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Assessment 6: Final Portfolio - 217031

Christian van der Wath
Student number: 18129358
Group 15
Department of African Languages, Unisa
AFL1501: Language through an African Lens
Instructor: Dr. JO Nene
Name of TA: Dr ZS Gumede
Due Date: 22 May 2023
[email protected]
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Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 3
First Portfolio Activity ................................................................................................................................. 4
Second Portfolio Activity ............................................................................................................................ 5
Third Portfolio Activity ................................................................................................................................ 6
Fourth Portfolio Activity .............................................................................................................................. 8
Final Reflection .......................................................................................................................................... 9
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Introduction

This is the portfolio assignment for AFL1501. There are four parts to this assignment. In each, the student
explains his interpretation of the importance of ubuntu and having appreciation for different cultures, as
well as the importance of preventing a misunderstanding from occurring.
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First Portfolio Activity

I am an Afrikaans Christian person born in 1999 in Richards Bay. When I was four years old I moved to
George where I did most of my primary level schooling. In Grade 6. at the age of 12 I moved to the Paarl
where I enrolled into an all-boys primary school. I attended high school at Paul Roos Gymnasium after we
moved to Stellenbosch in 2013. Stellenbosch is still where my parents live and what I think of when I think
of ‘home’. I studied in Stellenbosch and received a BEng degree. Now I live in Greenpoint in Cape Town.

I speak Afrikaans and English and understand some Zulu. I can’t really speak Zulu, I only know what some
words mean. I don’t think my idiolect or ecolect has changed much, even though I moved around the country
a lot. You could say that my idiolect did a bit from being a child to an adult, but that’s partly because of
puberty and other natural aspects of growing up. I can speak in other idiolects, for instance, Afrikaans
people from the Paarl speak very flat Afrikaans whereas people from Pretoria speak very rounded Afrikaans.
This just means that their vowels, especially the o’s and e’s, are rounded or flattened.

The reason why I don’t think my idiolect has changed much is because my parents taught me from a young
age to stay true to myself and not try to be like others. I am good enough and don’t necessarily have to fit
in. The beautiful thing is, because I had this mindset and loved myself others also treated me with respect
and loved me for who I am.
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Second Portfolio Activity

1) I still think my first analysis is accurate. I still think that cultural differences cause massive
miscommunication issues. If it wasn’t for cultural differences being misinterpreted across the world, we
probably would not have this must conflict and stress in the world. having cultural differences should be
celebrated. One way of life is not necessarily the perfect or better way of life. in fact, people need to
acknowledge other’s cultures and make an effort to learn valuable life lessons from others. If you stay in
your own bubble, you will have very little perspective.

There could definitely be other ways. My way of thinking is very logical and not emotional. Another option
for understanding other cultures could be to actually live with those cultures. in fact, it might even be the
best way to understand another culture. But unfortunately, most people don’t have the time to do that.
Another way to understand other cultures could be to take a general approach and make it a habit to read
books about other cultures. This doesn’t always spike interest in people but could over the long run be very
useful in gaining perspective.

2) Yes, it has to an extent. The module taught me that there are various different reasons for people
acting the way they do. Most of the time when I notice something different, I should not be so fast to get to
a conclusion, whether it is a positive or negative conclusion. I should rather be open-minded and try to
understand what the other person is doing and why he/she is doing it. For example, in my culture, it is very
important to look someone in the eyes when greeting as it shows having good and sincere intentions.
however, in many Asian cultures, it shows more respect to bow down. I could perceive someone bowing
down as submitting to me. But it is actually just a greeting and showing of respect.

3) One student gave a very insightful strategy to overcome cultural differences. The student said that
it is always a good idea to ask for clarification. It is so easy to just ask someone what their intensions are
or even just why they are doing it. however, you need to make sure that you address the person respectfully
and don’t come across as arrogant.

Reference:

Comment by: MBALENHLE HAPPINESS NGCAMU; Comment: to Promise Palesa Makhubela.

Another student gave a nice explanation of being open-minded by using the consequences of the opposite.
Being Closed minded will create barriers between people and different cultural groups. It could have a
vicious chain reaction. It is very important to allow the other person to express themselves and for you to
take a moment to unravel what the person meant.

