Die Taalkommissie

Die Taalkommissie (Afrikaans for The Language Commission) is an arm of the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South-African Academy for Science and Arts) that serves as the technical committee of the Nasionale Taalliggaam vir Afrikaans (NTLA, National Language Body for Afrikaans), which is the language regulator of the Afrikaans language. The Akademie was founded in Bloemfontein in 1909, and its arm, the Spellingskommissie (Spelling Commission), was formed in 1914 and renamed in 1964.^[1]

The Language Commission focuses mainly on the revision and publication of the Afrikaanse Woordelys en Spelreëls (Afrikaans Word List and Spelling Rules), a standard guide to the spelling and related writing conventions of the Afrikaans language.^[2] It is held as an authoritative source for the spelling of Afrikaans words, of which several, such as "baie", were spelled in multiple ways up to 1917. Ten editions of the AWS have appeared up to 2009.

Furthermore it takes cognizance of Afrikaans grammar and the natural developments in the Afrikaans language community, such as new terminology which emerges in technology and other disciplines.^[2] Its coverage of varieties of Standard Afrikaans is being expanded, which includes the Nama, Griekwa and Kaaps varieties. A large corpus of the words used in the Afrikaans Muslim community is also included in the AWS.^[3]

Ernst Kotzé of the NMMU was chairman from 2003 up to March 2012, when he was succeeded by Tom McLachlan, a linguist at UNISA.^[2]

See also

• Pan South African Language Board

References

1. Die Geskiedenis van die Afrikaanse Woordelys en Spelreëls History of the AWS
2. Rademeyer, Alet (24 March 2012). "Tom is leier van taal se komitee". Beeld (Johannesburg).
3. Die Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns: Taalkommissie The Akademie's website (in Afrikaans only)

External links

• The Afrikaanse Woordelys en Spelreëls website