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Expert panel shares knowledge with UFS Department of Afrikaans

15 October 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin

A hundred years after Afrikaans was first offered as part of the subject Dutch at the UFS in 1919, the department (the oldest Afrikaans language department in South Africa) appointed a practice panel. The panel consists of experts from the corporate world, namely an advocate, a teacher, a newspaper editor, and a publisher. They all have one thing in common, viz. their linguistic underpinnings and language qualifications, and their general emphasis on the need for language teaching and proficiency (also in Afrikaans) in the professional sector.

On Friday 4 October 2019, the practice panel, including Adv. Henriëtte Murray (senior advocate and acting judge in the Bloemfontein High Court), Gert Coetzee (editor of Volksblad), Estelle Zwiegers (Afrikaans teacher at Fichardt Park High School – subject adviser for the Free State from 2020), and Liezel Meintjes (chief executive officer of SUN MeDIA Bloemfontein) informed senior students and staff about the importance and relevance of language, language proficiency, and vocational demands in terms of language.

The panel was appointed for a term of three years. “We will annually invite the practice panel to the postgraduate meeting with new postgraduate students, as well as to an annual meeting with senior students and staff to reflect on new plans and opportunities for students regarding practice requirements,” says Prof Angelique van Niekerk, Head of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the UFS.

Importance of language proficiency

‘The role of language in different professions’ was the topic of the discussion, during which panel members emphasised the importance of language proficiency. Language knowledge and proficiency form the essence of the legal profession. “Language proficiency is crucial to understand words not yet included in legal terminology,” Adv. Murray said. She also stressed that students should acquire the required language knowledge, since the interpretation of words could irrevocably affect people’s lives. Using examples from practice, she also pointed out the importance of teaching language structure (syntax and morphology).

As much as language proficiency is important in the legal profession, it is naturally also of great importance in journalism. Gert Coetzee, editor of Volksblad, has years of experience in the newspaper industry and considers the skilled ‘wordsmith’ as a great asset to fulfil the watchdog role of the media through a fascinating presentation of facts. Estelle Zwiegers, an Afrikaans teacher, emphasised the importance of language education at school level, saying that good knowledge and understanding of the way mother tongue is used for communication purposes, is of great value for learners – also at tertiary level.

With the appointment of this practice panel, the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French is responding to contextual changes in the tertiary education sector.

News Archive

Good quality wheat essential for bread production

2016-11-29

Robert Lindeque, wheat breeder at the ARC
Small Grain Institute in Bethlehem.
Photo: Supplied

“Wheat quality, specifically grain protein, is of the most crucial components determining the profitability of wheat farmers.”

This is according to Robbie Lindeque, wheat breeder at the ARC Small Grain Institute in Bethlehem. As a wheat breeder, one of his primary aims is to make a contribution to sustainable wheat production in the inland of South Africa.

A closer analysis of bread wheat protein

With his PHD thesis, "Protein quality versus quantity in South African commercial bread wheat cultivars”, Lindeque answered critical questions regarding the South African wheat industry. The major question of his PhD, which he received on 30 June 2016, was whether protein quality could compensate for protein quantity as a measure of bread quality in South Africa.

The three main wheat-producing areas in South Africa, the dryland summer rainfall region (Free State), dryland winter rainfall region (Western Cape), and the cooler irrigation regions (Northern Cape), were used as a starting point for the study.

Proteins are essential for the baking of good quality bread. Worldwide, the utilisation of wheat flour shipments in the baking industry is determined by the protein proportion of the shipment.

Lindeque says the aim of his thesis was to determine whether a closer analysis of bread wheat protein would provide a better indication of good or bad bread quality. “The conclusion from this study was that both protein quantity and protein quality from all three production areas in South Africa varies constantly in accuracy regarding the estimation of bread volume, mainly as a result of environmental factors,” says Lindeque.

Results relevant to the wheat industry

In 2012, application was made to the Winter Cereal Trust for funding of the project. After funding was approved – thus making the Winter Cereal Trust the main partner – seed samples were collected from the 2012 and 2013 national cultivar adaptation trials.

“After this, the seed underwent protein and flour analyses, which added a third year to the study, with the fourth year consisting of statistical processing and documenting of the results,” says Lindeque.

Funding by the Winter Cereals Trust contributed to the fact that the study constantly attempted to keep issues and results as relevant as possible to the wheat industry.

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