Photo: Mr Khothu Motsoahae, CUT Alumnus and author of the Boradi, Tshebetso le Tlhokomelo ya Transfomara book.

Universities across the country are working tirelessly to embrace and promote multilingualism to bridge the gap and the divide in societies, as well as ensure that all voices are heard.

On 17 April 2023, the Library and Information Services, Alumni Office and the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT), launched a Sesotho engineering book titled Boradi, Tshebetso le Tlhokomelo ya Transfomara, by CUT Alumnus and author, Mr Khothu Motsoahae.

The purpose of the launch was to promote language diversity and contribute to terminology development. In the African context, terminology development is crucial for the advancement of various fields, including science, medicine, engineering and technology. The lack of standardised terminology in many African languages has often hindered knowledge development in these fields.

According to Dr Xolani Khohliso, Curriculum and Academic Staff Developer (CILT), African languages are often the most effective means of communicating knowledge in their respective communities. "Integrating African languages into academic research, teaching, and learning can advance knowledge production and dissemination, make it more accessible to local communities, and promote more inclusive research," said Dr Khohliso.

Mr Motsoahae, not only contributed to the Sesotho academic language by developing the terminology but continued by writing an accessible book. "The challenge that I encountered while writing the book is that there were no equivalent Sesotho names to use for most of the engineering terms," said Motsoahae. However, he overcame the challenge, and Electrical and Mechanical Engineers now possess a lexicon describing transformers' usage, operation, and maintenance.

Photo: CUT Alumni Office, CUT Writing Centre and excited engineering students at the book launch.

The Alumni Office, who co-hosted and celebrated the remarkable achievement by Khotu, “We are honoured to be part of this history-making book launch; our students and any other Sesotho-speaking person in the mechanical and electrical engineering fields will now be able to possess a dictionary or a branch of knowledge in their mother tongue to describe the usage, operation, and maintenance of transformers," said Ms Jacqueline Pietersen, Deputy Director: Alumni Relations.