Imagine telling someone you are thirsty and being given the response, “Avail yourself of a sweetened, carbonated beverage.” No doubt, you would have to stop and think about that response. “Grab a cooldrink,” would be easier, and quicker. I once worked for someone who uses the word ‘avail’ in conversation. He has the personality of...
WINDHOEK: The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (MoEAC) has joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Mother Language Day, with the theme ‘Multilingual education is a pillar of intergenerational learning.’ The United Nations (UN) has established 21 February as a day to celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity. This is to demonstrate dedication...
In a classroom in Namibia’s northern Oshikoto region, a teacher has written English vocabulary words on the chalkboard. She asks her learners to read them aloud. When they stumble with pronunciation, she corrects them. She also helps the youngsters to sound out words. At another school nearby, an English teacher is showing her class cartoon...
The recognition of sign language for use on public platforms, especially during national events, was recently on the agenda of the National Assembly. A motion in this regard was tabled by Alexia Manombe-Ncube, the Deputy Minister of Disability Affairs. The House discussed the importance of designating sign language interpreters for live parliamentary debates. Contributing to...
The Secretary of the National Assembly, Lydia Kandetu, has assured the Namibian National Association of the Deaf (NNAD) that their demands for the recognition of sign language will receive the necessary attention. Kandetu said this while receiving the petition from the association in Windhoek on Thursday. The association held a demonstration from the Regional Police...
The media frenzy surrounding ChatGPT and other large language model artificial intelligence (AI) systems spans a range of themes, from the prosaic – large language models could replace conventional web search – to the concerning – AI will eliminate many jobs – and the overwrought – AI poses an extinction-level threat to humanity. All of...
