Indigenous African Languages

From 2023, the Southern African Public Law Journal (SAPL) will be devoting a part of its issues to the publication of commentaries on public law development across the continent in indigenous African languages (accompanied by the English translation). The imperative of presenting ideas and issues in indigenous African languages cannot be overstated. National and international normative and policy documents such as the African Union Agenda 2063, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the South African National Development Plan 2030 have all expressed this important goal.

In the context of legal development, the presentation of issues and strategies in the language most of the population can identify with has numerous advantages. One is that it contributes to the development of indigenous languages as a tool of development and ideational strategies. Secondly, it enhances familiarity and a sense of ownership by the people. In this sense, it humanises the law. Lastly, it opens the room for more interrogation and debate on what the law is and should be.

For more information about this process, you can contact the following persons: Babatunde Fagbayibo (babatunde.fagbayibo@up.ac.za);  Aubrey Manthwa (manthat@unisa.ac.za); and Nina Mollema (mollen@unisa.ac.za).