Clive Simpkins

A luta continua!

Beeld newspaper and media24.com have been syndicating deliciously distorted headlines purporting to represent the 'content' of my original article entitled It's time for Afrikaans to go. Cute that I'm accused of inflammatory headlining by various sectors. They might wish to examine the accuracy of their own poster-children-on-the-topic media!

Google Alerts notified me of a vigorous response to my posting on Afrikaans to be found on the website Kraaipromosies - specifically on their forum: http://www.kraaipromosies.co.za/tuis/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=376&forum=1

I responded with my (immediately previous to this) posting, entitled 'Perspectives'. I got an interesting reply from the website host and responded by putting my thoughts in between his various points. Here's the 'discussion'.

Re: Clive Simpkins, die vrot pampoen kraak Afrikaans af!

CS:

Thanks Raymond, for your insights. Here's my response: Regards, Clive


“Ai tog Clive, jy bly jou naam al erger gat maak! Wat jy hierbo se in jou "verduideliking" oor hoe jou kop gewerk het toe jy jou gewraakte artikel geskryf het, maak nie juis sin nie.

CS:
I'm OK with being considered an 'arse' if it helps explore issues which I believe are important in the social context in South Africa. I just don't understand why most of the language on Moneyweb (and now I notice the same on Kraaipromosies) in response to what I wrote, went to gutter-level instead of being a civilised and dignified discussion. That's disappointing.

Jy se dit kon enige ander verpligte taal gewees het, soos Frans?

CS:
Yebo- see below.

Nou vra ek jou, met trane in my oge, wat van Engels, wat ook verpligtend is? Hoekom het jy nie Engels gekies vir jou redenasie nie, hoekom "juis" afrikaans? Dit is omdat jy wou stir, nie waar nie?

CS:
Raymond, I responded on the Moneyweb blog talking about the absurdity of a black child having to learn English when Mother tongue education has been proven internationally to be the most successful developmental medium in a child's formative years. So I hold no brief for English to have favoured status over any other language.

As jy bloot gese het dat dit verkeerd was om Afrikaans, asook enige ander taal op iemand af te dwing, sou jy 'n geldige argument gehad het, maar jy het met 'n duistere motief spesifiek Afrikaans uitgekies?

CS:
The reason I referred to Afrikaans was because the specific school I was told about doesn't offer any other choices. Therefore Afrikaans (and yes, English) are presently both 'compulsory' because of this lack of choice.

En waar was jy die afgelope 10 jaar dat jy nou eers agtergekom het dar Afrikaans op skool as vak aangebied word?

CS:
Good question. It shows that assumptions about things changing are not always the same as the actuality!

Hoekom moet 'n Zoeloe laerskool kind Engels as onderrig taal kry, as dit bewys is dat hy beter kan vaar om in Zoeloe onderrig te ontvang?

CS:
Please see my earlier comment. I think it's plain dumb to teach a kid in other than a Mother language. Most rural black kids are taught English in an African language anyhow. The Israelies (and I'm NOT Jewish before someone goes there) use a process called 'saturation' - in which all exposure - reading, music, radio, TV, newpapers and magazines, is in Hebrew. That's been found to be most effective - to concentrate on a single vernacular until it's thoroughly imprinted.

Hoekom ry ouers verby 100 de Engelse skole om hulle kinders spesifiek in 'n Afrikaanse skool in te sit?

CS:
I guess because they're making choices that they believe will be best for their kids. That will maintain cultural norms, mores and traditions. The Indian and Jewish people (as I mentioned in my very original article) have adopted that same approach for many years. They've set up 'outside-of-school' extra-curricular structures to make that possible.

Clive, kortweg glo ek, hoe jy ookal jouself probeer verduidelik agterna, moes jy eers jouself verduidelik het voordat jy op jou blog sulke onsin gepos het! Dis duidelik dat jy spesifiek Afrikaans uitgekies het, met die doel om te "stir".

CS:
If that is what you choose to believe, I have no way of pesuading you otherwise. I don't understand why discussion about Afrikaans has to be seen as an attack on Afrikaners. Because in my mind it isn't. What could I possibly have against Afrikaners? Even awful treatment at the hands of one corporal van der Watt and a lunatic sergeant Kriek during my national service days didn't generate hatred, so why would I start now? That's the truth.

