Now it is #MotherTongue month En as die TSUDI OF CRIME jou pla, as dit jou pla dat al wat jy as Afrikan ken is Jan van Riebeeck se woorde, stuur jou haisis of email 😉

So currently I only have access to a Khoikhoi /Khoekhoegowab midisaugub or dictionary in a copied format.

So when I look for a Khoikhoi word, I must scroll down pages on pages En vir wat? When if this resource was available in a digital format we could've only typed in a eg. Ocean and easily see the Khoikhoi word Huri but niks.

Now even having access to this resource and being able to Khomai or read Khoikhoi is a privilege because I still remember even young Nama Khoikhoi people in Namibia at the #NamaFestival sharing with me that even they didn't know that a dictionary of our language existed but also the sad reality that many of our KHOI people anner kant  die rivier, can't Khomai or xoa or read or write in a language that they speak.

Praat van 'N taal vermoor, amase of sowaar.

But these days we increasingly hear about this idea of Language sovereignty or Indigenous data sovereignty, something we don't hear as KHOI people in South Africa as we still have SA universities like eg. Stellenbosch university with Khoikhoi language books honderde jare oud but KHOI person enrolling for Languages program moet maar Jan se woorde leer. Is dit reg?

I emailed McMillan publishers in Namibia about the digital format of the Khoekhoegowab /Khoikhoi dictionary and in not so many words they said that Nama  and Damara people, also speakers of the language? in Namibia are just too poor for this to make business sense.

https://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/idcc2021/keynote

A violation of our Language sovereignty because as KHOI people we don't own the resource that is our INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY and how is it that a company owned by foreigners still profit from the domi or voices of our aboxan or ancestors.

Now it is #MotherTongue month En as die TSUDI OF CRIME jou pla, as dit jou pla dat al wat jy as Afrikan ken is Jan van Riebeeck se woorde, stuur jou haisis of email 😉

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