickening) to read these types of
>>> article so
>>> that we can "know our enemies" but with this kind of fascist
>>> material one
>>> can never be complacent. Any exposure of this kind of "literature"
>>> provides
>>> it with oxygen and airtime. These organisations know what they are
>>> doing
>>> when they write their inflammatory material and they aim to insert
>>> thmelseves into debates anywhere they can.
>>> I think it is quite wrong to attack those list readers who
>>> question the
>>> posting of this stuff on this list. Fascist material cannot appear
>>> on the
>>> list uncriticised. Doing so provides these organisations with
>>> another
>>> platform. Let's not forget that the NP ran for a seat in the
>>> recent British
>>> elections in a constituency where they would have once been run
>>> off the
>>> streets. That's how acceptable their ideologies have become. Yes
>>> post this
>>> garbage up but not without a loud and clear statement that this
>>> list does
>>> not support racist and fascist ideologies.
>>> Kerry
>>>
>>> Dr Kerry Taylor-Leech
>>> Lecturer in Applied Linguistics
>>> Faculty of Education
>>> University of Southern Queensland
>>> ________________________________________
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> Message: 2
>>> Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 15:58:36 -0700
>>> From: "Stan Anonby" <stan-sandy_anonby at sil.org>
>>> Subject: Re: [lg policy] The Colonisation of Britain Continues:
>>> 16% of
>>>        PrimarySchool Children Do not Speak English as Their Home
>>> Language
>>> To: "Language Policy List" <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
>>> Message-ID: <D5DBAAD41FAF403B9F0098C0C3151D13 at silq5ubwwaom4w>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="Windows-1252";
>>>        reply-type=response
>>>
>>> Hah!
>>>
>>> Great suggestion, Christina!
>>>
>>> Stan
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Christina Paulston" <paulston at pitt.edu>
>>> To: "Language Policy List" <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
>>> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2010 11:08 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [lg policy] The Colonisation of Britain Continues:
>>> 16% of
>>> PrimarySchool Children Do not Speak English as Their Home Language
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hal,
>>>> I have a better suggestion.  Just cut off from the list and
>>>> blacklist
>>>  for
>>>> the future people who just want their opinions
>>>> published (like whoever Davyth and others are) and who don't
>>>> understand
>>>> that it is crucial to know what all opinions are.
>>>> Then we don't have to waste your time repeatedly with this
>>>> stuff.   Keep
>>>> up the good work -- I and my students are most grateful to you,
>>>  Christina
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> -------------- next part --------------
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>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 2
>> Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 19:51:26 -0500
>> From: Dennis Baron <debaron at illinois.edu>
>> Subject: [lg policy] Lie to me: Research shows young liars destined
>>        for     greatness?
>> To: language language policy <lgpolicy-
>> list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>,      ads
>>        ads <ads-l at listserv.uga.edu>, wpa <wpa-l at asu.edu>
>> Message-ID: <494366EF-F7F0-47C5-98AC-E00AF82EEAA4 at illinois.edu>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
>>
>> There's a new post on the Web of Language:
>>
>> Lie to me: Research shows young liars destined for greatness?
>>
>> A Canadian research team has found that toddlers who lie could
>> actually wind up more successful than those who tell the truth.
>>
>> At least that?s what the BBC claims in its report on a new study
>> which
>> proves that learning to lie represents a ?developmental milestone?
>> and
>> that ?the complex brain processes involved in formulating a lie are
>> an
>> indicator of a child?s early intelligence.? And the London Times
>> gleefully adds, ?Scientists have discovered that a child who claims
>> ?the dog ate my homework? may have a future career in the City
>> (London?s version of Wall Street).?
>>
>> Newspapers, TV, and blogs are having a field day repeating the story
>> that young liars have what it takes to succeed later in life, as if
>> precocious prevaricators could explain everything from the subprime
>> mortgage d?bacle to the Iraq War, the impeachments of Bill Clinton
>> and
>> Rod Blagojevich, and Al Franken?s critique of liars on the extreme
>> right.
>>
>> But it turns out that most of the reporting on this study of lies and
>> the lying children who tell them isn?t very accurate. To put it
>> bluntly, the media are lying about the research. Whatever you may
>> have
>> read in the papers, developmental psychologists are not claiming that
>> lying is the key to getting ahead.
>>
>> find out what they are claiming -- read the Web of Language http://bit.ly/weblan
>> ____________________
>> Dennis Baron
>> Professor of English and Linguistics
>> Department of English
>> University of Illinois
>> 608 S. Wright St.
>> Urbana, IL 61801
>>
>> office: 217-244-0568
>> fax: 217-333-4321
>>
>> http://www.illinois.edu/goto/debaron
>>
>> read the Web of Language:
>> http://www.illinois.edu/goto/weboflanguage
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -------------- next part --------------
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>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> End of lgpolicy-list Digest, Vol 13, Issue 37
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>
>
>
> --
> =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
>
> Harold F. Schiffman
>
> Professor Emeritus of
> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
> Dept. of South Asia Studies
> University of Pennsylvania
> Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305
>
> Phone:  (215) 898-7475
> Fax:  (215) 573-2138
>
> Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
> http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/
>
> -------------------------------------------------
>
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------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 08:36:42 -0400
From: Harold Schiffman <hfsclpp at gmail.com>
Subject: [lg policy] book notice: The Lesser-Known Varieties of
        English:        Schreier, Trudgill, Schneider, Williams (Eds)
To: lp <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <AANLkTimRt1A-1PgDbUyttJAnTlFeB6rvPFqFtC-AXR8A at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: Schreier, Trudgill, Schneider,
Williams (Eds)


