Emma Paulet

I’ve been appointed to serve on PanSALB‘s English National Language Body (ENLB). The ENLB is responsible for advising PanSALB on matters relating to English in South Africa – specifically things like English language standards, dictionaries, terminology, and literature. The ENLB can also advise on English language promotion, empowerment, development, and maintenance.

Attending the National Language Body Induction last week assured me of the relatively ‘comfortable’ status of English as a language in South Africa, compared with our other official languages – some of which are still in the early stages of standardisation. In contrast, English in South Africa doesn’t need promotion or empowerment.

How, then, can the ENLB be useful? My feeling is that our focus should be on promoting inclusive English in South Africa. This is something I’ll be exploring (and probably musing about on here!) in the future.

For now, I’d be keen to read your answers to this question: How can the ENLB serve English in South Africa?