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Community elders’ narrative accounts of ubuntu translanguaging: Learning and teaching in African education.

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Title: Community elders’ narrative accounts of ubuntu translanguaging: Learning and teaching in African education.
Authors: Makalela, Leketi1 leketi.makalela@wits.ac.za
Source: International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft. Dec2018, Vol. 64 Issue 6, p823-843. 21p.
Subject Terms: *Multilingualism, *Classes (Groups of students), *Students, Bantu languages, Benue-Congo languages
Abstract: While South Africa has been lauded as a multilingual country that accorded official status to 11 languages, the academic notion of multilingualism has always been conceived from a monolingual perspective. Monolingual ideologies, which inadvertently favoured European languages to the detriment of local languages, were passed on to African countries through the occupation, division and colonisation of African territory by European powers in the early 1880s. Surprisingly, however, to date hardly any research has investigated African multilingualism predating the colonial era, or analysed pre-colonial narratives to offer alternative insights into African sociolinguistic and cultural realities. Aiming to shed some light on indigenous ways of knowing and the nature of translingual practices in local South African communities, the author of this article presents a study which collected and analysed storied narratives of six community elders - a glimpse into the pre-colonial period. The results of this study show that there is still a prevalent cultural competence of ubuntu (humanity towards others), which is highly relevant for teaching and learning indigenous knowledge and for identity formation among speakers of Bantu languages. Using a framework of ubuntu translanguaging to account for complex multilingual encounters, the author contends that a preferred literacy methodology for learners should be porous and value interdependence in tandem with ancient plural value systems and indigenous ways of knowing. Recommendations for future research involving narrative accounts of African community elders and practical applications in classroom encounters are considered at the end of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Community elders’ narrative accounts of ubuntu translanguaging: Learning and teaching in African education.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multilingualism%22">Multilingualism</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Classes+%28Groups+of+students%29%22">Classes (Groups of students)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Students%22">Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bantu+languages%22">Bantu languages</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Benue-Congo+languages%22">Benue-Congo languages</searchLink>
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  Data: While South Africa has been lauded as a multilingual country that accorded official status to 11 languages, the academic notion of multilingualism has always been conceived from a monolingual perspective. Monolingual ideologies, which inadvertently favoured European languages to the detriment of local languages, were passed on to African countries through the occupation, division and colonisation of African territory by European powers in the early 1880s. Surprisingly, however, to date hardly any research has investigated African multilingualism predating the colonial era, or analysed pre-colonial narratives to offer alternative insights into African sociolinguistic and cultural realities. Aiming to shed some light on indigenous ways of knowing and the nature of translingual practices in local South African communities, the author of this article presents a study which collected and analysed storied narratives of six community elders - a glimpse into the pre-colonial period. The results of this study show that there is still a prevalent cultural competence of ubuntu (humanity towards others), which is highly relevant for teaching and learning indigenous knowledge and for identity formation among speakers of Bantu languages. Using a framework of ubuntu translanguaging to account for complex multilingual encounters, the author contends that a preferred literacy methodology for learners should be porous and value interdependence in tandem with ancient plural value systems and indigenous ways of knowing. Recommendations for future research involving narrative accounts of African community elders and practical applications in classroom encounters are considered at the end of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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