Xitsonga Spelling Of Bangikulu Has Been Put At Bay By Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB)

The issue of the much-rumoured wrong Xitsonga spelling on the South African new banknotes has been put at bay.

The change from Banginkulu to Bangikulu caused a stir in the Xitsonga-speaking community with most people believing that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) had printed the wrong spelling. This was however resolved at a meeting of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) in Giyani where members of the Xitsonga community, academics, historians, and traditional leaders met to discuss the newly revised Xitsonga spelling and orthography rules.

Simphiwe Mabasa told the Herald that the PanSALB stands with the new spelling as it follows the Xitsonga revived orthography rule document, which is updated every five years by Xistonga language advisors and other stakeholders. “The SARB had consulted with us before they printed the new notes.

“One of the reasons we are travelling countrywide is to engage with stakeholders and make them aware of how the language changes are done and so forth,” Mabasa added.

The engagement was led by the Xitsonga National Language Body, which forms part of PanSALB’s structures established to standardise official languages that determine language standards and terminology verification.

The awareness programme did not only focus on issues related to the process of consultation and the standardised Xitsonga spelling, but also on the orthographic system that should be used in the public domain by educators, language practitioners, the media, and the government.

Source: Letaba Herald