Services

​Our role is twofold:

1. ​​Language services: We coordinate and manage translation, language editing and interpreting services within an academic, management and administrative context. These services are limited to the official languages of the University, namely Sesotho sa Leboa, English, IsiZulu and Afrikaans. We build Sesotho sa Leboa and IsiZulu terminology databases and authenticate this through our collaboration with other universities and language interest bodies/organisations. This is our attempt to develop these indigenous languages to the level of operation enjoyed by both English and Afrikaans.
2. Language Policy implementation strategy: We are tasked to draft a Language Policy implementation strategy and drive the implementation process across the entire University. Key to our mandate is assisting the University faculties, divisions and departments in complying with the UJ Language Policy.

The specificity of our tasks in this section includes:

• • providing advice and assistance in coordina​ting language training programmes: foundation language programmes; literacy programmes for adults; Sesotho sa Leboa, IsiZulu, Afrikaans and English practical language courses for staff and students (at different levels and for different purposes);
  • collaborating with language departments so as to establish a language research committee that places high premium on the following: language in higher education (including language audits); second-language teaching in higher education; the development, extension and preservation of indigenous and minority languages as languages of science and teaching; multilingualism in higher education; academic literacy (academic reading, writing, speaking); terminology development (inter alia in cooperation with other higher education institutions and the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB));
  • liaising and cooperating with: PanSALB; the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities; tertiary language institutes and departments (inter alia language devel­opment units provided by the Departments of Education and of Arts and Culture, as well as institutes for language pathology and sign language); national and international language and translation bodies;
  • ​launching language awareness campaigns among staff, students and the broader community.