Reference:

Comment by: EASTER MOENG; Comment to: Promise Palesa Makhubele

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Third Portfolio Activity

1) Family Tree.

All the knowledge of my family tree are my own, from what has been passed down from my parent to me.
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2) My father is Jan-Georg van der Wath and my mother is Yolandi van der Wath. I have two siblings, Lisa
and Marcel Andreis Daniel. My sister, Lisa, is married to Ewaldt Verster and she took his surname. My
father has one brother, Charles van der Wath who is married to Sonja van der Wath. They have a daughter
named Kateryn. My mother has two siblings, Stefan and Annely. Stefan is unmarried, and Annely married
Hannes van der Merwe. Hannes and Annely have two daughters, Kristy and Kara. My mother’s parents are
Retha and Danie Brink, therefore her maiden name is Brink. My father’s parents are Rosa and Carel van
der Wath.

As seen in the family tree, on my father’s side, they can speak three languages, Afrikaans, English and
Zulu. On my mother’s side, they can speak two languages, Afrikaans and English. Lisa and Ewaldt have a
Daughter named Stella Grace, she is too young to speak. Kateryn is also too young to speak English but
she can speak and understand Afrikaans.
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Fourth Portfolio Activity

1) Comment from Nontsi:

Christian, why did you have a traditional wedding, not a modern one? Modern weddings are much more
popular. You are so old-fashioned!

Well, I really love the idea having a traditional wedding. it sets the premise for people to bless my marriage.
I only want people to attend my marriage if those people have a positive impact on my relationship with my
wife now, in the past in the future. I am also a Christian and want God to be present on the day of the
wedding as well as bless us with the Holy Spirit to guide us with our future together. Furthermore, a
traditional wedding shows respect for both my and my wife’s pasts and our upbringing. We honour our
parents and descendants. These are the people who are directly responsible for moulding us into the people
we are today. A wedding is a celebration of love, and I want it to be a big celebration. Traditional Afrikaans
weddings are exactly that. I also want to make it fun, and having a structure for things like canapes and
speeches adds to that aspect. It is nice to have a father-daughter dance, and for the father of the bride to
walk the bride down the aisle because he is responsible for taking care of his daughter up until the day of
her marriage. Then it is her husband’s responsibility.

2) Comment from Phila:

Christian, I can’t believe you are going to church on Sundays and have stopped communicating with your
ancestors. You have completely neglected your culture!

Thank you for taking the time and consideration for sharing your worries and opinion with m. I really
appreciate you coming to me with this, it shows to me that you really care about me. However, I have been
touched by the Holy Spirit and can not deny God as my Lord and Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I had divine
experience with the Holy Spirit and therefore have converted to Christianity. I believe that Christianity is a
faith and not a religion. I have to abide to the commandments of God as set out by Moses. One of the
commandments is not to praise other idles. Therefore I can not praise the ancestors. I still respect your
faith and religious choices. I hope this helps you to understand and respect mine as well. I go to Church on
Sundays to receive the word of God and help me interpret His will for me. This also helps me to stay focused
on His Kingdom during the week. I also have a life group with great people I see on a weekly basis. You
are more than welcome to join us once if you want to understand my new way of life more.

3) Comment from Pieter:

Christian, I am so disappointed that you chose not to play rugby at your school and do ballet instead. All
boys should play rugby; otherwise, they are not men!

Hello, Pieter. I have tried to play rugby for quite a while now and just don’t like the violence and aggression
behind it. I do still like to watch rugby and will always come and support our team. Me not partaking in rugby
anymore does not mean that I am abandoning the school spirit. I love the spirit it brings to our school, I
believe it unifies us. I like the art of ballet, as I find it challenging and calming. I would also appreciate it if
you could be open-minded and come watch me perform once, just like I am supporting you. I also don’t
think that rugby does not define what a man is, as rugby is not played by all men around the world. Most of
our favourite male musicians for instance do not play rugby, and we still respect them for bringing us joy
and entertainment with their music. Also, if I want to perform well in ballet, I can not take the chance of
sustaining an injury caused by rugby. Therefore, I have made the decision not to play rugby. However, if I
feel that I am missing out on the fun I will start playing again. I hope you will accept me trying out for a team
then.
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Final Reflection

