When people think of the Deaf community, the conversation often begins with what is ‘missing’ – hearing, spoken words, sound. But this way of seeing is incomplete, and it limits everyone. The truth is that Deaf people do not live with less. Instead, they live with ‘different’, and what they bring to society is profound.
Words, technology and multilingualism: Reflections from AFRILEX 2026
Stellenbosch colleagues at the conference (from left to right): Chantal Ellis of the Language Centre; Prof Dion Nkomo of the Department of African Languages and current AFRILEX president; Dr Alta…
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Creating connection through SASL: Jabaar Mohamed joins the Language Centre at Horizon House
On 17 April 2026 we had the opportunity to join forces with superstar SASL teacher Jabaar Mohamed to present a SASL workshop to the staff of Horizon House in Stellenbosch. Read more about the session here.
English workshops by the SU Language Centre: getting you from the try line to the finish line
From a teacher’s perspective, one of the best aspects of the workshops offered by the SU Language Centre is the wide variety of students and trainees they attract. Our most recent round of General English workshops are showcasing just that.
A week in the world of lexicography
What does it really take to create a dictionary? To many of us, dictionaries are simply there when we need them, sitting quietly on a shelf or just a quick search away online.
Celebrate our shared humanity at EUTOPIA-SU Languages Week this year
This year, SU joins the EUTOPIA Alliance Languages Week from 2 to 5 March 2025 to celebrate languages, culture and diversity across the world.
Celebrating women in Women’s month: Faika’s trip to Tarragona in Spain
Faika at the BIP Faika Haroun, an Academic and Professional Literacies lecturer at the Language Centre, had the privilege of visiting the Roviira i Virgili University (URV) from 9 to…
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Language Day 2025
About Language Day Language Day is hosted every two years at Stellenbosch University (SU). It is an opportunity for SU staff and students to learn from each other and to…
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What has the Language Centre been up to from May to July 2025?
Each quarter, we submit content to be considered for the SU Management Report to Senate and Council. We thought we’d also share here what the Language Centre has been up…
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Q and A with Dr Schalk van der Merwe in celebration of 10 years of Afrikaans language and culture for Dutch-speaking exchange students
Dr Schalk van der Merwe, extraordinary senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University (SU), has been a regular guest lecturer for several years at the SU Language Centre’s Afrikaans language and culture course for Dutch-speaking students, where he shares and discusses key events from South African history with students in a narrative style. “When it comes to the history and origins of Afrikaans, it is essential to reflect the language’s diversity, and also how it has served as a vehicle for social change,” says Dr Van der Merwe. As part of the course’s 10-year celebrations, we asked him a few questions.
