The management of place names (geographical names, toponyms) is a fundamental element of heritage and language management. These names derive from all languages spoken in the country now and in the past, and cut across linguistic boundaries, involving the implementation of diverse and sometimes conflicting orthographic rules.

Geographical names are essential elements in effective communication, e.g.

• in cartography (a map is meaningless without names);
• administration and governance;
• cultural heritage promotion;
• economic development;
• environmental management;
• communication systems, postal and other deliveries;
• travel, transportation, and tourism;
• disaster management and emergency services coordination;
• peace-keeping, safety, and security;
• education and science;
• global media, etc.

Place names represent the largest and most significant component of the common or shared heritage of a nation, incorporating and preserving the history, culture, and identity of the people, as well as reflecting a nation’s image. Place names in South Africa are specifically relevant because of the changing toponymic landscape resulting from the implementation of the South African Geographical Names Council Act of 1998; the social, political, and linguistic implications of name changes that have been and are being affected, and the ramifications of the requirements of relevant clauses in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

The Dictionary of Southern African Place Names is one of the products that stems from research within the toponymic field. An Afrikaans translation with updates is available as Plekname van Suider-Afrika. A mobile app based on the content of the Dictionary, with the addition of selected SASL equivalents, is currently under development. Our department hosts the long-standing biennial International Symposium on Place Names, followed by DHET-accredited publications. Our focus on signed toponymy is evident in our research projects on SASL place names.

Language visibility examines public awareness of languages in different domains. Linguistic Landscape Studies include and move beyond physical visibility and language to consider ideological and conceptual spaces, as well as other semiotic modalities. In the intersection between the concept of language visibility and the field of Linguistic Landscape Studies, the focus falls on: What do people see in terms of signage and language?

The Manual for Multilingual Signage has been developed to provide practical guidelines on why and how to erect multilingual public signage. Government and private institutions, as well as sign designers, will find this manual useful. The manual results from the Multilingual Information Development Programme (MIDP), a project funded by the Province of Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium) to support the cultivation of a language dispensation in South Africa that is fair and that benefits all its inhabitants.

Du Plessis, T. & Loth, C. 2024. Transforming the Linguistic Landscape of South Africa - more of the same? In D. Gorter, & J. Cenoz (Eds). The Handbook of Linguistic Landscapes and Multilingualism. Hoboken: Wiley, pp. 257-376.

Du Plessis, T. 2020. The officialisation of South African Sign Language: implications for place-name planning. Language Matters. Studies in the Languages of Africa 51(3): 66-86.

Du Plessis, T. 2022. The Officialisation of South African Sign Language—What Is There to Gain? Language Matters. Studies in the Languages of Africa 53(3): 47-71. Published onlilne 3 October 2022.

Du Plessis, T. 2023. Die opkoms van Suid-Afrikaanse Gebaretaal as Suid-Afrika se 12de amptelike taal. [The rise of South African Sign Language as official language of South Africa] Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, 63(3), 585-614.

Bruwer, B., Van Staden, A. & Du Plessis, T. 2024. A Bilingual-Bicultural literacy programme for deaf learners in Namibia. Perspectives in Education 42(2): 267-281. DOI: https://doi.org/10.38140/pie.v42i2.7779.

Language legislation and language rights

The South African Language Rights Monitor (SALRM) is an annual report written by the Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment covering the years from 2002 to 2011. The Monitor gives an overall view on the state of language matters and language rights, specifically in South Africa, as predominantly reflected in the media during a given year. However, seeing as this publication focused only on a general overview of a given year, it was decided to shift the attention to ongoing, pressing issues.

From this, a new series evolved, known as the SALRM Focus Editions. This series explores various issues highlighted in the Monitor in depth. In part, it is our hope that these focus editions will contribute significantly to the present-era documentation of language developments in South Africa.

Language policies

These databases consist of language-related documentation within the South African context available from the internet by using basic search methods.

Language facilitation and language education

The Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment was involved in various community-outreach language and literacy projects. One of these projects, entitled 'Cognitive-linguistic processing of first- and second language learners with typical and atypical patterns of development', was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF). Prof Annalene van Staden was the grant holder and manager of this project, which also involved co-workers from Spain (such as Prof Serrano) and other colleagues and research associates from the ULFE, namely Dr Ansa Tolmie and Lizelle Eksteen.

The core focus of this project was three-fold. Firstly, it investigated the interplay of home and school variables in the development of learners’ early language and literacy as well as how these factors influence the language and literacy development of both first- and second-language learners. Secondly, this project examined the role of psycholinguistic processes involved in first- and second-language and literacy development, including the longitudinal transfer of these skills. Thirdly, it involved community outreach initiatives, which, among others, included the development and implementation of various intervention programmes to identify and support learners who experience language and literacy challenges, while also engaging with parents and teachers through teacher and parent training initiatives, as well as the development of school and home language and literacy programmes to support learners.
In addition to empowering and providing support to learners, teachers, and parents in diverse communities in the Free State Province and beyond, this project also offered students the ability to further their postgraduate studies at the UFS. In total, the research of eleven master’s and doctoral students were aligned with this project, from South Africa, Namibia and Lesotho. These students’ research and postgraduate studies were also funded by the NRF.

The first cycle of this NRF project commenced in 2014 and concluded at the end of 2016. The project did not receive new NRF funding for 2017, and the erstwhile ULFE continued funding the project and included Bergmanshoogte Intermediary School in Philippolis.