The disappointment in this whole attempt to get a debate going (I asked 'What do you think?' at the end of my original article), is that people choose to see discussion about some facet of their culture as an attack on them personally. Forgive my dof-heid, but I can't understand that. I turned the argument around in my mind and asked myself this: If an Afrikaans writer had written those things about English, how would I as an English-speaking South African have felt. Know what? My honest conslusion is that I'd think, 'OK - your view, I don't agree with it' and turn the page or scroll down.

Jy weet natuurlik dat jou "argument" soos wat jy nou probeer om dit toe te pas, geen gronde inhou nie, aangesien Afrikaans nie 'n verpligte vak in 'n Engelse skool is nie, en dit maak jou hele argument ongeldig!

CS:
My (possibly faulty) reasoning goes like this: If there are two subjects and no alternative to those subjects, they become 'compulsory' because there's no other choice. There are schools in which you cannot take an African language as the second language because there are no teachers in those schools to teach that language. I also understand that if you are in a school where you're learning an African language, it might limit the choice of schools to which you might wish to transfer in another area if they don't offer the same facility. Tell me what's incorrect in the logic of this and I'll happily embrace the 'new view'.

Ek dink, jy moet eerder hande vat met ons Afrikaans sprekendes, van alle rasse en gelowe, en nie gelowe, en eerder opbouend probeer om ons ook 'n regverdige kans te gun in hierdie land. Kortweg, "snap" asseblief uit die verlede, en kyk in die toekoms, waar Afrikaans sprekende persone nog altyd die groter bydrae maak tot hierdie land se ekonomie! Een of twee Afrikaanse vriende wat jy het, gaan nie die ding doen vir jou nie.

CS:
Dan Roodt of http://www.praag.org suggested I 'abhored' Afrikaners. I said to Dan that if God were standing with us, I could look Dan in the eye and tell him that I don't even actively DISLIKE anyone else, much less 'abhor' something or someone. The only things I abhor are dishonesty, injustice and cruelty.

Ek kon hierdie brief in Engels aan jou geskryf het, maar wat de hel, hierdie is 'n Afrikaanse webwerf!

CS:
That's absolutely not an issue - it's an Afrikaans site. I apologise for not being able to express my views adequately enough in Afrikaans. Thank you for the opportunity of being able to present my thinking to your forum readers.

Clive, vat Afrikaans sprekendes se hand, en dit sal goed gaan met jou gemoed, net soos wat ons Afrikaans sprekendes ook bereid is om enige anderstalige te akkomodeer in hierdie land.”

CS:
In my heart and mind, all of humankind and indeed consciousness are my sisters and brothers. So I don't need to find a special relationship with Akrikaans-speaking people. I have the same respect for them.

Regards, Clive

Perspectives

The article I wrote, entitled, 'It's time for Afrikaans to go' (as a non-optional choice in some cases from the education system) has elicited a firestorm of protest. There have been accusations that I wrote it to be sensationalist, to 'prop up a flagging career' and many other very distastefully-worded notions.

In an Afrikaans radio interview yesterday I said that if something could stir up this amount of hatred, threats of violence and the like, it demonstrates clearly that there is a festering wound on the topic. The thin veneer of the South African 'rainbow nation' is obviously a social facade. So, however painful, the one route to 'healing' is discussion. Optimally, robust and dignified - but of course we have no control over the emotions of a minority within the Afrikaans-speaking community who have chosen a less dignified approach to debating the topic.

Perhaps the best way I can respond to the flood of commentary is by pasting below a copy of an e-mail that I sent through to Dan Roodt, the custodian of http://www.praag.org. Dan is a gifted writer and a formidable intellect and whether you agree with his 'conspiracy' views on the ANC or not, he's well-worth reading. Dan called for a public apology within 48 hours and kindly took the trouble to send me a detailed and very erudite e-mail. What's below was my response to that mail.

Dear Dan, groete and thanks for taking the trouble to so carefully lay out your valid viewpoints. For the record I'm not British and nor were my forefathers. I come from Dutch and German stock. That said, I'm deeply saddened by the overall response to the article. The intention was to open up for debate the issue of something being 'compulsory' because no alternative exists or is offered. I guess it could as well have been French under discussion. But as it happens it was Afrikaans. I tend to have a blunt style of writing and that clearly has not helped.

