As the 2010 Fifa World Cup draws nearer, language experts have gathered in Pretoria to develop the African language equivalent for English soccer terminology.
The Department of Arts and Culture, the National Language Service (NLS), the Pan South African Language Board and language specialist from various universities are among those who will be developing a vocabulary of soccer terms for the country’s 10 other official languages.
The Soccer Terminology Project will ensure that all South Africans are able to participate in the World Cup by being able to use soccer terms in their mother tongue.
Hatu Machaba, Director of the Terminology Coordination Section of the NLS says it is a step towards breaking all language barriers in soccer during the World Cup and beyond as well as promoting multilingualism in the sports domain.
“This terminology will also help those who have sight disabilities. They will be able to follow the matches in clear, descriptive language which is characterized by vivid terms.”
She explains that the working group had about 800 English terms to translate in 2008 and this number has now been trimmed down to 300.
The draft document currently has 41 pages of Setswana, isiXhosa, Sepedi and Tshivenda and a booklet containing all the translated words will be published in a booklet later this year.
The document will be made available in hardcopy format and online once it has been made available for public comment.
Machaba says the translation is an opportunity to showcase an expertise in indigenous African languages than can match that of developed nations. – BuaNews