THE ENGLISH ACADEMY OF
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Number 1
January 2009
1-2 Report on the
International
Conference on the
Humanities in
Southern Africa
3
P.O. Box 124, Wits 2050
Telephone/facsimile: (011) 717-9339
E-mail: [email protected]
THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE
HUMANITIES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
(University of Pretoria's Conference Centre)
English Academy
Gold Medal
3-4 Thomas Pringle
Award – 2007
4
English Academy
Sol Plaatje prize
for translation
5
The English
Academy Review
Academy pays
tribute to two
illustrious
members
5-6 English Academy
commemorative
lecture
6
Report on the
2008 Western
Cape Seasonal
School
7
Membership
Report 2008
8
Sponsors
Theme: LANGUAGE, THE CREATIVE ARTS
AND THE MEDIA
Background and Aims
The English Academy of Southern Africa mounts a conference every three
years. In the light of the successful collaboration among five like-minded
associations in Cape Town in 2005, it was decided that we should repeat
the experience in 2008. The same five plus an additional one participated.
The English Academy, the South African Writers Association (SAWA), the
Association of University Teachers of English (AUETSA), the South
African Association for Commonwealth Language and Literature Studies
(SAACLALS); Die Suid Afrikaanse vereeniging vir algemene
literatuurwetenskappe (SAVAL) and Die Akademie vir Wetenskap en
Kuns all joined forces at this international conference.
After it became clear that the Department of English at the University of
Pretoria could not act as hosts, the Unisa School of Arts, Education,
Languages and Communication agreed to host the conference;
Professor Zodwa Motsa (HOD, Department of English Studies, Unisa)
and Professor Rosemary Gray (Emeritus Professor, University of
Pretoria and Honorary Treasurer of the English Academy) – members of
the PanSALB Board and Provincial Committee, respectively, were
appointed to convene the conference. A representative committee
consisting of Professors Gareth Cornwell (AUETSA), Rosemary Gray
(EASA & SAWA), Michael Green (AUETSA), Elwyn Jenkins (EASA),
Zodwa Motsa (EASA), Andries Oliphant (SAWA), Peter Titlestad (EASA),
Hein Viljoen (SAVAL) and Gerald Gaylard (SAACLALS) was established,
with Naomi Nkealah (EASA) and Natalie Gillman (EASA) as secretariat,
and a task team of five members of Unisa's Department of English
Studies.
Conference review
The conference aimed to establish a forum for
serious debate and exchange on and across
the triangular thematic framework. On a
broad socio-political and cultural level,
language, the creative arts and the media are
linked in important ways to communal,
national and geo-political identities, both
within South Africa and throughout the world.
Understanding the complex, rapidly evolving
ways in which such identities are constructed
and function poses an exciting and exacting
challenge.
Although a review session was scheduled for
the final afternoon of the conference, this did not
take place as many delegates left after lunch on
the fourth day. Electronic and telephonic
feedback has, however, been both widespread
and extremely positive: the Namibian and
Swaziland contingents being the most
appreciative of this opportunity to participate in
cutting-edge academic debate and to grow
intellectually. Those sessions discussing
language issues appear to have been both best
attended and most vibrant. One local scholar
reported enthusiastically on the twenty-four
sessions she had managed to attend.
Conference attendance
and format
What was disappointing was that a number of
delegates were not able to attend owing largely
to visa or health problems, but some delegates
– notably from Wits – simply did not turn up. This
meant that in one of the sessions on Monday
morning, only one of the six speakers was
present. One delegate from the USA arrived
without a visa and was detained for two nights
but eventually made it to the conference;
another, Sindiwe Magona, was hospitalized on
the second day of the conference with
pneumonia. Fortunately, she recovered
sufficiently to give her keynote address on the
final day.
The conference was opened by the Deputy
Minister of Education, Mr Surty, standing in for
the Honorable Minister Naledi Pandor. The
Advisor to the Vice Chancellor at UP,
Professor Anthony Melck, and the Vice
Chancellor and Principal of Unisa, Professor
Barney Pityana, welcomed the delegates.
