The Sunday News
Loveness Mpofu, Sunday News Reporter
THE Midlands State University has translated the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset) document into Kalanga and Sotho languages as part of efforts to bring understanding of the economic issues to the previously marginalised languages.
MSU director of public relations Mrs Mirirai Mawere said the university was also working on translating the Zimbabwe Constitution into the two languages.
Mrs Mawere said printing of the vernacular versions of the Zim Asset document was already underway.
MSU, which is part of the inter-Universities Translation Committee, is also planning to translate the document into Sign language.
The University of Zimbabwe is translating the document into Tonga while Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) is translating it into Venda.
Mrs Mawere said the university hired two lecturers well versed in Kalanga and Sotho to help with the translation.
“We will also translate the document into Sign language, although we intend to embrace the languages in stages. We have the Department of African Languages and Culture, as well as the Department of English and Communication which can work together with our Disability Resource Centre.
“As a way of promoting the recognition of all the 16 languages, we intend to introduce the teaching of more indigenous languages in the near future because apart from being tools of communication, languages do carry culture,” she said.
Mrs Mawere said the translated documents would not be sold as the project was part of the university’s community engagement initiatives.
MSU has the Department of African and Culture, Department of English and Communication, as well as the Department of Modern Languages. Ms Limukani Dube was spearheading the Kalanga translation while Ms Sebata headed Sotho.
Professors Charles Tembo, Willy Chigidi, Advice Viriri, Drs Terrence Mashingaidze and Raphael Nhongo were also part of the translating team.
