The Chair was endowed by Ton and Anet Vosloo and is situated in the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch. In this Chair we host a centre of knowledge on the scientific study of translation, interpreting and revision/editing. Afrikaans language practice is being researched here and, in this way, Afrikaans is enhanced as language of science. This does not happen in isolation within an Afrikaans enclave, but rather within a multilingual and multicultural environment. Students are also trained in English, isiXhosa, Dutch, German, French and Chinese. Students are trained here as next generation scholars in the scientific field of language practice but also as language practitioners. The South African community as a whole will benefit from the establishment and enhancement of the imprint of Afrikaans in the Stellenbosch, national and international community.
The latest research focus has moved from the more linguistic and textual aspects towards the materiality of language practice, in other words what is happening in the everyday life of language workers? The researchers investigate professional practices to describe the complexities of the social networks in which the various agents operate in order to generate specific language-mediated products. The research framework used is data-based, drawing on patterns that emerged from the analysis of real-life data. The research follows a more sociological approach in researching publishing projects, since sociological theories provide the background against which we can explain the very complex patterns in the actual language mediating activities. The research being done here is already advancing existing theoretical approaches, but student researchers are also made aware of what is waiting if they start working in publishing houses, translation agencies or start their career as free lancers. The link between academia and practice is purposefully being pursued.
Contact:
Prof Ilse Feinauer