Libby Young
`Salaam za Afajiri. Nawatakia wote siku nzuri yenye mafanikio mema tuu,’ says Nuru.” It’s just an ordinary statement in Swahili. But what makes it different is that it’s posted on the Internet.
The Internet, we all know, is almost entirely colonised by English, or more accurately, American culture, the same one that has taken over our television sets and living rooms. But unlike television, the Internet has also allowed space for much smaller cultures, including sites devoted to African languages.
Few South Africans know about this blossoming of local cultures online, but there’s already a flurry of Afrikaans websites.
Not only are the major Afrikaans newspapers online, but there are several sites devoted to the language itself.
Afrikaans Stigting: Die Vriendelike Taal offers articles in Afrikaans about the language aplenty.
Another site, the comprehensive Die Knoop , lists dozens of websites relating to Afrikaans.
South African English in itself may be seen as an indigenous language and Cyberbraai tries to interpret some of the more puzzling South Africanisms. No longer do you need wonder the precise meaning of dop or the exact implication of “to dah for”.
For a celebration of amaXhosa culture, visit the Wamkelekile Web. It offers lessons for second-language students, a vocabulary guide for tourists and even some Xhosa poetry:
Further north, Zimsite has been established by a group of young Zimbabweans. Most of its content is in English but there is a section devoted to traditional Shona names and humour written in the vernacular. This interesting site provides a glimpse into the day-to-day reality that is life for many Zimbabweans.
Swahili is another African language that has made a splash on the Web with Majira, a daily online newspaper , Rai, a weekly and a forum on Africa Online where Web surfers can chat in Swahili. (Baraza ya Wazungumzaji
. There’s even a Swahili translation of the Qur’an .
Most vernacular websites are either online translators or dictionaries. Ironically many, like the English to Xhosa Translator are based in the United States.
Nevertheless it’s very handy if you need some simple translation done. Just type the words you want translated into a block on the webpage, click on “submit” and the site will provide an immediate translation into Xhosa of whatever phrase you would like to use. (At least this bashful monoglot assumes it works successfully.)
Few sites appear completely in the vernacular. For instance, the website of the Amazigh World Congress is devoted to the Amazigh (Berber) people, their language and culture, but has its content mirrored in Tamazight, English and French.
Perhaps not surprisingly, even more websites that deal with an African language are presented entirely in a Western one, usually English or French.
The Yoruba language of Nigeria has its own site but the content is completely in English, as is the related Isokan Yoruba Magazine.
Debate has long raged about whether the literature of Africa should be in English and French or the vernacular and it seems likely that this debate with extend to the Web.
Computer literacy, Internet access and simple lack of money further complicate the problem.
However, the global online community has already been enriched by African content and for Africa, having just come online, it’s all just beginning.