Our Places mobile application  

Our Places mobile application

Presenting the app
The Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies (University of the Free State, South Africa) is proud to present the mobile applications, Our Places and Our Places Pro. Etymological information is drawn from the Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Raper, Möller & Du Plessis, 2014; Jonathan Ball Publishers). Place names in South African Sign Language (SASL) are being added as they become available through our research. The free version of the app (Our Places) contains 30% of the content of the Dictionary as well as our available corpus of SASL place-name signs. In the paid version (Our Places Pro), 75% of the Dictionary as well as the available SASL place-name signs are presented.
This collection of data serves as a way to explore the interesting background to place names, as well as the variation in SASL. In this research, new information is continuously uncovered. Users, especially those conducting research, are encouraged to consult original resources and to approach the material with critical consideration.
Both versions are available for Android on the Google Play Store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=za.ac.ufs.ourplaces 
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=za.ac.ufs.ourplacesproapp

Our Places QR codeOur Places Pro QR code

Origins of the app
Prof Peter Raper (Professor Extraordinaire) and Dr Lucie Möller, both research fellows in our department, specialise in the Bushman etymology of Southern African place names. In 2014 they published the fourth updated and expanded edition of their dictionary with co-author Prof Theodorus Du Plessis: Raper PE, Möller LA & Du Plessis LT. 2014. Dictionary of Southern African Place Names. 4th edition. Jonathan Ball: Cape Town. (An updated and translated version is also available: Raper PE, Möller LA & Du Plessis LT. 2020. Plekname van Suider-Afrika. Protea Boekhuis: Protea). At the 2015 International Symposium on Place Names, of which al three are founding members, they proposed the idea to develop a mobile application to make the information more accessible, especially to travellers.

In 2017 the erstwhile Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment (ULFE) conducted a Big Data project to explore the application of big data in the humanities. As a sub-project, the possibility of such a mobile app was explored collaboratively between the ULFE (Dr Chrismi Loth and Jani de Lange) and the Department of Computer Science and Informatics (JP du Plessis). To this end, an agreement was signed with Jonathan Ball Publishers to use a percentage of the Dictionary’s content for the proposed app. Dr Chrismi Loth (ULFE) and JP du Plessis (Department of Computer Science and Informatics) co-supervised an honours project in this regard. The student developed a recommendation algorithm for such an app: Gomotso Lilokoe, BSc Hons, Department of Computer Science and Informatics, UFS. Project nr 2017/04. Title of project: ‘Technical manual: Raising awareness about the etymology of South African place names through recommendation agents’.

Closing in on the end of 2020, the development of the mobile app commenced. At this point the ULFE and the Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies (DSASLDS) have already been amalgamated. As a result, the conceptualisation of the app now entailed the inclusion of place names in South African Sign Language. The initial development was done by a contracted developer (Dr Gideon Kotzé), and by the end of 2022 an external company was involved via the UFS ICT Services.

SASL place names are not simply direct translations of spoken names. In addition, there is no systematically collected database of SASL place names. To address this information gap, the DSASLDS initiated the Survey of SASL Place Names project in 2021. This project was incorporated with the bigger ‘Advancing SASL for 4IR Technological Development Using Place Names’ project in 2022. SASL place-name signs from both phases of our research project contributes to the corpus included in Our Places and Our Places Pro.

Data sources
  • Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Raper, Möller & Du Plessis, 2014; Jonathan Ball Publishers): Etymological data on spoken/written place names.
  • Survey of South African Sign Language Place Names, Research project conducted by the Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies (UFS): South African Sign Language place names.
  • Advancing SASL for 4IR Technological Development Using Places Names, Research project as an extension of the Survey in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures: South African Sign Language place names.
  • National Institute for the Deaf: South African Sign Language place names.
  • Since the publication of the Dictionary in 2014, the South African municipal structures have been re-demarcated and renamed several times. For the most recent information in this regard, contact the Municipal Demarcation Board. The revision of place names is an ongoing initiative by the South African Geographical Names Council. Corresponding changes are gradually updated throughout the app.

Further research
Visit our archive (in development), Variation in SASL Place Names, at https://pokello.ufs.ac.za/s/sasl.

Funders
  • Sign Language Innovation, Entrepreneurial and Research Projects (Slierp) Committee of the Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies: General funding including salaries.
  • Office of the Vice-Rector, Research (UFS): Survey of South African Sign Language Place Names and development costs of the app.
  • Office of the Dean, Humanities (UFS): Survey of South African Sign Language Place Names.
  • Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (South Africa): Advancing SASL for 4IR Technological Development Using Places Names.

Contributors
  • Sign Language Innovation, Entrepreneurial and Research Projects (Slierp) Committee of the Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies: Conceptualisation and general support (Prof Theo Du Plessis, Prof Annalene Van Staden, Susan Lombaard, Jani De Lange, Chrismi Loth).
  • Survey of South African Sign Language Place Names core research team: Conceptualisation, pilot study (Chrismi Loth, Susan Lombaard, Jani De Lange, Emily Matabane, Prof Annalene Van Staden).
  • Advancing SASL for 4IR Technological Development Using Places Names contributing team: Conceptualisation, fieldwork, data processing (translations, annotations), place-name signs selection (Chrismi Loth, Prof Annalene Van Staden, Susan Lombaard, Patrick Sibanda, Sara Siyavoshi, Kirsten De Villiers, Nhlanhla Simelane, Emily Matabane, Jani De Lange, Annemarie Le Roux, Mamotete Mapeshoane, Gloria Motshoeneng, Anele Kotoyi, Donovan Wright).
  • OurPlaces core team: Conceptualisation and development of app (Chrismi Loth, Jani de Lange, Gideon Kotzé, ICT Service of the UFS).

Disclaimer
The selection of SASL place names is a reflection of variation in SASL, and should not be considered an official terminology list. For formally verified place-name signs, please contact the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) or see the Dictionary of the National Institute for the Deaf (NID).     
 

FACULTY CONTACT

T: +27 51 401 2240 or humanities@ufs.ac.za

Postgraduate:
Marizanne Cloete: +27 51 401 2592

Undergraduate:
Katlego Mabulana: +27 51 401 2495
Juanita Hlongwane: +27 51 401 3269

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