There were seven plenary lectures by
scholars from Ethiopia, London, Oxford, New
York, Johannesburg, KwaZulu-Natal and
Cape Town.
Two Academy awards were made during the
opening ceremony: the Thomas Pringle
award for best educational article was
presented to Dr Ambrose Chimbganda from
the University of Botswana, and the Gold
Medal for distinguished service to English
over a life time to Professor Rosemary Gray
of the University of Pretoria.
Although little funding was forthcoming, which
caused grave concern to the finance
committee, we managed to break even thanks
largely to support in kind from the University of
Pretoria and to seed funding provided by the
Academy from the 2005 conference. Without
the assistance of the Conference Committee
before and during the conference, the
conference could not have been the success it
was.
One hundred and thirty-two participants from
nineteen countries around the world attended
this interdisciplinary conference, addressing
single or multiple thematic strands within and
across academic disciplines in three to six
parallel sessions per day. Scholars from
diverse backgrounds and disciplines shared
their research insights for the betterment of
the multicultural, multilingual world in which
we live.
Publication of papers
Provision has been made for two issues each
of the English Academy Review and the
Journal for Literary Studies, which have been
set aside for the publication of peer-reviewed,
revised articles. Professor Margaret Raftery
will guest edit EAR26(2)2009, and Dr Michael
Williams, Editor-in-Chief, EAR27(1)2010.
Professor Gray has been asked to guest edit
the two issues of JLS.
Entertainment included the Gaabo Motho
Tenors, Drum Zone Africa and Writers in
Action. Rave caterers excelled themselves
with meals fit for kings and queens.
2.
the University of Cape Town (where she
obtained her first degrees) and Unisa (where
she obtained three postgraduate degrees in
record time), as well as living peripatetically as a
teacher in Zambia, the UK and Zimbabwe. She
was at times obliged to hold down three jobs.
Adhering to the credo of her famous uncle, H.J.
van der Bijl (one time Chancellor of UP): “If you
want a job done, give it to a busy man,” she said
that everything is possible, provided one can
manage one's time and focus on what one is
doing. Finally, Prof. Gray said she accepted
these prestigious Academy honours with great
humility and thanked Professors Laurence
Wright and Peter Titlestad, on the one hand, and
Doris Ravenhill and Idette Noomé, on the other,
for nominating her for the medal award. She also
thanked Dr Barbara Basel – both for presenting
the gold medal to her and for so ably succeeding
her to the presidency of the English Academy.
(Rosemary Gray, Hon. Life Vice President)
Prof. Gray giving her speech
Professor Gray is Awarded the
English Academy
Gold Medal and Honorary
Life Vice President Certificate
Acceptance speech
Professor Gray opened her remarks by
addressing the VIP officials who included the
Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Surty,
Professors Melck and Pityana, and Dr Basel.
She also acknowledged the presence of fellow
members of the English Academy of Southern
Africa and honoured guests. Professor Gray
said she felt “at once humbled and immensely
privileged to be receiving these awards”, which
reminded her of her beloved husband, the late
Dr Derek Gray, who had founded the Youth
Science Movement and had been the recipient
of both gold and silver awards for distinguished
service to science in South Africa. Like her
husband, Professor Gray said she was driven
by the moral imperative to be of service to
society. Quoting liberally from as diverse
thinkers as Sir Philip Sydney and Ben Okri,
whose unifying interest is the joy of rendering
service, Professor Gray reminisced about the
value of hard work. “The greatest joy is that of
love – loving life, loving others, loving yourself,
loving your work. The next greatest joy is the
freedom to serve,” she said, quoting Ben Okri.
With reference to the above, she said: “I have
been singularly blessed to love and be loved.
