Grammatical terminology for the teaching of African languages at tertiary level

Abstract

The article addresses the question of the elaboration and modernisation of African languages to enable them to be used as language media for the teaching of African languages, particularly grammar. Whereas all institutions at tertiary level of education have undergone a paradigm shift from teaching African languages in English and Afrikaans to teaching them in their own medium, the necessary terms to ensure efficiency in this process are lacking. Scholars therefore need to focus on term creation and thereafter standardization of the terminologies. Some flaws in the creation of African terminologies in the past are highlighted and remedies suggested. It is recommended that statutory bodies such as the Council for Higher Education (CHE) or the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), or academic bodies such as the African Languages Association of Southern Africa (ALASA) could be entrusted with the task of the standardization of these terminologies.

Keywords: african languages, language medium, grammatical terminology, term creation, standardization of terminology, teaching at tertiary level.