1) I have learnt the value of broadening my perspective by having respect for are languages and cultures.
It is important to always be open-minded when interacting with someone of a different cultural background.
Most of the interaction with different cultural groups is a lesson you will only need to learn once, and then
you can understand other members of the same culture in future interactions. A person should not be easy
to judge someone by their culture before meeting the person, as we are not defined by our cultures. all
cultures have people with different personalities, and we should be mind full thereof. I should also have
strategies in place to understand other cultures better and try my best to come across as respectfully and
open-minded as possible. This will help me in the future with business ventures and social interactions.
Learning thigs from other cultures does not mean that I am abandoning my own, I will still practice my
culture as long as the practices are not harmful or disruptive towards other cultural groups. I am a Christian,
and god made us as all with our cultural differences. Who am I not to respect God’s decision for creating
different cultures? I have to see the beauty therein and try my best to learn valuable life lessons thereof.
For example, learning the lesson of Ubuntu is so valuable in helping others. I would not have learnt this
lesson if I was not open-minded when learning about other African cultures.

2) I love being Afrikaans. I love our way of life. I love that we are very orality inclined in doing right by
others and protecting our family. I love that God is the centre of the Afrikaans people. I love having a braai
and chatting with my friends. I love the jokes we make. I love that we cannot take things too seriously and
just have fun. We still know when to be serious and how to act. We are very honest and not afraid to own
up when we are wrong. We take our punishment and carry the consequences. I love going hunting with my
dad and learning all his life lessons. I love watching the Stormers on a Saturday with Dorito’s chips. We are
a very hard-working people, and I can usually count on someone from my cultural group to get the job done.
We are not afraid of taking on new challenges and supporting one another when we need each other. We
also love celebrations and celebrating others’ achievements. I can confide in all of my friends. The men
respect the woman, and the woman respects the men. We are not afraid to voice our opinions and are
sometimes a bit stubborn to change them, but once it is changed we will try to respect others’ opinions on
the same subject matter. Afrikaans people respect another cultural group, without compromising their way
of life. We appreciate the beauty of the world and God’s creation and try to preserve it to the best of our
abilities. We are not easily manipulated and are steadfast in our beliefs and morals. A core value is respect
and love for our neighbour, therefore we should always aim to respect other cultural groups, as long as they
are not harmful to any other person.

3) At the beginning of this subject, I was not very excited about learning about language in the sense of
other cultural ways. however, my mind has changed and I do see the importance of having respect for other
cultures and languages. This will only help me in the future and help the world come together, peacefully. I
have learnt the beauty of diversity and how important it is to preserve that diversity of the world. There is
awe and beauty in being different. I have learnt the importance of being open-minded and how this mindset
can help me prevent a massive misunderstanding and conflict situation from accruing. The world needs
more methods and more intentional method of helping each other understand our cultural differences. We
need to learn from one another in order to leave a better place behind for the next generations to come. I
have also gained an appreciation for my background and cultural group, especially our flaws and how we
have learnt from them. There is beauty in every cultural group. Maybe I should take up the challenge of
learning a third language.
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Academic Honesty Declaration:

1. I know that plagiarism means taking and using the ideas, writings, works or inventions
of another as if they were one’s own. I know that plagiarism not only includes verbatim
copying, but also the extensive use of another person’s ideas without proper
acknowledgement (which includes the proper use of quotation marks). I know that
plagiarism covers the use of material found in textual sources and from the Internet.
2. I acknowledge and understand that plagiarism is wrong.
3. I understand that my research proposal must be accurately referenced.
4. This research proposal is my own work. I acknowledge that copying someone else’s
research, or part of it, is wrong and that submitting identical work to others constitutes a
form of plagiarism.
5. I have not allowed, nor will I in the future allow anyone to copy my work with the
intention of passing it off as their own work.
6. I confirm that I have read and understood UNISA’s Policy for Copyright and Plagiarism
- https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Apply-for-admission/Master%27s-&-
doctoral-degrees/Policies,-procedures-&-forms

Full Name: Christian van der Wath Student No: 18129358