South African Tourism said on Tuesday that it recognises all 10 indigenous languages and that the Democratic Alliance’s complaint of an airport billboard insulting Afrikaners is based on misunderstanding.
”South African Tourism fully upholds the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which proclaims 11 official languages. Furthermore, we recognise that 10 of these languages are indigenous to our country and Afrikaans is one of them,” South African Tourism’s domestic marketing manager, Roshene Singh, said in a statement.
She was responding to the DA’s grievance that the advert, with the words ”nine indigenous languages, 44-million people”, as displayed on a billboard outside Johannesburg International airport, is grossly insensitive and a ”smack in the face of everyone who spoke Afrikaans”.
DA MP Desiree van der Walt said on Monday that if the advert is not removed, the matter will be reported to the Advertising Standards Authority.
Afrikaans is an indigenous language and, along with the 10 other official languages, enjoys the full recognition and protection of the Constitution, she said.
The billboard has also raised the ire of the Freedom Front Plus, which said on Tuesday that it has lodged an official complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority for similar reasons.
But Singh said the billboard has been misunderstood.
On the slogan ”44-million people, nine indigenous languages, not a single word for stranger”, Singh said its purpose is to convey the message that South Africans are such a welcoming nation that the word for ”stranger” does not exist in nine of the 10 indigenous languages.
”It’s unfortunate that 16 months later, this has been misinterpreted out of context of a well-known campaign that truly enhances the quality of visitor experience,” Singh said.
She said that once an official complaint is received from the DA, the situation will be investigated to find an amicable solution. — Sapa