And I have always loved my work which
afforded the 'freedom to serve'. I have been
privileged to have had enlightened parents who
not only believed in the importance of
education, but also in the innate goodness of
humanity”. Professor Gray went on to give an
outline of her cosmopolitanism and privilege,
beginning with her upbringing in Kenya,
followed by attaining a prestigious education at
Prof. Gray and Dr Basel
A University of Botswana
Academic lands the Thomas
Pringle Award
The 2007 Thomas Pringle Award was presented
to Dr Ambrose B. Chimbganda of the University
of Botswana for his article entitled Profiling the
“native speaker” of English: Myths and
implications for ESL learning and teaching.The
committee, convened by David Robinson and
assisted by Andrew Graham and Wilhelm van
Rensburg agreed that the author provides
excellent conceptualization of his topic, and that
the piece is well-argued and analytical.
The scope of the article covers a range of issues,
all of which are of significance in Southern Africa
today: language and power, language and
identity, and post-colonial matters being central
to the argument. The role of English as a
language of teaching and learning is
considered, and its role in higher education
emphasized. Furthermore, the continuing
3.
significance of English in education, on the local and international stage, is supported by the writer's
conclusion. The writer does not glibly reassert the significance of English as a language of teaching
and learning, but makes reference to the difficulties that exist for ESL practitioners.The writer
expresses himself clearly and in an organized manner, developing his argument in a logical way, and
showing evidence and understanding of the theories that inform his argument.
The research presented by Ambrose Chimbganda is significant in that it explores the role of English in
southern African education, and identifies challenges to English language education and usage in the
region.
Acceptance Speech
In his speech, Dr Chimbganda pointed out that
“native speakers” of English, are “empowered” and
have a clear advantage in the discourses of
institutions, making them more likely to reap the
rich rewards of institutional practices than speakers
of English as a Second or Foreign Language. This
is because, as opposed to ESL or EFL speakers,
academic discourses are often conducted in
English. Since the so-called “native”, “home” or
“first” language speakers are a minority in many
universities in developing countries, Dr
Chimbganda emphasized the need to support the
majority of students, the linguistically disempowered, who use English as a second or
foreign language. He said it is important to
understand these learners' identities, values and
interests, using their “heritage” or “home” language
Dr Chimbganda (top left), Prof. Peyi Soyinka (top right), as a window through which to empower them as
and Prof. Gray (bottom)
they endeavour to “appropriate” the foreign
language. This entails adopting contextualized classroom pedagogies that provide an opportunity for
learners to make meaning of the learning process through the primary experience of their first
language and culture. It also means getting the learners to “re-colonize” and “domesticate” the
language by promoting local varieties that can connect them with their own experiences.
Sol Plaatje Prize for Translation
Dr Basel and Prof. Heyns
The Sol Plaatje Prize for Translation was awarded to Michiel Heyns for his
translation of Marlene van Niekerk's Agaat from Afrikaans into English. Of the
many texts submitted by South African publishers for consideration, Van
Niekerk's 700-page novel was adjudged the best work. The adjudicating panel
observed that Van Niekerk's novel was technically the most taxing in terms of
translation because of its extensive linguistic and literary complexities. Thus
Michiel Heyns had negotiated these complexities with masterful dexterity –
creating, in the words of one reviewer, Leon de Kock, a new work that is “a
complete literary study on its own” (Sunday Times Lifestyle Magazine, 28
January 2007). The panel comprised Professor Andrew Foley and Dr Elsie
Elsie Cloete (of Wits), and Nhlanhla Maake (of North West University).
In his acceptance speech, Michiel Heyns expressed his gratitude to the English Academy and its
sponsors for the award. He said he was pleased, too, on behalf of translators and the craft of
translating, that the English Academy showed the initiative to institute this award, thereby recognizing
the enrichment of the English language by contributions from other languages and cultures. He
thanked the Hiemstra Trust which, for the first time, had made the translation of Agaat possible
through a large grant. He noted that the highest function of translation is to effect a merging of cultures,
the promotion of cultural exchange rather than cultural dominance. Finally, Professor Heyns
expressed his indebtedness to Marlene van Niekerk for her generous cooperation, and his editor,
Lynda Gilfillan, for a job well done.