God-gospel truth - my two closest, dearest friends are Afrikaners and speak Afrikaans as their home language. I have no beef with any linguistic or ethnic group. I couldn’t, because one of my passions is embracing and advocating diversity. You will notice if you go back over my blogs archive (and indeed dozens of articles on my main website) I have written for many years on social issues affecting all communities. That doesn’t mean I have anything against any of them. I don't. I just tend to write about things from the perspective of what I (and I acknowledge that's deeply subjective) perceive as 'truth' - with a little 't'. I have been variously called anti-Semitic, pro-British, a ‘kaffirboetie’, pro-Islamic and now I’m branded ‘anti-Afrikaans’. I conclude that if one writes – about anything – you’re going to upset someone. I accept that and don’t expect sympathy.

Dan, I don’t feel superior to anyone. I believe the One divine spirit pervades us all. So that makes us equal before God.

I’m very sorry if you felt I was part of some conspiracy against a volk whose fortitude I admire. Thanks for being willing to talk it through in a dignified and constructive manner. I embrace your integrity.

With warmest regards, Clive

Prof. Robert Cloniger's SQ assessment

Here we go! For Deloitte Corporate Finance and the SA Veterinary Association Convention delegates. Hope you find it useful. Right click on the picture and choose the print option.

Why you need tech-literacy

Last week I downloaded my first audio book from the Internet for ‘reading’ (listening to) on my newly acquired iPod. Both the book download and the iPod are as a result of the influence of one Mike Stopforth. It’s a marvellous antidote to the ‘don’t have sufficient time to read’ dilemma that afflicts us all. Because it’s not on a CD or tape but stored on the eminently portable iPod, it’s ‘listen-ability’ factor is superb in convenience and versatility terms. It’s another small step in my quest to keep pace with essential techknowledge. The device will also play a role in the downloading of a first podcast, recorded this week. So watch this space!

Mike is the 20-something tech-geek who has an op-ed column (envy!) every Friday in the Citizen newspaper and is also an itinerant blogger for www.moneyweb.co.za. He has a formal website www.mikestopforth.com and a blog that serves the needs of his ‘business unit’ (I’m sure he has a much more trendy word for it) within the Dr. Graeme Codrington www.tomorrowtoday.biz international alliance. Mike’s ‘baby’ is www.tomorrowconnecting.biz. Quite a mouthful, but he deals with how cultures, organizations and individuals ‘talk to’ and ‘connect with’ each other in the new ‘connection economy’ as it’s called. If you think this is just so much new-fangled techno-speak and codswallop, think again.

In the last few months of addressing audiences on a variety of topics I’ve intentionally tossed in a PowerPoint slide each time with the question, ‘Do you know what these are?’ Below that question have been: Blog, RSS, Wiki, Podcasting and Viral Marketing. I’ve been consistently amazed by the miniscule number of people that showed even vague recognition of even one of them. Something like 1% of the audience if we’re lucky – and usually someone very young.

This is terrifying when you consider that any one of the elements I’ve just referred to has the ability to mess with an organization’s marketing, advertising, communications, PR, promotions, event management and reputation with a power and impact hitherto unparalleled. A dramatic overstatement? No. Blogs are ‘informal’ websites which are characterised primarily by their interactive element – readers can engage and post comments in response to the writing. They may not (yet?) have become the force they were expected to, they are nevertheless incredibly powerful. All it takes is for a blogger to post something about a positive or negative experience - it then gets syndicated via RSS (really simple syndication) to other subscribing Bloggers or via www.technorati.com or a similar site and the rest as they say, is history.

Mike Stopforth has written articles (go read ‘em) on the power of a blog to make corporates jump up and down as though they’re dancing on hot coals. And yet it’s the marketing and PR people who seem to know least about these new technologies. Maybe CEOs should start asking for a regular new-media briefing and update? It’s one way at least of coercing the required level of tech-literacy.

There’s no excuse in saying you’re too busy. If I were to inform you of a significant impending threat to your business, you’d almost undoubtedly make time to explore, understand and put in place containment or management processes to address that threat. Yet people sail merrily on ignoring the technowave that threatens to engulf them and their ability to market or protect the reputation of their business. Just as it’s a threat, it’s also a magnificent opportunity for the prescient and early-adopters of the technology.

The insidious part of this communications socio-quake is that it’s happening quietly in the background. So folk don’t notice it. A bit like my female Rottweiler, who according to my Vet, has been steadily gaining weight right under my nose. Just because we see each other daily, I haven’t noticed the change. Now I’m doing something about it, before it becomes a health hazard for her. Maybe you should do likewise with your tech-knowledge?