Culture via language

M.Scott Peck went on to say that, "The key to community is the acceptance, in fact the celebration of our individual and cultural differences." For me, Rita Mae Brown summed it all up brilliantly when she said, "Language is the road map of culture. It tells you where people come from and where they are going." Three quotes from three different people talking about two things that are inseparable; language and culture.

For us in the marketing and advertising industry, we might be more familiar to quotes by David Ogilvy, the father of modern advertising. Therefore, let me rather quote him: "If you're trying to persuade people to do something or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language thy use every day, the language in which they think."

My interest in writing something related to language and culture has been building up slowly for quite some time now, but was put on full blast mode when I saw the reactions and comments on UKZN's decision to make Zulu compulsory for all first year students from 2014.

Forced to learn another language

Yes I totally agree with most of the comments that came from well educated and "urbanized" Black people, as well as, not to generalize, English speaking people - which includes White, Indian, Colored, etc. Most people were complaining and protesting the fact that no one should be "forced" to learn another language and that it should be a person's choice whether or not to learn another language. I am 100% in agreement with that, but what I found disturbing was that these same people did not realize that, generally speaking, most Black people in South Africa have been forced to learn, know, understand and live English from a very young age.

In my case for instance, since grade 1 I've had to study in English as a first language, and up to grade 12 I did Afrikaans as a second language. Yes, I'm Zulu, but had it not been for my interaction with other Zulu's, I'm not sure if I would've ever understood the language and/or the culture.

Now take an Afrikaner. He/she would've been "free" to study in their native tongue, the language they have been speaking all their life, throughout school and post matric, which would be the same for an English speaking person. Now tell me, is that fair?

Becoming the rainbow nation we claim to be

Not to turn this into another racial rant, but how do we as a nation move on from the racial slurs and racial dividends which we currently see, and truly become the rainbow nation we claim to be? Well, how about we start understanding that language and culture are intertwined and interrelated. One does not exist without the other, but they both coexist and complement one another. We are a country of diverse individuals who are equally proud of their different cultures, hence the 11 official languages that represent each culture.

Let's start respecting and accepting one another and our cultures and languages.

I still feel that every person in this country should know at least two languages. English, since it's the business language, and one African language. To me, Afrikaans is an African language since well, it's only spoken in Africa. Yes it resembles its origin, Dutch, but Afrikaans in SA is more than a language, it represents more than White or Coloured people, it's a culture in itself.

Just like isiZulu is the language of the Zulu's, and seTswana is the language of the baTswana's, Afrikaans is the language of the Afrikaners. Therefore, if you live in Eastern Cape for example, there is no reason why you shouldn't know how to communicate in Xhosa; if you're from Free State you should know Sesotho, etc.

While learning these different languages we will result in interaction with each of our different cultures, it will also lead to a better understanding of the different kinds of people with whom we share a nation as well as their behaviors and beliefs.