Current projects
2020-2022
Digital Dictionary Resources for N|uu
This project is funded by DSAC and will be delivered in 2022. The aim of the project is to deliver a physical and digital dictionary in four languages: N|uu, Khoekhoegowab, Afrikaans and English. This resource will be made available digitally for free, with limited edition hard copies available for the ǂKhomani San.
2020-2023
Maguire San Ethnobotanical Collection
Digitisation of Ethnobotanical Collection with a focus on Ju|'hoansi and !Xoo
The aim of this project is to share via open source digital means, an historical collection of San ethnobotanical data. The data was collected between 1954 and 1975 by Mr Brian Maguire and his wife Dr Judy Maguire in close collaboration with Ju|’hoan and !Xoo communities of the Kalahari.
This is a comprehensive collection, meticulously documented in various mediums available at the time (slides, photographs, field-notes, journals, manuscripts and drawings) providing detailed descriptions of plant use by our indigenous first peoples, most especially food plants in water scarce areas.
Free online access to the digitised content so far is available via Stellenbosch University at the following link:
2020-2023
Bilingual Plant Posters
These posters was developed collaboratively with mother tongue speakers of Ju|'hoansi, an endangered Ju language spoken in Namibia and Botswana.
The purpose of the poster is to share indigenous knowledge about food plants as used by the Ju|'hoansi in the Tsumkwe area of the Nyae Naye conservancy in Namibia.
This poster is bilingual Ju|'hoansi and English in order to facilitate mother tongue education and incorporate the national language of Namibia, English. There are two versions of this poster, 1) the pdf with embedded sound clips, intended to be used online 2) the pdf with QR codes for the sound clips - intended as a print version.
All audio recordings were done by a mother tongue speaker and translator, Fridrik |Kunta. Artwork and layout, Nicola Poulos. Consulting linguist and project coordinator Dr Kerry Jones. Director of African Tongue, Postdoctoral Researcher for Rhodes University and Research Associate at Stellenbosch University.
Funding for this project was jointly provided by the Kalahari Peoples Fund and the National Research Fund (South Africa).
This content was inspired by the Maguire San Ethnobotanical Collection housed at Stellenbosch University and is the life's work of Brian Maguire and his wife Judy Maguire.
Baobab example available at the following link:
https://figshare.com/articles/poster/poster-1-Baobab_v7_DIGITAL_RichMedia_pdf/14816088
2020-2022
|Kaggen Sculpture and !Ora Star Names
Art installations to be installed at the new South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Cape Town, South Africa.
2015-2022
ǂKhomani San | Hugh Brody Collection
Digital curation of the contents of this collection housed at the University of Cape Town
This is an ongoing collaboration between African Tongue, UCT and the ǂKhomani San to digitise and preserve the history of the ǂKhomani San. This includes the development of transcript files in the highly endangered N|uu language as well as Khoekhoegowab and Kora (!Ora).