Xhosa also isiXhosa as an endonym,is a Nguni language and one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Xhosa is spoken as a first language by approximately 8.2 million people and by another 11 million as a second language in South Africa,mostly in Eastern Cape,Western Cape,Northern Cape and Gauteng. It has perhaps the heaviest functional load of click consonants in a Bantu language,with one count finding that 10% of basic vocabulary items contained a click.
Stellenbosch is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa,situated about 50 kilometres east of Cape Town,along the banks of the Eerste River at the foot of the Stellenbosch Mountain. The town became known as the City of Oaks or Eikestad in Afrikaans and Dutch due to the large number of oak trees that were planted by its founder,Simon van der Stel,to grace the streets and homesteads.
Archibald Campbell Mzolisa "A.C." Jordan was a novelist,literary historian and intellectual pioneer of African studies in South Africa.
Stellenbosch University is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch,a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Saharan Africa,together with the University of Cape Town - which received full university status on the same day in 1918. Stellenbosch University designed and manufactured Africa's first microsatellite,SUNSAT,launched in 1999.
At least thirty-five languages indigenous to South Africa are spoken in the Republic,eleven of which are official languages of South Africa:Ndebele,Pedi,Sotho,Swati,Tsonga,Tswana,Venda,Xhosa,Zulu,Afrikaans,and English,which is the primary language used in parliamentary and state discourse,though all official languages are equal in legal status. Unofficial languages are protected under the Constitution of South Africa,though few are mentioned by any name. South African Sign Language has legal recognition but is not an official language,despite a campaign and parliamentary recommendation for it to be declared one.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to South Africa:
The Handwoordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal (HAT),is the best known explanatory dictionary for the Afrikaans language and is generally regarded as authoritative. Compared to the Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal (WAT) it is a shorter Afrikaans explanatory dictionary in a single volume. The latest edition of the HAT,the sixth,was published in 2015,50 years after the first edition of 1965. HAT6 comprises 1,636 pages.
Maria Elizabeth Rothmann,penname M.E.R. was an Afrikaans writer,and co-founder of the Voortrekkers youth movement. Her unique contribution to Afrikaans literature was an ethical didactic,cultural historic review of a bygone Afrikaans society.
Annelie Lotriet is a South African politician,a Member of Parliament with the Democratic Alliance (DA) who is the Shadow Minister of Science and Technology and served as Acting Leader of the Opposition. She is also the provincial chairperson of the DA in the Free State. In May 2019,Lotriet was elected Democratic Alliance Caucus Chairperson.
The Revd Professor Peter Tshobisa Mtuze is a poet,priest and academic. He worked as an interpreter in the law courts of the old South Africa,a radio announcer,a salesperson for a publishing company,a civil servant in the homeland government structures,a lecturer at Unisa,an Editor in Chief of the Greater Dictionary of isiXhosa at Fort Hare,before joining Rhodes University as Professor and Head of the isiXhosa Department.
Godfrey Isaac Malunga Mzamane was a novelist,literary historian,academic and intellectual pioneer of African studies in South Africa.
Anton Albert van Niekerk is a South African bioethicist and academic based at Stellenbosch University.
Phyllis Ntantala-Jordan was a South African political activist and author. She and literary historian Archibald Campbell Jordan were the parents of politician Pallo Jordan.
Cameron Muir Dugmore is a South African politician who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. A member of the African National Congress,he has been serving as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since 2014. He previously served in the provincial parliament from 1994 to 2009. He served as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport from 2008 to 2009,and as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Education from 2004 to 2008.
Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane is a South African politician who has been serving as the seventh Premier of the Eastern Cape since May 2019. He was previously Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development,Environmental Affairs and Tourism in the Eastern Cape provincial government from May 2018 to May 2019.
McCollen Ntsikelelo Jack,known as Mac Jack,was a South African educator and politician. A member of the African National Congress,Jack was appointed to the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature in June 2013. He served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Transport,Safety and Liaison from June 2013 until May 2014,when he was appointed the MEC for Health. Following a cabinet reshuffle in March 2016,he was appointed the MEC for Finance,Economic Development and Tourism. Jack held the position until his appointment as MEC for Education in May 2019,despite him briefly being demoted from the Executive Council in May 2017.
Nicholas Georg Myburgh is a South African farmer,lawyer and politician for the Democratic Alliance. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2021. Myburgh had previously served as the Executive Mayor of the Swellendam Local Municipality from 2011 to 2021.
Nolitha Ntobongwana is a South African educator and politician. She currently serves as the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure in the National Assembly. A member of the African National Congress,she has been a Member of Parliament since 2019. Ntobongwana had previously served in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature.
Dianne Stewart is a South African author who has published over 40 books for adults and for children. She writes in English,and her books have been translated both into African languages,including Xhosa,Zulu,Sotho,and Afrikaans,and European languages,including French,Spanish,and Swedish.
Sakhumzi Stoffels Somyo is a South African politician. A member of the African National Congress,he was elected to the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature in 2014. He was then appointed as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) responsible for the Finance,Economic Development,Environment and Tourism portfolio. In 2018,he was fired as an MEC. Somyo was elected to Parliament in 2019. Soon after,he was elected Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Auditor General.