4.
The English Academy Review: Southern African Journal of English Studies
Michael Williams is the new Editor-in-Chief of the The English Academy Review. His appointment
took effect in July 2008. He teaches English at the University of South Africa, and his research
interests include the writings of the Romantics, with a special focus on Byron and Jane Austen.
English Academy
Commemorative Lecture
Academy pays tribute to two
illustrious members
Academy lecture honours Joe
Garmeson
Professor Es'kia Mphahlele
It is with regret that the English Academy of
Southern Africa bids farewell to one of its most
celebrated Gold Medallists, the late Es'kia
Mphahlele, Professor Emeritus of African
Literature at Wits. Professor Mphahlele,
founding head of the Department of African
Literature, passed away on Monday, 27
October 2008. He was born in Marabastad,
Pretoria, on 17 December 1919.
The
Academy Medal was awarded to him in 1994
as one of the major pioneers of black writing in
English in South Africa, and as an author, critic
and academic of international standing.
Professsor Mphahlele was the first black
student to be awarded an MA in 1956 by the
University of South Africa (Unisa). In the
course of his career, he published several
works, including The Wanderers, Down
Second Avenue, and Chirundu. He taught at
various universities in Kenya, Zambia, France
and the United States, before returning to
South Africa in 1977, joining the University of
the Witwatersrand shortly afterwards. In
addition to receiving the Academy's highest
accolade – the Gold Medal for distinguished
services to English over a life time - other
highlights of Professor Mphahlele's career
include the Ordre des Palmes Académiques
by the French government and the National
Silver Award of the Southern Cross, awarded
by former President Nelson Mandela.
The Academy instituted the commemorative
lecture series to honour presidents and/or
members who had rendered distinguished
service to the Academy throughout their life time.
Ernest Pereira and Michael O'Dowd were the first
to be commemorated with lectures in their
honour. In 2008, we honoured a generous
benefactor and long-term Honorary Secretary,
Joe Garmeson. The lecture was presented by
Tim Knights on 9 September in the Senate Room,
Wits University main campus. Both Tim and Joe
are past district governors of the Johannesburg
branch of Toastmasters Southern Africa.Tim is a
chemical engineer and a consultant specializing
in environmental technology. Entitled Nature
Asks: What Next? Tim's lecture focused on the
devastating effects of climate change and global
warming, with a special reference to South Africa.
Tim urged his audience to refrain from using
CATNIP – the cheapest available technology not
involving prosecution – and to embrace new sets
of values that best improve the environment.
(Naomi Nkealah)
Academy honours Clive Bruckmann
with honorary membership
Clive Bruckmann said he was deeply touched by
the honorary membership, having been involved
with the Academy for more than forty years. In
that time, South Africa and the Academy had both
changed. Mr Bruckmann said that, in 1968, when
the National Constitution recognized two official
languages, the role of the Academy had been
somewhat defensive as there had then been a
move to cast Afrikaans as the official language
and English as merely a useful common
language for international communication.
Further, Mr Bruckmann said the language
situation had changed completely with the 1996
constitution, as eleven languages required
“equitable” treatment, which some people
interpreted (or misinterpreted) as equal
treatment. In his concluding remarks, Mr
Bruckmann said that he believed in the
fundamental value of the concept of
Farewell to Dr John
Matshikiza
The English Academy also
says farewell to John
Matshikiza, another
illustrious member of the
A c a d e m y, w h o d i e d
suddenly in September,
2008.
After a 32-year
sojourn in exile (where he
worked mostly for the
Royal Shakespeare Company), John returned
to South Africa and enjoyed stints as actor,
poet, broadcaster, journalist and activist,
among others. Dr Matshikiza gave the 2007
English Academy Percy Baneshik lecture.
5.
