AFRILEX
Newsletter 3 – October
1998
Compiler: D.J. Prinsloo
Dear Members,
So far 1998 has been another good year (and we are not
talking tyres) for the African Association for Lexicography.
The 3rd International Conference of Afrilex
which was held in Potchefstroom was attended by more than 40 members from all
over the country. Keynote papers were read by Sidney Landau from the USA and
our own 'Minister of Lexicography', Mr. M.B. Kumalo. Afrilex wishes to thank
our organiser on the scene, Mr. Gerhard van Huyssteen, once again for all his
hard work. The main programme was followed by a one-day tutorial (a refresher
of SALEX '97). More than 30 delegates attended this tutorial which acted as a
forerunner to Afrilex-Salex'98. The Conference Dinner was sponsored by PHAROS
and our members showed that they really can appreciate good food and wine.
Afrilex-Salex'98 was a two-week tutorial on the
compilation of bilingual dictionaries for the African languages which was held
from 7 to 18 September 1998 at the University of Pretoria. More than fifty
delegates, representing all the official languages of South Africa, attended.
Donations for this meeting were received from the Department of Arts,
Culture, Science and Technology, Anglo American and De Beers Chairman's
Fund and First National Bank. We are indebted to Mariëtta Alberts
and Penny Silva for their hard work and initiatives to obtain these
sponsorships. The first week's lectures were given by the British
lexicographers Sue Atkins and Michael Rundell as well as by Rufus Gouws. For
the second week "local talent" was exploited in the form of Margaret
Marggraff, Fezi Shoba, Nelson Lekganyane and Daan Prinsloo. A special word of
thanks goes to Margaret Marggraff, the star performer of the second week. All
participants were requested to complete an evaluation form at the end of the
course answering explicit questions such as things that they liked/disliked
about the course as well as speaking their minds on what should be done in future
to promote the interests of the official languages of SA as far as the
compilation of dictionaries is concerned. One of the major concerns expressed
by the delegates is the delay in the establishment of the National Lexicography
Units. In this regard, the delegates instructed Prof. Malope, Prof. D.J.
Prinsloo and Mr. B. Schulz to approach the authorities in writing. In general
delegates were satisfied by the quality of the lectures and the informal
discussions which were conducted in smaller groups. One delegate singled out
the tea breaks as the highlight of the course. Food and refreshments
were super and Regina, Rose and Refilwe (our three BIG RRRs as in STARRRS)
cooked us a meal unsurpassed in the history of Afrilex.
Ke yo bolela ka ga katlego ya Konferense yeo go ya ka
dintlha tše di latelago:
thulaganyo
thuto le khuetšo
Konferense ya Afrilex-Salex '98 e bile le katlego ka
gore thulaganyo ya yona e be e le ya maleba. Dinako tša go thoma le go fetša di
be di latelwa gomme diboledi di be di bontšha gore ke ditsebo mererong ya go
rulaganya dipukuntšu.
Thuto le khuetšo
Konferense yeo e bile le thuto ye kgolo kudu go
borapolelo mmogo le baithuti ba dipolelo tša Afrika. Ge a bapetšwa le maleme a
mangwe, Maleme a Afrika a sa le nthago kudu ditabeng tša go rulaganya
dipukuntšu tša ona. Tšeo di šetšego di le gona ga di nape di hlaloša ditaba ka
tsela ya maleba bjale ka ge go lemogilwe thutong ya go hwetša konfereseng.
Konferense yeo e bile le khuetšo ye kgolo go nna bjalo ka moithuti gore le nna
ke kgathe tema thulaganyong ya dipukuntšu tša Sepedi.
The Board is pleased to announce that the 1998 edition
of our Journal Lexikos will once again be sent to members free of
charge. Afrilex wishes to thank the publishers, the Bureau of the WAT, for
keeping the costs as low as possible to enable the Association to send this
excellent publication to our members free of charge. (The normal price of Lexikos
exceeds the annual membership fee for Afrilex).
The 4th International Conference of Afrilex
is scheduled to take place from 5-6 July 1999 at the University of Pretoria. We
are planning a tutorial on dictionary compilation for 7-9 July, so please
reserve the whole week for Afrilex activities! A Call
for Papers is included and members are encouraged to prepare a paper on any
practical or theoretical aspect of lexicography. A very reasonable tariff has
been negotiated with the Hostel Administration of the University of Pretoria to
make it affordable for all our members, even for university lecturers.
The Treasurer will send out reminders for payment of
membership for 1999 (R70 for Africa, USD 25 for the rest of the world) in early
1999. Please remember to inform us immediately of any changes in your address,
telephone numbers or personal particulars.
Since March this year Afrilex is on the web, so if you
wish to surf a 'real cool' web site try:
http://www.up.ac.za/academic/libarts/afrilang/homelex.html
You have to type this address only the first time,
once you are logged into our web site "Bookmark" it and your
favourite association (we hope) will then simply be one click away whenever you
need us.
Information on issues such as activities, the
Constitution, the story of Afrilex, names and particulars of Board and
Executive Members, scenes from forthcoming attractions, application forms for
membership, registration forms for conferences, etc. are available online.
Visit this web site regularly and click on "New on the Afrilex Web
Site" for the latest information.
AUSTRALEX, EURALEX and the DICTIONARY SOCIETY OF NORTH
AMERICA have been requested to add a link to AFRILEX from their web sites in
order to bring the -LEX family closer together.
Afrilex in co-operation with Dictionary Units,
publishers and computer experts are trying to develop computer programs for the
compilation of dictionaries in SA. Three types of programs are developed,
namely (a) programs for counting word frequency, (b) concordance programs, and
(c) the toughest of all, dictionary compilation programs. These developments
are in an initial stage.
In terms of the Constitution, a new Board has to be
elected in July 1999. The Organiser will contact you in writing in early 1999 to
nominate members for the Board. A list of nominees will then be mailed to all
members in good standing with the association and they will be requested to
elect a new Board by postal vote. At the Conference in July members will elect
a Chairperson. The new Board will then meet and elect an Executive Committee.
REMEMBER AFRILEX
IS NOT JUST 'ANOTHER' ASSOCIATION, WE ARE 'SPECIAL'!
________________________________________________________________
Board of
Afrilex: M. Alberts (Secretary), H.D. Buttner, A. Carstens, A.R. Chuwa, R.H.
Gouws (Chairperson), M.M. Marggraff (Treasurer), B.M. Mini, M.H. Mpungose, A.C.
Nkabinde (Vice-Chairperson), D.J. Prinsloo (Organiser), P.M. Silva, G. van
Huyssteen, D.J. van Schalkwyk, Editor of Lexikos (Ex officio)
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