Dis ons almal se taal

[ches]

Afrikaans is ons almal se taal, says Jordan

By Karima Brown

Afrikaans is not only the language of the Afrikaners - it belongs to all South Africans, says Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan.

Jordan was speaking about South Africa's heritage as the country celebrates Heritage Day on Friday.

Jordan believes South Africans share a common heritage, even though their experiences of the South African reality were different.

The challenge as we mark Heritage Day on Friday was to "appreciate the diversity of the South African community and embrace that diversity as a strength and not a weakness", he said.

Conflict is a huge part of South Africa's heritage, Jordan said, while pointing out that aspects of commonness "that makes us uniquely South African" have been forged.

An example, he said, was the evolution of the Afrikaans language, with the majority of people who speak Afrikaans today being black people. He pointed to the Dutch, Malay, Khoi and other influences in the language as testimony of this interaction.

His message to white Afrikaners who claimed the language for themselves: "Dis nie julle taal nie, dis ons almal se taal (it is not your language, the language belongs to all of us)."

Official opposition leader Tony Leon said it was important to encourage the diversity of language, culture and religion in South Africa. "There is a tendency to demand a cloying uniformity", he said. - Political Bureau.

* This article was originally published on page 3 of The Pretoria News on September 24, 2004