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Autism spectrum disorder comprises diverse conditions related to brain development. June 18 marks Autistic Pride Day. This day is dedicated…

The 21st of May marks World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. This auspicious date is dedicated to celebrating the bounteous wealth of cultures all over the world and commemorating the importance of intercultural dialogue in achieving and maintaining world peace and sustainable development. First conceived in May 2002, this day continues striving to enhance the potential of culture to improve the livelihoods of people all over the world.

The 21st of March marked World Poetry Day – an internationally eminent day dedicated to supporting and celebrating linguistic diversity…

International Mother Language Day was established to raise awareness of the importance of multilingualism, and linguistic and cultural diversity. Inspired…

Like many others in this line of work, my love and appreciation for language started at an early age. As a child, I was an avid reader and the highlight of my days was going to the library with my mother. I would write short stories for my friends to read, and this inspired me to pursue a career working with words. My younger self assumed the only way to do this was to become a journalist. For some reason, they seemed to be the only people allowed to have fun with language and proofread stuff (something I delighted in doing for my friends and family). I was not yet aware of the exciting opportunities waiting on the horizon.

South African Sign Language (SASL) has been included in the Bill of Rights since 1996 as an indigenous language to be protected. In 2015 a brave Deaf learner initiated a court case against the Department of Education, demanding that SASL should be a subject in school. The result was that SASL would be offered as a home language subject for the first time and in 2018 the first matriculants completed their schooling with SASL as a subject. But while talks of SASL becoming the twelfth official language have been in the works for much longer, progress in terms of Deaf access, recognition, and empowerment has been slow. One of the chief means in which upliftment is being enacted, however, is through the increased presence of Deaf and hearing SASL interpreters in the spaces where they are needed most.

This Heritage month, Folio takes a look at issues of language, heritage, and heritage languages.

Language is a fundamental part of cultural heritage. That’s a given. Even when overlooking subcategories such as linguistic heritage, the languages we speak are some of the primary building blocks that make us who we are and indicate where we come from, both geographically and socio-culturally.

The two most memorable gifts I’ve ever received were an alphabet picture book for my 4th birthday and a South African Oxford School Dictionary when I turned 8. Both were given to me by my father, who sought to instill both my brother and me with an appreciation for words from an early age. For my brother that manifested as a love for novels and poetry, whereas my literary love took shape through writing and translation.

South African Sign Language Interpreter 1Receiving antenatal bookings is always exciting. From administration, examination and consultation to delivery, you experience everything with the patient. The way we are received and welcomed is totally different from doing other bookings.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the second Africa International Translation Conference in Arusha, Tanzania. According to my African friends in the industry AITCO2019 resulted in valuable connections and insights, so it was with much anticipation that I booked my ticket on Kenya Airlines.

Listening to my grandparents’ stories about all the crazy adventures they’d experienced in all the different countries they’d worked in sparked my interest in travelling and languages when I was a small child. I enrolled at the Gymnasium Marne Europaschule in Northern Germany which specialises in various exchange programmes.

Nowadays, young adults are pressured to know exactly what they want to do with the rest of their lives. But the reality is they rarely do. I’m the exception.

Nowadays, young adults are pressured to know exactly what they want to do with the rest of their lives. But the reality is they rarely do. I’m the exception.

I recently had the opportunity to meet Nombulelo Cekwana, Folio’s experienced South African Sign Language interpreter who shared details of her fascinating job.

Seeing as much of the world as possible has always been my wish. After graduating high school early, I had plenty of time before university.

Listening to my grandparents’ stories about all the crazy adventures they’d experienced in all the different countries they’d worked in sparked my interest in travelling and languages when I was a small child. I enrolled at the Gymnasium Marne Europaschule in Northern Germany which specialises in various exchange programmes.

GALA conferences are intense. And the GALA Conference in Munich held from 24 to 27 March 2019 was no different.

Long ago I was already convinced that the world was so much more than those streets around my home and my high school in Fuenlabrada, and that was what I wanted to explore. In the complete confusion of choosing a future career, I let myself be guided by my passion for languages.

To celebrate International Mother Language Day we asked thirty of our trusted translators two related questions:

Do you speak your mother language at home and;
Should mother languages be promoted at school, university and in business?

  On 12 November 2014 a space module bounced gently in the vastness of space before settling down on a…

Linguists come up with some very strange terminology in their quest to classify all the different permutations of language. In…

Despite being a globetrotter of note*, Bag was slightly nervous about the prospect of flying to the SATI Triennial Conference after reading a story in the news about bees nesting in a Mango plane’s engine, but a cursory glance before entering the plane allayed his fears.

Finding the right career path may seem scary to a teenager, but everyone has to go through it, and a…