Title: The Lesser-Known Varieties of English
Subtitle: An Introduction
Published: 2010
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
                http://us.cambridge.org

Editor: Daniel Schreier
Editor: Peter Trudgill
Editor: Edgar W. Schneider
Editor: Jeffrey P. Williams

Abstract:

This is the first ever volume to compile sociolinguistic and historical
information on lesser-known, and relatively ignored, native varieties of
English around the world. Exploring areas as diverse as the Pacific, South
America, the South Atlantic and West Africa, it shows how these varieties
are as much part of the big picture as major varieties and that their
analysis is essential for addressing some truly important issues in
linguistic theory, such as dialect obsolescence and death, language birth,
dialect typology and genetic classification, patterns of diffusion and
transplantation and contact-induced language change. It also shows how
close interwoven fields such as social history, contact linguistics and
variationist sociolinguistics are in accounting for their formation and
maintenance, providing a thorough description of the lesser-known varieties
of English and their relevance for language spread and change.

1. Introduction: Daniel Schreier, Peter Trudgill, Edgar W. Schneider and
Jeffrey Williams;

Part I. The British Isles:
2. Shetlands and Orkney: Gunnel Melchers and Peter Sundkvist;
3. Channel Islands: Mari C. Jones;

Part II. The Americas and the Caribbean:
4. Canadian maritimes: Michael Kiefte;
5. Newfoundland and Labrador: Sandra Clarke;
6. Honduras/Bay Islands: Ross Graham;
7. White Caribbean: Jeffrey P. Williams;
8. Bahamas: Jeff Reaser,
9. Dominican Kokoy: Michael Aceto;
10. Anglo-Argentinian English: Julian Jefferies;

Part III. South Atlantic Ocean:
11. Falkland Islands: David Britain and Andrea Sudbury;
12. St Helena: Daniel Schreier;
13. Tristan da Cunha: Daniel Schreier;

Part IV. Africa:
14. White Zimbabwean English: Susan Fitzmaurice;
15. White Kenyan English: Thomas Hoffmann;

Part V. Australasia and Pacific:
16. Eurasian English in Singapore: Lionel Wee;
17. Peranakans English in Malaysia and Singapore: Lisa Lim;
18. Norfolk Island and Pitcairn: Peter M?hlh?usler.

http://linguistlist.org/issues/21/21-2313.html

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------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 08:40:17 -0400
From: Harold Schiffman <hfsclpp at gmail.com>
Subject: [lg policy] South Africa: Implementation of language policy
        at      Grootfontein College of Agriculture
To: lp <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <AANLkTilQozrjNkCpxRMVmpFM9H5_NVxk96jb0VorHgCD at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

MEDIA RELEASE

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 12 May 2010

Implementation of language policy at Grootfontein College of Agriculture

PRETORIA: The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF)
wishes to express regret at the strike organised by AfriForum Youth at
the Middelburg campus of the Grootfontein College of Agriculture
regarding language policy issues.

Prior to 2009, a dual method of language delivery was practised at the
college with all students attending the same classes and the lecturer
using both English and Afrikaans. Between January to March 2009, it
became apparent that English-speaking students were not satisfied with
this dual method of instruction as those who do not understand
Afrikaans basically miss almost one half of the lectures presented.
Subsequently, the University of North West was contracted to develop a
new language policy for the college, which they presented in November
2009. Divergent student groups, such as the South African Students
Congress (Sasco) and AfriForum, failed to agree on the implementation
of this policy following several meetings.

The policy promotes functional multilingualism, and recognises English
and Afrikaans as the primary languages of tuition with isiXhosa as
supportive language. From this premise, a decision was taken to
introduce translation from English to Afrikaans and from Afrikaans to
English to accommodate the language proficiency of both the students
and lecturers. This is the current arrangement at the institution.
The DAFF is convinced that all student groups at Grootfontein have
welcomed the translation service, which will be assessed periodically
to check its efficacy, although not all agreed on how it should be
used in practice.
As a way forward, the DAFF will, at all times, avoid a scenario where
language becomes a tool to exclude potential students to access
services at Grootfontein and other agricultural training institutes.
Within this context, the DAFF will formally engage all stakeholders at
Grootfontein to find amicable solutions to the effective
implementation of the language policy which will, among others,
provide guidance on how both English and Afrikaans will be implemented
as primary languages of tuition and ensure that it is as inclusive as
possible.
Following a recent agreement with the Department of Higher Education
on Colleges of Agriculture, the DAFF will proceed to draft the
Agricultural Training Institute Bill to deal with issues such as
effective governance, financial models as well as language and
admission issues.


For more information, contact:

Noncedo Vutula
Chief Director: Communication and Information
Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Tel: 012 319 7348
Cell: 082 523 4904
e-mail:  CDCI at daff.gov.za
Web: www.daff.gov.za

no URL available: MSword document

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