New Kaaps dictionary set to boost inclusivity and recognition 

August 26, 2021

It’s the first time in history that a dictionary dedicated entirely to Kaaps will be created

The Centre for Multilingualism and Diversities Research (CMDR) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and Heal the Hood Project launched the Trilingual Dictionary of Kaaps (TDK) project on 26 July 2021. 

The TDK is a first-of-its-kind project and will set out words, phrases and terms from the Kaaps community and offer definitions and origins for them. 

According to Professor Adam Haupt who is part of the group of academics who are spearheading the project, the dictionary will play an important role in giving those who speak Kaaps the recognition they deserve. 

“A Kaaps dictionary will affirm it as a language in its own right and it will validate the identities of the people who speak it. It will also draw attention to the diverse cultural, linguistic, geographical and historical tributaries that contributed to this language’s evolution,” he said during an interview with GoBinge. 

The group of academics working on the dictionary do not view Kaaps as a mere variant of Afrikaans as many linguistic scholars do. Instead, they view Kaaps as the predecessor of Afrikaans. During the Apartheid-era, the National Party was able to dedicate a wealth of resources towards developing Afrikaans as a fully-fledged language with dictionaries, university courses and more. This has, according to Haupt, caused the ill-conceived notion that “proper” Afrikaans is the be all and end all of the language.

“We not see Kaaps as a variant of Afrikaans. In our view, Kaaps cohered as a language well before Afrikaner Nationalists’ cultural appropriation of Kaaps in order to construct white Afrikaner identity,” he explained.

Haupt added that one needs to take note of the history of Kaaps. Once one understands its origin, it is easy to see why it should be classified as an indigenous language alongside all the other homegrown languages in the country.

“Kaaps developed as a language during encounters between indigenous African, South-East Asian, Dutch, Portuguese and English people both prior to and during the colonial era,” he offered.

When asked what problems he thinks the dictionary will solve, Haupt said that he hopes it will eliminate the stereotypes that exist towards Kaaps speakers.

“Denigrating Kaaps and its speakers plays into the hands of right-wing ethnocentric thinking that positions largely working class coloured speakers of Kaaps as separate from the broader pool of black communities who, perhaps not incidentally, also have to negotiate the same form of linguistic stereotyping and cultural assimilation in the workplace, in private schools, former Model C / SGB schools and in tertiary institutions that continue to be predominantly English and Afrikaans.” 

For him, he wants to see society change in such a way that Kaaps is seen as a bona fide language. He hopes the dictionary and its reception into South Africa will help “avoid scenarios where school kids are told that the way in which they speak is not ‘respectable’ and will not guarantee them success in their pursuit of careers.”

At the moment, the editorial board working on the dictionary is being trained in lexicography, translation and transcription. All vital skills needed to compile a usable, accurate dictionary. Haupt explained that the project is still very much in its initial launch phase, which means there is plenty of time for people to contribute to the dictionary.

“The next steps will involve researching and identifying new Kaaps words that are in common usage for inclusion in the dictionary. In this process we will endeavour, through a rigorous editorial process, to write down definitions and determine meanings of old and new Kaaps words that are commonly used or less commonly used,” Haupt said when asked about the methodology they have adopted to create the dictionary. 

Once the above steps have been achieved, the words identified by the researchers will be subjected to rigorous academic scrutiny. Haupt has said that the dictionary will not only offer definitions for Kaaps words and phrases but also set out the origins of those terms. This is how he sees the dictionary differing from other resources that are already available on Kaaps, like wordlists.

“Kaaps wordlists merely list Kaaps words and their meaning, and ignore the rigorous inter-subjectively verifiable quantitative methodology of lexicography that make good dictionaries,” he added.

So far, the research and editorial team have received positive feedback on this project. 

Acclaimed actor and comedian, Marc Lottering, spoke to GoBinge about his thoughts on the new dictionary. According to him, it is very important to get Kaaps solidified in the written word.

“This is not only cool for people who speak Afrikaaps, but also people who don’t speak Afrikaaps and want to know what it’s all about, what it means,” Marc said.

He went on to explain that the dictionary will mean a lot for the community of Kaaps speakers.

“It’s all about validation. It’s like looking in a mirror,” he said, comparing the dictionary to when one goes to the theatre and the actors represent one’s background.

GoBinge also spoke to the guys from Carbars, Ponga and Cel, about the upcoming dictionary. Specifically, we asked them which words they hope to see in the final product. They said that they spoke to friends and family to compile their wishlist, which includes words like “aweh”, “neef”, and “tjaila”.

Ponga and Cel created a unique freestyle about the dictionary as well, which can be viewed below.

Haupt says Universities need to do more to invest in multilingualism beyond humanities faculties. To achieve this, though, they need funding from the government. Ultimately, this boils down to a question of policy that needs to be implemented to prioritise the recognition of all indigenous languages. 

“While we acknowledge that funding STEM disciplines is important, disciplines from the humanities are essential to developing literacy, including critical literacy, as well as preserving our diverse cultural heritage. From this perspective, investing in multilingual education is essential to broadening access to and participation in the public sphere and, thereby, developing our democracy,” the professor commented. 

Haupt confirmed that they will announce a release date for the dictionary once they have passed the research, editing and production phase.