The Department of Communications has launched a Web portal that pays tribute to SA`s official languages.
Speaking at the launch on Monday, communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri said: "This portal, consisting of 12 Web sites, will contain information about the language, heritage, forms of cultural expression, literature, folklore and histories of our people in the medium of all their languages and in the Khoi-San language as well."
The site took over a year to develop, and research was carried out in consultation with academics who have worked in language preservation of each of the cultures.
The site sports various cultural links for each language, as well as a forum and a list of upcoming events. The site is still under construction, but Mthobeli Tengimfene, project manager for development, says the forums will encourage future input from the public.
"We want to start focusing on contemporary issues that are experienced by ordinary people, like health and SMME development," he says. "All this information will be made available on the site."
The department says the purpose of the site is to promote and preserve the heritage, culture and languages of South Africans in an electronic format, promote the sharing of indigenous knowledge and cultural exchange, and encourage further research on the history, tradition and culture of different South African languages.
"This is part of our efforts to use information and communications technologies to bridge the digital and knowledge divide and to ensure our people can access information that can shape their lives in the languages of their choice," said Matsepe-Casaburri.
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