Faculty of Education and Social Sciences
(CPUT); Dr Barbara Basel, President of the
English Academy welcomed everyone present
on behalf of the English Academy.
multilingualism, which presented people with
different perspectives and insights. At the
same time, he said he also believed in the
significance of a common language – a
situation in which the language offers people
unprecedented possibilities for mutual
understanding and enables them to find fresh
opportunities for cooperation. “Thus
multilingualism and competence in a common
language are not competing goals but
something everyone should strive for and be a
guiding principle for the Academy,” he
concluded. (Naomi Nkealah)
The presentation of the English Academy Sol
Plaatje Prize to Michiel Heyns was preceded by
many interesting talks by the following
presenters: Dr Martin Prinsloo who spoke about
the important role language plays in the
teaching of maths and science; Dr Janet Condy
and Philip Thraves who spoke about the
successful “Fluffy” reading programme
involving the use of a very large fluffy teddy bear
to encourage reading; Niki Daly, an international
award-winning author-illustrator of children's
books who gave a very stimulating audio visual
presentation of how to start writing with the help
of many colourful illustrations; and, Ms
Marguerite MacRobert, a lecturer in the
Department of Curriculum Studies, Faculty of
Education at Stellenbosch University, who gave
an interesting interactive presentation entitled
'Giving inspiring, relevant literature lessons and
still getting through the syllabus in Grades 10 to
12'.
The 2008 Western Cape
Seasonal School
The 2008 Western Cape Seasonal School was
a joint project of the English Academy, the
Cape Peninsula University of Technology's
Faculty of Education and Social Sciences and
the Western Cape Education Department. Its
theme was Transcending transactions:
dreams, visions and literature. The purpose of
the Seasonal School was to inspire teachers of
English with fresh ideas on how to nurture a
love for literature in their learners. This is
particularly important today when the focus of
education is on mathematics, science and
technology, so that for many students reading
is an unknown pastime. The Seasonal School
provided an excellent opportunity for teachers
to listen to papers and panel discussions
presented by interesting and experienced
speakers on a wide range of topics related to
the teaching of English.
After lunch, Robin Malan, a well-known teacher,
writer and champion of literature soon had his
audience's attention as he shared with
everybody his innovative approach to teaching
Shakespeare's sonnets in his talk 'A life and 140
syllables: a possible approach to teaching
poetry'.The last presentation of the day was a
panel discussion ably chaired by Fazeelah
Haffajee (WCED) on the topic of 'Scrap the setbook! What then?' The three panellists were
Professor Andrew Foley, Ms Anne Hill and Dr
Malcolm Venter. While none of them was
entirely in favour of scrapping set works, they all
believed that the choice of set works is often
very difficult to understand. Works that appear to
bear no relation to the lives of South Africa's
youth are repeatedly prescribed, while the
exciting work of contemporary South African
writers is ignored. (Barbara Basel, President,
English Academy)
The School was hosted by Professor Rajendra
Chetty, Council Member and Head of
Department (Research) at the Faculty of
Education, Cape Peninsular University of
Technology, and his team of able colleagues,
headed by Dr Janet Condy. Support was also
received from Fazeelah Haffajee, English
curriculum Advisor for the Western Cape
Education Department. More than thirty
teachers, English Academy members and
their guests, as well as the speakers and
organizing team attended. A very special guest
was Professor Rosemary Gray, an Honorary
Life Vice President and winner of the
Academy's Gold Medal, in her capacity as the
English Representative for the PanSALB’s
Gauteng Provincial Language Committee. It
was truly a great pleasure to have her with us.
The Alan Paton Centre 20th Anniversary
Conference: 15 -17 July. Call for papers.
Title: Alan Paton and his life and work
and topics related to the collections of
the Alan Paton Centre.
Visit the Alan Paton Centre Web site.
The Seasonal School was opened by
Professor Maureen Robinson, Dean of the
6.
