Judge Mandisa Maya, image source: Business Day
PRESIDENT MAYA LAUDED FOR CASTING SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN LANGUAGES
For immediate release
The Indigenous Languages Action Forum (ILAF) welcomes Supreme Court of Appeal President, Mandisa Maya’s call for the development of an informed language policy for the courts that would facilitate the use of all our official languages in the legal sector.
Maya is one of the four candidates being interviewed for the role of Chief Justice by the Judicial Services Commission.
During her interview, President Maya said she had presided over a case where the accused was an isiXhosa speaker. “I encouraged the scribe to do the same thing I had done in the case of AfriForum (judgement which she wrote in isiXhosa). So we have 2 judgements in isiXhosa, and I hoped the example would encourage other people to write in their own languages as well.”
Her bold call draws attention to the high value of the indigenous languages in our courts. It also emphasizes the importance of language in providing equitable access to our courts, an issue ILAF has long been advocating.
Maya acknowledged that the use of the indigenous languages in the courts needed further buy-in and support from important stakeholders, along with further financial and lexical resources.
ILAF agrees with Commissioner Magwanishe that President Maya’s bilingual judgements were an “extraordinary achievement” that should not become a “one day wonder”. We strongly support President Maya’s call for a discussion of language policy during the annual judges conference, which was last held in 2009.
A recent publication by ILAF members Dr Zakeera Docrat (vice chairperson), Prof Russel Kaschula, and Prof Monwabisi Ralarala (ILAF chair), A handbook on Legal Languages and the quest for linguistic equality in South Africa and beyond (2021), speaks to the precise issues raised at President Maya’s interview. We therefore invite the judges and the Honourable Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola, to engage with our expert forensic and legal linguists.
ILAF promotes the equitable use of our indigenous languages in a range of sectors. As academics and practicing legal and forensic linguists we hope to inform policy directives that affect our fellow South Africans, where language rights are attainable for all.
For more media interviews and more inquiries contact:
Prof Monwabisi Ralarala (ILAF Chair)
Dr Zakeera Docrat (ILAF vice chairperson)
zakeera.d@gmail.com
Siki Dlanga (Coordinator)
siki@ilaf.co.za
0676643607
