Members of the Maseru Working Group presented their first academic paper, ‘Decolonial Literary Practice in Lesotho: The Work of Ba re e ne re Literature Festival’ at this conference, which was jointly organised by Departments of African Languages and Literature, English, French and Communications and Study Skills Unit of the Faculty of Humanities at the National University of Lesotho.
You can read the abstract
here.
Background of the conference
Figuratively, language is the ground upon which all forms of relationships are built. It is, indeed, the main link that connects individuals, as well as the medium through which culture is registered and transferred from generation to generation. As the technological landscape continues to evolve in Africa, ideas expressed through language, literature and other modes of formal and informal expression become the object of collaborative and interdisciplinary research, since the use of new applications and technologies make new kinds of teaching and academic research possible. Simultaneously, it is important to keep on evaluating and critiquing how these new forms of communication impact on the society. Thanks to translation and interpreting as tools that bridge the gap between cultures, information conceived in one particular language is able to transcend human borders and become accessible to all.
The 1st International Biennial Conference on Language, Linguistics and Literature covered interactions and issues surrounding language, linguistics and literature, as well as the various cultural environments and contexts within which they are adapted.
In light of the above, the subthemes of the conference were:
Subthemes
- Communication
- Translation and interpreting
- Digital humanities
- Second language acquisition
- Comparative literature
- Language teaching and learning
- Curriculum design
- Applied linguistics
- Creativity through inquiry approach at higher learning institutions
- Rethinking language policy
- African indigenous languages
The conferencehad the pleassure of hosting the following keynote speakers:
- Prof FL Moloi (retired professor of linguistics)
- Prof N Mathonsi (professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal)
- Prof J Kangira (professor at the University of Namibia)