20 April 2012
Macmillan Setswana and English Illustrated Dictionary Sponsored by Royal Bafokeng
The first major scholarly resource on the Setswana language was launched in Phokeng today at Lebone II, College of the Royal Bafokeng. The product of 15 years of research by Professor Desmond T. Cole and Lally Moncho-Warren, and sponsored by the Royal Bafokeng Nation, the dictionary includes some 25,000 entries in Setswana and English, as well as over 150 illustrations by Naureen Cole.
Professor Cole is Professor Emeritus of African Languages at the University of the Witwatersrand, and a noted expert on Setswana. His passion for flora and fauna in southern Africa is reflected in the many original illustrations of plants in the dictionary, together with their Setswana names.
The Macmillan Setswana and English Illustrated Dictionaryis intended for use by scholars and academics, students of life sciences, physics, and chemistry, as well as indigenous knowledge systems. The dictionary represents Setswana as it is spoken in South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia.
The Royal Bafokeng Nation, in sponsoring the first print run of the dictionary, affirms its commitment to celebrating the vibrant oral and written traditions in the Setswana language, and the importance of mother-tongue learning for children in their first years of schooling.
His Majesty Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi, King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, praised the dictionary, saying that: “knowledge and preservation of Bafokeng history, knowledge of indigenous plants and animals, the rich verbal traditions that are expressed through the Setswana language, as well as rituals, beliefs and practices that have been passed down through the generations, are essential to document, preserve, and promote, if we are to remain true to our heritage and values.”
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Notes to Editors: The Royal Bafokeng Nation: A Forward-Thinking Traditional Community
The Royal Bafokeng Nation is a vibrant African community where tradition meets modernity in Big Five country. Located in the Rustenburg Valley in South Africa’s North West Province, the 150,000 people who reside in the Royal Bafokeng Nationare beneficiaries of some of the most innovative approaches to development. These include holistic education reform, the use of sport to generate social and economic momentum, and converting dividends from a single mineral resource into the world’s leading community-based investment company.
The king of the Royal Bafokeng Nation is Kgosi Leruo T. Molotlegi, 36th in a long line of visionary traditional leaders. Thanks to the pioneering spirit of the king’s ancestors, the Bafokeng community owns 1000 km2 of land situated on part of one of the largest reserves of platinum group metals in the world. PLAN ‘35, the strategic blueprint for the community’s future, aims to uplift an impoverished community, using long-term strategic interventions to create a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable region true to its African heritage and traditions.
The Royal Bafokeng Nation enjoys traditional governance, innovative social service mechanisms, and world-leading investment strategies; it is a model of progressive leadership on the African continent. Bafokeng governance combines elected, appointed, and hereditary leaders committed to long-term, future-oriented planning.
All enquiries relating to this release should be directed to:
Mrs. Sue Cook
Executive: Research and Knowledge Management
014 566 1484
072 436 2970
www.bafokeng.com
Posted on April 20, 2012
