On Thursday evening 8 February 2018, the SU Language Centre presented Prof Leon de Stadler with a hard copy of the Festschrift that honoured him for his professional contribution to his field of study. He had received the cover of the Festschrift at his farewell function upon his retirement, but the content stayed a surprise up to now. The SU Botanical Garden played host to an intimate function where he, together with his wife and daughters, the authors who contributed to the Festschrift and a few other special guests could celebrate this aspect of his life.
The introduction to the Festschrift highlights where it all started: “Leon de Stadler's association with Stellenbosch University started in 1972 when he arrived on campus as a first-year student. This uninterrupted association would continue for more than four decades – up to his retirement in January 2017. Leon has made a significant contribution and has left an enduring legacy – as a student, even more so as a lecturer and particularly as Director of the Language Centre. He has excelled as a lecturer, researcher, academic manager and valued colleague. Honouring him with a Festschrift cannot really do justice to his contribution or to the role that he has played – the students he has trained, the colleagues he has inspired, the research he has published and the work he has done, which still continues and thrives, are all a living testament and commemoration.
Nevertheless, with this Festschrift volume, colleagues in South Africa and abroad wish to acknowledge what Leon has accomplished and what a dramatic impact he has had on his field of study, on his students, on his colleagues and co-workers, on his department, on the Language Centre and on the University. Few can equal the extent and depth of his influence."
Twenty-two local and international authors contributed to the Festschrift in the form of either articles or research notes. The thirteen articles that were included have been peer-reviewed, while the four research notes have a more personal slant.
In accordance with the theme of the volume, 'The interplay between theory and praxis in applied linguistics', nine sub themes emerged. Language planning came under scrutiny in three contributions, namely those of Prof Theodorus du Plessis, Dr Sabina Schaffner and Prof Anton Van Niekerk. Educational interpreting also surfaced in three contributions, all of them by interpreters at SU: one by Carmen Brewis, one by Lenelle Foster and Adriaan Cupido, and another by Jackie Van Wyk and Juanli Theron. In addition, writing centre theory and practice in South Africa was represented in three contributions – one by Dr Arlene Archer, a second by Sharifa Daniels and Dr Rose Richards, and a third by Dr Pamela Nichols. Prof Adelia Carstens en Ydalene Coetsee reflected in two separate contributions on academic literacies at universities, and research on readability and plain language was offered in two contributions – one by Prof Carel Jansen, Dr Rose Richards and Liezl van Zyl, and another by Susan Lotz. Subsequently Prof Ilse Feinauer and Dr Amanda Lourens investigated the loyalty of the literary reviser while Prof Rufus Gouws shed light on the lexicographic ordering of dictionaries. Prof Hans Hoeken illustrated narrative impact in his contribution and, in conclusion, Alta van Rensburg illuminated quality management in the translation industry.
The Festschrift appeared just before Christmas last year. It was published online as Volume 53 (2017) of Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus (SPiL Plus), a publication by the SU Department of General Linguistics. Have a look at http://spilplus.journals.ac.za/pub/issue/view/90 – SPiL Plus being an accredited open-source journal, anyone interested may gain access.
