Debate winners highlight the uniqueness of Afrikaans

In honour of the 100th anniversary of Afrikaans this year, the first ever Nou Praat jy! public speaking competition was held last week Wednesday, June 25, at Curro Durbanville High School.

The competition presented pupils from high schools all over the Western Cape with the chance to come and compete and put on display their own, unique form of Afrikaans, the version they love, feel comfortable in, and excel in.

Winners of the inaugural competition were Stellenbosch High Pupils, Liney Paulsen and Lara Slabber, who outshone the other competitors, securing first-place positions in the Senior Afrikaans Huistaal category.

Liney, 16, from Strand, said being announced as the winner was overwhelming, and she was in a state of disbelief when they called out her name.

She said she felt proud, thankful and just happy she could share this moment with Lara.

She said, “It really was a moment of, 'Wait, what did they call out my name?”

Debating in the Afrikaans debate against the backdrop of the 100th milestone is an added bonus in celebration of a language she finds so special and unique.

There are so many reasons why Afrikaans is so special to her.

 “Afrikaans is warm and full of life. It's the language in which I tell jokes, show emotion, and build relationships. I love how the memes and mannerisms put us all on the same page; it's like a secretive Afrikaans inside joke that everyone understands.”

Fellow winning team member and also a Strand resident, Lara, 17, said she decided to take part in the competition because, as an avid and passionate talker, who sees debating as her creative outlet, she couldn't let the opportunity to compete in this duo competition pass her by.

“Winning the competition was like being in a dream, I really did not expect to win at all as I only took part to grow, test myself and hear the perspectives of others, and it was the first competion of this kind, so we really didn't expect to walk into such a new field of debating and achieve a win so soon; so the win was a big shock and totally unexpected.”

The win, she said, symbolises something so much bigger.

“It's not just about the win but about what it symbolises in that honest words with heart and conviction still have a place in our world.”

To her, Afrikaans, as her mother tongue, holds so much power.

“I want people to break free from the stigma around Afrikaans — that it’s a language reserved only for a certain group. No,” said Lara.

“Afrikaans, as I said in my speech, is a global language; it’s everyone’s language.”

She said the language has many influences from various cultural groups, people and countries, and that it originates from different people, “brains, hearts and goals.”

Lara spoke of her deep love and passion for Afrikaans.

“I believe that Afrikaans, like other languages, lives through the people speaking it. It’s not just a language with a past, but one with a future,” she said.

“It grows and develops into something bigger every day, and I feel fortunate to be part of a young generation that uses it in a new way — whether in music, on stage, in conversation and debate.”

For her, she said, it is also the language in which she can speak her truth.

The Kultura Festival was hosted at the Curro Durbanville school grounds from Friday, June 20, to Friday, June 27, and featured a programme packed with drama performances, activities, concerts, comedy shows, a wine festival, live musical performances and the inaugural public speaking competition.

Joline de Klerk, head of department for Afrikaans at Curro Durbanville High School, said the purpose behind the Afrikaans debating competition was twofold: firstly, to celebrate the milestone of the language, and also to give young pupils a platform to debate, helping to grow and develop the language among the youth.

It was important, said Ms de Klerk, for this competition to be unique.

She said the goal was for the competition to not only be different in its set-up but also to break free from any traditional or standard debate competition formats and bring something fresh and new into the debating sphere.

“Traditional team public speaking consists of teams of four. We decided on a new format with only two participants per team,” she said.

“The goal was to create a spontaneous conversational style between teammates rather than a rigid format where each team member has a specific function.”

“It was important to us that each speaker’s unique personality could shine through in the speech,” she added.

She said what made the competition even more special was that contestants could deliver their speeches in the variant of Afrikaans they prefer.

Pupils competed by delivering speeches in a duet format. Contestants were tasked with writing and delivering speeches which tie in with this year’s 100th anniversary theme, Afrikaans – ’n taal van kleure en klank. 

Twenty-two teams entered the competition.

Participating pupils came from schools all over the Western Cape as far as Graaff-Reinet and other local areas.

For a list of all the other competition winners, visit web.facebook.com/CurroDurbanvilleHighSchool