Being able to communicate effectively, efficiently and appropriately in one or more of the indigenous African languages, and/or knowledge of multi- and cross-cultural communication, are highly sought after skills in the public as well as in the private sector. Having conversational skills in at least one of the 11 official African languages of the country will help you to handle the communicative situation with much more ease and self-confidence. One or more of the African languages are excellent in combination with any other subject and will add value to any field of study.

The modules that we offer in the department of African Languages can be included in a wide variety of academic programmes, and are not restricted to students within the Faculty of Humanities. In our department, we cater for everyone, from absolute beginners to mother tongue speakers of the language, from first up to third year level. The medium of instruction is aligned with the target group of each module. We offer courses in:

• IsiZulu, Setswana and Sepedi

                        - for beginners

                        - as first or second additional language

                        - as home language
 

• IsiNdebele as home language

In the courses for beginners, we strive towards a balanced approach, providing students not only with grammatical knowledge, but also with basic conversational, reaading and writing skills. In our modules aimed at home language speakers, a thorough grounding in grammar and literature is provided.

In order to register for the correct modules in your first year, please follow the guidelines below.

1. If you are a beginner learner, the module codes for the first semester are as follows:

Sepedi for Beginners: SEP 110

Setswana for Beginners: STW 110

isiZulu for Beginners: ZUL 110

2. If you are a home language speaker (or a first or second additional language learner) of any of the languages on offer, the codes are as follows for your first semester modules:

Sepedi for Home language speakers: SEP 111

Setswana for Home language speakers: STW 111

isiZulu for Home language speakers: ZUL 111

isiNdebele for Home language speakers: NDE 110

            For a full description of the contents of these modules, please see the description in the Yearbook

3. The modules listed in 1 and 2 above are all first semester modules. If you want to complete one full year in any particular language, you must register for the following modules in the second semester:  

         The codes for the second semester modules for beginner learners are as follows:

SEP 120 follows SEP 110,

STW 120 follows STW 110 and

ZUL 120 follows ZUL 110.

All Home language speakers, i.e. students who registered for SEP 111, STW 111, ZUL 111 and NDE 110 in the first semester, must register for AFT 121 in the second semester. 

• MA Coursework in African Languages
• MA Research in African Languages
• MA programme in Applied Language Studies (Research)
• PhD programme in African Languages
• BA Hons in African Languages