The Department of African Languages is proud to announce in praise, that one of their colleagues, who is also the Head of isiNdebele Dictionary Unit housed IN THE African Languages Department at the University of Pretoria, Ms Sponono Katjie Mahlangu received her PhD during the spring graduation ceremony in 2016.

Ms Sponono Katjie Mahlangu has a lot of Education and Teaching experience in one of the Nguni languages which is isiNdebele, hence the choice of her topic.

In her thesis she researched and wrote about “The growth and development of isiNdebele Orthography and Spelling from 1921 to 2010”. She investigated the historical development of isiNdebele orthography in the pre-formal and formal periods.

Her study examined the formulation of the rules laid down by various isiNdebele orthographic publications. The study contributes to a better understanding of orthographic rules and how they should be formulated in African languages.

Congratulations Ms Mahlangu for your hard work and this achievement!