{"id":12780,"date":"2026-08-17T12:48:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/?p=12780"},"modified":"2026-08-18T14:51:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T12:51:23","slug":"sadilar-takes-african-language-grammar-into-the-digital-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/sadilar-takes-african-language-grammar-into-the-digital-age\/","title":{"rendered":"SADiLaR Takes African Language Grammar into the Digital Age"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

18 August 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR)<\/a> is dedicated to supporting the development and digitisation of South African languages, ensuring that these languages have a significant presence in the digital future. This commitment is exemplified by the introduction and launch of the African Language Grammar Portal (ALGraP)<\/a>. This digital resource provides accessible and detailed information on the grammatical structure of South African languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In alignment with SADiLaR\u2019s mandate to ensure that African languages not only survive in the digital age but also thrive, the development of platforms like ALGraP illustrates how language preservation can go hand in hand with technological innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developed to make linguistic knowledge more accessible, ALGraP currently features comprehensive resources on Setswana and isiXhosa, covering the phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax of these languages.\u00a0As printed grammar books may not be readily available and can be outdated, ALGraP provides up-to-date perspectives from senior national and international researchers in digital format. The platform is not only available online but can also be accessed in mobile format for instant reference when necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALGraP brings detailed grammatical knowledge of African languages into an accessible digital environment. The portal offers users the opportunity to explore their linguistic structure in depth on a comparative basis, switching from one language to the other on a specific topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing linguistic knowledge online<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For students, educators and researchers, this provides a valuable reference resource. For researchers and linguists, it offers an opportunity to engage with detailed descriptions of African languages. For language practitioners, it can support language development, editing and the creation of language resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why digital language resources matter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the world moves rapidly towards artificial intelligence, digital education, machine translation and other language technologies, African languages need to be present in the digital spaces where these technologies are being developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This requires more than simply translating existing content. It requires deep linguistic knowledge, quality language data and digital resources that capture how African languages actually function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALGraP is part of this important journey. By making grammatical knowledge more accessible, the platform contributes to the documentation, research and digital development of South Africa’s languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For SADiLaR, initiatives such as ALGraP demonstrate the importance of developing digital infrastructure that ensures African languages are represented in the technologies and knowledge systems shaping the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking towards a multilingual digital future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While the platform currently features Setswana and isiXhosa as a first phase project, its future vision extends across South Africa’s linguistic landscape. Planned expansion includes isiZulu, siSwati, Sesotho, Sepedi, isiNdebele, Xitsonga and Tshivenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This expansion has the potential to create a valuable multilingual digital knowledge resource that reflects the country’s linguistic diversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project partnership and collaborations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This collaborative project between SADiLaR and the Dutch Language Institute was made possible through the contributions of several colleagues from North-West University, Walter Sisulu University, Rhodes University, Nederlandse Taalunie, University of Cape Town, and Stellenbosch University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed to the success of this project. This includes the staff members of SADiLaR, part-time assistants, and the invaluable contributions of the late Dr Mfusi Hoza from Walter Sisulu University, as well as the late Dr Mhlobo Jadezweni from Rhodes University. Additionally, I extend special appreciation to Dr Friedel Wolff of SADiLaR and Mr Cael Marquard from UCT for their essential technical support, which played a crucial role in the project’s achievements,” stated Prof Justus Roux, the editor and project leader of this initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore the African Language Grammar Portal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This grammar portal is hosted in the SADiLaR repository. Researchers, educators, students, language practitioners, and members of the public are invited to explore ALGraP: the African Language Grammar Portal and discover the science behind the languages we speak. The portal is available here: Access ALGraP \u2013 African Language Grammar Portal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By: Lihle Sosibo<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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18 August 2026 The South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) is dedicated to supporting the development and digitisation of South African languages, ensuring that these languages have a significant presence in the digital future. This commitment is exemplified by the introduction and launch of the African Language Grammar Portal (ALGraP). This digital resource […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[741,733],"tags":[1142,1163,1083,1164,784,1078,1165,812,796],"class_list":["post-12780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogs","category-news","tag-sadilar-2","tag-algrap","tag-collaboration","tag-grammar","tag-isixhosa","tag-languages","tag-portal","tag-setswana","tag-south-african-languages"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/252"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12780"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12832,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12780\/revisions\/12832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}