Adjudicators needed
The Academy is inviting members to serve as adjudicators for its 2009 Thomas Pringle Awards in
the Reviews and Poetry categories. A panel of adjudicators should consist of three members, and
the convener should be a full member of the Academy. The Poetry category considers
individual poems published in journals and magazines in 2007 and 2008, whereas the Reviews
category looks at portfolios of newspaper reviews published in the course of each year. Details of
the rules of the awards can be obtained from the Academy office. Please remember that the
services of the adjudicators are voluntary.
Membership subscription rates for 2009/2010 remain unchanged.
Please visit the Web site: www.englishacademy.co.za
Newfangled terminology
People ask the Academy whether we are going to produce a complete guide to punctuation and
usage. Our answer is no, for several reasons. First (not firstly), we already have our booklet,
Guidelines on Terms and Punctuation, which covers several FAQs (though you won't find that
abbreviation in the booklet, but notice how we write it, with no punctuation), for example hyphens and
the compounding of words, abbreviations, and the use of capital letters. The booklet can be ordered
from our office for R10. Secondly (not second, as the Americans would say), we have our
Grammarphone service, through which qualified counsellors can be questioned on specific points.
Just send your query to the Academy office. If you have an interest in language matters, we would (or
should that be should?) welcome your offer to join our team. Thirdly (see secondly, above), excellent
guides are already available commercially and through the Internet (see Internet, below). On our
website (see website, below) we list several recommended websites to which you can send queries or
which already give answers to most current questions on usage. Particularly to be recommended is
the website for the Oxford dictionaries. In the meantime, here are some recommendations: the
Internet (capital I), the Web (capital W), Web site (two words, capital W) or website (one word, lower
case), e-mail (lower case, hyphenated). (Elwyn Jenkins)
The Academy welcomed thirty-seven full members and six associate members from September 2007
to September 2008.
FULL MEMBERS
Ms L Masehela (PTA)
Mr P Thraves (CT)
Dr L Hlongwane (PTA)
Mr P du Toit (JHB)
Mrs I van Dijk (JHB)
Ms J Gillies (JHB)
Mrs CM Genis (PTA)
Ms MA Hill (CT)
Professor CJ Odhiambo (JHB)
Mrs I Wagener (PTA)
Ms E Donaldson (PTA)
Mr P Molekoa (JHB)
Mrs D McCrorie (JHB)
Mrs M MacRobert (Stellenbosch)
Mrs JL Hatton (JHB)
Dr S Brokensha (FS)
Dr M Brooks (FS)
Mrs C Els (FS)
Ms L Gangla (FS)
Professor WJ Greyling (FS)
Mrs JG Henning (FS)
Dr S Dambe (PTA)
Mr KM Gqibitole (KZN)
Dr A Mitra (EL)
Mr LE Seru (Botswana)
Dr VB Lunga (Botswana)
Dr SA Amuseghan (Nigeria)
Dr AB Chimbganda (Botswana)
Professor AB Curry (USA)
Ms N Nichols (USA)
Mr EM Sone (Swaziland)
Mr AJ Oklobia (Nigeria)
Dr AM Maisamari (Nigeria)
Mrs TC Smit (Namibia)
Ms SR Ngobane (Venda)
Ms B Dube (Venda)
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Mr IM Shabangu - Mr ZB Lekhuleni - Mr WG Lushaba
Ms AP Mhlanga - Ms SS Magagula - Mr MM Ngobeni
7.
Patrons
Nadine Gordimer - Nobel Laureate
Njabulo Ndebele - Writer, critic & professor
Conference Dinner
Drum Zone Africa
Prof. Zodwa Motsa
Co-convener of the 2008 conference
and HOD Department of English
Studies (UNISA)
Editor:
Fetson Kalua
Editorial Assistant:
Naomi Nkealah
Layout and Print:
Amaizing Print
Photos:
Canna Gray, Detlef Basel
Sponsors:
The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund
The Joe Garmeson Estate
The Gwen Knowles-Williams Fund
The Laurence Green Estate
The Nora Taylor Estate
The Percy Baneshik Trust
w w w .e n g l i s h a c a d e m y.c o.za
0 2 1 2 6 7 N PO
8.