Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

International Mother Language Day Celebration 2021

23 March 2021 | Story Mbali Moiketsi

The Office for International Affairs recently celebrated International Language Day. This year, we invited all faculties to submit the names of people who would be willing to contribute video clips to educate us about their mother tongue. The videos submitted were from diverse academic staff members and postdoctoral fellows currently based in different parts of the world. Extensive research has created this edutainment video, featuring famous language quotes, indigenous languages across the African continent, and business languages used across the African continent. Some of the indigenous languages on the African continent are fading away, caused by colonial influence.

Fun facts:
From 1994 to 2013, South Africa was in the Guinness Book of World Records for most official languages. These are Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Sepedi, Sesotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu.

Since the adoption of the 2013 Constitution, Zimbabwe now holds this title with 16 official languages, namely Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, Sign Language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa. Zimbabwe therefore now holds the Guinness World Record for the country with the largest number of official languages.

Albeit the main languages in Zimbabwe are English, Shona and Ndebele, the minor languages are Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Kunda, Lozi, Manyika, Nambya, Ndau, Nsenga, Tsonga-Shangani, Sotho, Tjwao, Tonga, Tswa, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa.

WATCH: International Mother Language video

News Archive

Judge Deon van Zyl donates prominent collection of legal books to the UFS

2009-12-08

His Honourable Judge Deon van Zyl, Inspecting Judge of Prisons recently donated his collection history of law books, including valuable editions of Roman Dutch law resources and works on Roman law and history of law to the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS). “I trust that this will be of use as aids for research and training in law,” Judge Van Zyl said.

This is the biggest collection ever that the faculty received.

Prof. Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law says this collection is of invaluable worth for the faculty as well as the UFS. This unique source will enables the faculty to place postgraduate learning and research about the common law on a much higher level. “Without this collection the faculty will have been much poorer,” Prof. Henning said.

Judge Van Zyl made this donation showing his appreciation for what the Faculty has managed to accomplish over the years. At age 26, from 1 July 1971 to 31 December 1973, he was the first Head of and Professor in the Department of Roman Law and History of Law who taught in the Faculty of Law at the UFS.
Photo: Stephen Collett

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept