Welcome to the OC 154 podcast

In this first episode of the podcast, H and I are having a look at the indigenous South African languages.

So, during the month of June, Motsweding and Lesedi Fm celebrated their birthdays, and we thought, this would be such perfect time to reflect on the state of African languages, and to also interrogate the role that the vernacular media plays in growing and advancing these languages.

As you will hear, the conversation quickly morphs into a debate about how the pedantry that surrounds the use of these languages, hinders their day to day use, and arguably their growth too, you know. 

In this brief argument, you really get to hear how our respective life experiences and upbringings really shaped our attitudes towards our mothers’ tongue. 

So, I grew up in a Tswana speaking town in the Free State, and I went to the township schools from the beginning all the way to my matric year, and H on the other hand, comes from a Venda speaking family, but spent a greater part of schooling years in Gauteng, and went to a former Model-C school.

I spoke my mother tongue for the most part of my schooling years and H had an almost opposite experience. And you can really hear how these opposing experiences filter through to our conversation and the views we take in this. This is truly a South African conversation more than anything, I am sure many can relate to these kind of dynamics.

At some point in the podcast, we also have a look at the vernacular radio stations, where we shine a spotlight on the state of these radio stations at the current moment, and whether they are living up to the expectation we have of them, and whether they will survive these technological times where the internet is overtaking everything.

At the beginning of the podcast, we reflect on our failed attempts of getting into radio, which I promise will make you feel good about yourself, lol.

This is a subject matter that is really close to our hearts, so I really hope you enjoy the podcast.