Sipho Seepe’s article (”Language, truth and logic”, October 5) is right on the money. However, I propose that the ruling elite, far from their inability to structure their thoughts or present dissent on the issues of the day, are largely hamstrung by the vagaries of English discourse.
This language historically resides in Graeco-Roman and/or Anglo-Saxon philosophical rhetoric, as evidenced even by Seepe’s own references to Euclid and Bertrand Russell.
One could suggest that the terrain of intellectual dispute is fraught with lingiustic landmines for non-native English speakers.
Seepe will probably agree, therefore, that were HIV/Aids, Zimbabwe-type land grabs, Gear and our economic future discussed in isiXhosa, Setswana, Tshivenda or Siswati, the black politicians would acquit themselves better than before.
So language and logic, in an organic way, play a critical role in the way our politics and policies are fashioned as well as unfold today. – Khekhethi Makhudu, Bophelong, Gauteng
Krisjan Lemmer should have referred to a French dictionary before indulging in his sneering ”sic” in parenthesis (”Sort of recognition”, October 5). ”Agrement” (with the acute accent on the second syllable which cannot be reproduced with the tool I am using to write this note), meaning acceptance or approval, is a perfectly correct, though highly pretentious, usage in diplomatic parlance in formal communications seeking a host country’s concurrence for a new diplomatic appointment. – MS Prabhakara, via e-mail