Christo Spetsiotis Speaks To Us About His Sikhuluma Project: We chat to Christo Spetsiotis about his latest venture, Sikhuluma Project. Read below to know what he’s hoping to achieve, why he started this project and how you can be involved.
 |
What inspired you to start the Sikhuluma project?
I have wanted to learn Zulu for years. In school I never understood why we were learning Afrikaans in post apartheid KZN. It infuriated me so much so I decided to start looking for Zulu classes about 2 years ago and i found it to be a near impossible task. U-KZN wanted over R4000 upfront which i really couldn’t afford. My friend eventually found a lovely teacher at the Waldorf school who teaches adults on Mondays from 530 to 630pm. The classes are only R350 a month and the text book was under R150. The class however is in Assagay, which is far! When i started classes it made my linguistic heart grow and i knew my decision to start learning Zulu was one of the best decisions I had made as an adult. After the first class I found myself understanding what people were saying around me. Granted I knew very little and i still know very little but i knew that “Ba” meant “they” and i understood that those people were talking about other people. it was my “Aha moment” I knew I wasn’t alone in this situation and it was painfully obvious that there was a real need for easy accessible conversational Zulu classes in KZN. With my anthropological and linguistic background I started to find a solution the problem that faced KZN.
What are you hoping to achieve with it and what is your mission?
The basic goal is to get the non-Zulu speakers of KZN integrated into the isiZulu sphere. There is a big linguistic barrier in KwaZulu Natal. Out of the 11 million people who live here in KZN, 8 million are first language Zulu speakers. It seemed like the most obvious solution that there needed to be Zulu language classes in KZN for all its people. From learning Zulu i have discovered a greater respect for and from Zulu people and their culture. We are the only province in SA which has denoted a language or ethnicity to the name of the province. This is the home of the Zulus and we should all be able to have some sort of basic conversation with the Zulu majority in their language. By refusing to learn Zulu we are alienating ourselves from the majority. Would you move to Italy and not expect to learn Italian?
My mission is to integrate the people of KZN by breaking down the linguistic divide.
Why do you think it is important for people to start learning other South African languages?
I think its important to understand what the dominant language of your province is and to learn how to have basic conversations in that language. Its common sense.
Why did you choose IsiZulu when there are many other South African languages?
IsiZulu is the largest language in KwaZulu Natal. It is also the largest language in the country. I believe that this project can be designed for each province individually. Eastern Cape = Xhose, Western Cape = Afrikaans, Free State = Sesotho etc. Gauteng is a bit tricky but we can run simultaneous projects for the top five languages of Gauteng which all have over 1 million L1 (first language) speakers.
Besides English, which other languages can you speak?
I am an English L1 speaker. I was taught Afrikaans at school and had little use for it in KwaZULU Natal which means Im pretty useless at praating the taal. My father is from Greece and my family’s heritage is Greek which gave me the opportunity to learn Greek. My Greek is basic but i can get by. The Greek government sends Greek teachers to all its communities around the world to teach the language and keep the culture alive. This type of commitment is what is needed by the SA government. they need to make clear decisive language decisions for its people. Our constitution is very clear. We protect our official languages and we help them grow. Unfortunately there are primary schools like Chelsea prep in Durban North which are still teaching Afrikaans to the English speaking minority. What is going on?! Yindaba?!
Will people need to pay for these classes or are they free?
The goal is to get the education dept to pay for classes but if they dont jump onboard there will have to be some payment. I am at the survey stage now and the fee question is there to help gage how open people are to paying for classes. Ideally I would like there to be free classes and students will only need to buy the textbook.
How knowledgeable are you when it comes to the IsiZulu culture?
Living in KZn all my life has given me a knowledgeable base of Zulu culture but there is plenty to learn. By learning the Zulu language we will become more knowledgeable about the culture and its people. It will foster greater respect and unity amongst the people of KZN and hopefully all of SA.
Who was the first person you contacted when you came up with this idea and how did they take it?
haha well Ive told nearly everyone i know. I first told my friend Yiota who happened to call me while I first started thinking about it. I ran it past her and she said it was a good idea. She is a isiXhosa L2 speaker who understands the value of speaking the vernacular. To be honest every person ive told has been very positive to the idea. Its an obvious solution to an obvious problem.
What fascinates you about the IsiZulu culture as a whole?
Learning Zulu showed me how little i knew about Zulu culture. Learning Zulu has helped explain why Zulu people make certain mistakes with “he/she” etc
Learning Zulu has made me far more aware of where the Zulu perspective comes from and how different that perspective is from English speakers
What’s your favourite IsiZulu traditional dish?
I don’t have a favourite Zulu dish because I haven’t had much experience with Zulu foods. I am aware that Zulu cuisine is heavily influenced by the many cultures in SA. Its evolving as the people evolve. I will say that whenever there is an option for pap at the buffet, I will use the pap instead of rice when eating curry…. Does that count? Haha
Full article here: The Durban Journo –
Khanyisani Dlomo
One of Durban’s most popular annual winter attractions, the Durban International Boat and Lifestyle Show lived up to expectations with three days of splendid weather gracing the Durban Marina.
.jpg)
The boating and aquatic show – which started on Friday and ended on Sunday – wowed more than 11 000 visitors who ventured down to the friendly city to celebrate the eleventh edition and enjoy its all-year-round balmy weather.
Exhibitors could be seen displaying everything from fishing boats, marine clothing, fishing rods, navigation instrumentation and catamarans to safety equipment. In the lifestyle section, there was leisure clothing, camping equipment, off-road vehicles, to adventure sports displays and quad bikes.
Port Shepstone’s Caroline Pillay, who attended the show for the first time, said if one wants the latest boats, the Durban Marina is where one should be.
“I couldn’t find the Automatic Boat System on the Internet but I found it here. It was a very knowledgeable show. The prices are reasonable,” said Pillay.
“I have seen the boat I wanted to buy and it costs about R344 000. I’m definitely buying it this week. I should be finalising everything on Wednesday,” Pillay said excitedly. She added that she will used it “mostly on weekends”.
Pinetown boat exhibitor, Bruce Challenor said the show was fruitful.
“Our aim was to show the public that we are an international company and to see the design and development of new products. I found the traffic to be better than normal and we’ve had people interested in our product,” Challenor said.
“We export 70% of our production to countries like Australia, Kenya and Taiwan. Our quality is world class. People are surprised that our products are made locally,” Challenor added.
Approximately 65% of people attending the show are from KwaZulu-Natal, 30% from across the country and 5% are international visitors.
Event organiser, Barry Meehan said the show was a big success and has been growing in leaps and bounds.
“It took us six months to put this show together. We are happy with the volume of people who descended here. We have new boat models, new exhibitors, people are excited and with such glorious weather, we couldn’t ask for a better turn-out than this,” Meehan said.
“The show has been growing over the years. We now have about 12 000 people who visit this show and we have exhibitors showing internationally. It has been a wonderful event.”
Full article here: The Durban Journo –
Fill in the form below to have your blog featured on MyDurban – we will post a snippet and title link to your new blog posts.
Submit and get free press releases here: MyPR Free Press Release | Meet the Durban Bloggers.
