Ola (hello)! Bom dia ( good day) !Bem vindos (welcome) to all. Tudo bem (how are you?) !!
Yes, you must have guessed it, I am still excited from my visit to the country which greets in that manner. It was Portugal! It was a wonderful respite following a hectic term at work but the trip was pregnant with lessons and food for thought for me in the area of diversity, especially language diversity. I thought you may be interested in sharing some of these thought provoking lessons. If you are not interested, sorry too late! I am bursting !Here comes my lessons.
It was so refreshing to be in an environment where the English language does not have the dominant status that it has in the SA context. However, it was also a relief that it was not an environment where the English language was not perceived as an evil that one stays away from at all costs. STOP IT! I can read your mind as you whisper ‘like the French’ Please note I did not say it as I do not engage in the act of making blanket statements and generalising! Ha ha ha!
Although English was not the mother-tongue of the majority of the population, there remained a positive perception of the language and a concerted effort to engage and interact with those speaking the language. However, my friend, who is Portuguese but based in SA in an English speaking context reminds me that I should not be deceived into thinking that it is without its challenges. One of these for him was a torturous week at work of trying to figure out what he won when his boss kept asking him ‘are you winning?’ pertaining to his work. In his own words,” I was completely lost but too embarrassed to ask what he meant. Personally this was a vivid reminder of the impact of the nuances of English for the bilingual (those who speak more than one language especially those who are not English mother-tongue speakers). I trust that all those working with this population, particularly educators and Speech-Language Therapists will be sensitive to these challenges. I hope that they will support rather than judge and label!
In South Africa English has been elevated to such an unreasonably high status that it has frequently been equated with levels of intelligence. I do not know about you but it scares me the number of times that I have heard South Africans across the colour, race and cultural spectrum having the audacity to utter the comment: “he could not be very bright because he cannot even speak English properly!” Ouch!
As an avid reader I decided to walk into the Portuguese equivalent of ‘Exclusive Books’ to purchase a book to read. I was left with mixed feelings when all the books were in Portuguese and there was NOTHING in ‘the international language’. I was disappointed that I could not get a book to read in a language that I was familiar with but also in awe and very envious of them to have so many books to read in their home language. For me that made a statement about the status of their language in the country. It was so important that it deserved to be in books. I felt a longing for that same status for our own African languages in my own African country, South Africa. When I mentioned my thoughts and feelings to a Portuguese friend, he mentioned only a single word that instantly shut me up. The word was COLONISATION. I will say no more but let you ponder over it and draw your own conclusions.
In the meantime, I shook myself out of my disappointment and endeavoured to shift focus from a problem oriented approach to a solution approach. I have been motivated to enhance the number of avid readers by providing parents and caregivers with support on how to read to children, show the benefits of reading and provide links for all on how to access free readers in all our South African languages. I will be posting videos illustrating how to read to children, so check these videos out and give me some feedback.
In August in Durban there were several interesting book fairs that I attended. I was particularly enticed when I read in the marketing material that there will be a focus on promotion of literature in indigenous languages. A sliver of hope emerged in my heart. We can keep the hope alive!
In my solution oriented approach I did not forget my fellow colleagues in the profession, that is definitely making reference to Speech-Language Therapists. How do we use these books, stories in them or stories from the children for information for an evaluation ? I attach a guideline for assessment of narratives that incorporates taking into account cultural diversity!
I trust that you enjoy this blog as much I enjoyed writing it. To all the women! Happy Women’s Month!
Adeus! (pronounced Adeeoosh!)/Tchau! ( I think you can guess this one!)
Thandeka