Dale College pupils Linoyolo Mqokozo and Bulela Sam, who shone at an isiXhosa language festival hosted by the department of education, say it’s everyone’s responsibility to preserve their own languages.
The pair swept the judges away with their heart-warming essays and presentation in their mother tongue — isiXhosa.
Themed “Celebrating our culture within the diverse population”, the competition saw schools from the Buffalo City inland and coastal areas taking part.
Linoyolo won in the best essay writing category and Bulela walked away with the best prepared speech title.
The college also went home with a prize for the best-performing school in the General Education Training Phase.
Pupils perform activities using skills prescribed by the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement.
The skills are listening and speaking, reading and viewing, writing and presenting and language structures and conventions.
Linoyolo’s topic was the coexistence of different cultures and their interactions.
The grade 8 pupil said people often overlooked sharing spaces with other cultures.
“It is often overlooked, especially within the Xhosa community because of the rarity of Xhosa people sharing their space with other cultures,” he said.
“What happens in those rare instances is of interest to me.
“My essay spoke of how generally, and more commonly in rural communities, coexistence becomes hostile and how we can fix this.”
Linoyolo said participating in the festival had been a reminder of his identity and roots.
“It is expected of a Dalian to have a sort of obsession with English, but I did not want to play into the stereotype.
“I knew that my uniqueness would be found in my Xhosa roots.
“I owe my love for this language to my primary school teacher. But other people such as family, friends and teachers have also nurtured and piqued my interest.
“I understand the expectations that people have with regard to my culture and me being a Xhosa boy.
“Losing my culture would be to my own detriment.
“Academically, I have always enjoyed analysing and learning isiXhosa more. I’d say the language festival was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, one that I will always cherish.”
Both pupils credited their performance in the competition to isiXhosa teacher Nobathembu Kewana and their primary teachers, who had instilled in them the love for their language.
Though the goals he has set for himself are not necessarily associated with isiXhosa, Linoyolo said he had promised himself to never lose his roots.
“I love literature and writing and doing it in isiXhosa just makes it all the more convenient. I will never stop writing and I may even publish my works in the future. ”
He said it was the responsibility of everyone to take pride in their languages.
“If we don’t take pride in our language, no-one will. We must lead the charge.”
Bulela’s speech was about the importance of animals in the Xhosa culture.
He said he had tackled the topic because many people tended to overlook it.
“We were given a choice to look at anything that contributed to values, culture and traditions. I decided to come up with a unique topic on animals,” he said.
The grade 9 pupil said this was one of the most important topics that were less tackled by his peers.
“I felt that this was important to address so that we as Xhosa people know the importance of animals in our culture and treat them well.
His presentation included talking about types of animals that played an important role in Xhosa culture and rituals — the goat , cow and dog.
“I spoke of their significance in our lives, when there is a newborn baby, achievements, disasters like the death of the head of the family.”
He said knowing his identity had made him fall in love with the language.
“My mom encouraged me in my academic journey, especially in isiXhosa. She would always say I cannot fail to excel in my mother tongue.
“Special thanks to Mrs Jodwana and Ms Kewana who helped me with vocabulary and listened to me while I was preparing for the presentation.
“Then for the actual presentation, I used my mirror, friends and family to help avoid stage fright in front of people.”
He said one of his plans was to use his writing skills to help others who were not fluent in isiXhosa.
DispatchLIVE
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