Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago says that the new print of South African banknotes does not contain a spelling error but has corrected an error that existed before.
English-speaking South Africans flagged an apparent spelling error in the South African Reserve Bank’s newest banknotes this week.
On the R100 note, the Xitsonga translation of “Reserve Bank” was changed, with the second ‘N’ in Bangi Nkulu dropped. The word now reads as Bangi Kulu.
Some Xitsonga speakers said that this is incorrect and the previous version of “Bangi Nkulu” was the accepted form.
The Pan South African Language Board, responsible for the translation, disagreed, saying the extra ‘N’ was incorrect on the old notes – explaining that the ‘N’ is only used when referring to a person and not an institution.
Speaking to 702Dr Arnold Mushwana, chair of the Xitsonga National Language Body, reiterated that the current notes are correct, and the old notes were misspelt.
“There was an error on the old bank notes, currently, the new ones are correctly written,” Mushwana said.
He said there is a debate around it, but there is an understanding that language is dynamic – and African languages, especially, are still developing.
“As we do research as academics, we do realise that some of (the words) are incorrect, and we are mandated to correct the mistakes that are there.
“Previously, different people from different geographical areas were writing the words differently – so that’s the main reason that pushed us to conduct a study to find out which one is correct.”
Mushwana said that the “Bangi Kulu” on the new banknotes is correct and that the previous version, “Bangi Nkulu”, was incorrect.
Reserve Bank responds
Kganyago conceded that the Reserve Bank itself is not an expert on language.
“The practice in the Reserve Bank is that we are not the owners and masters of language – we are economists, we compile data, that’s our job. When it comes to language, we decided that we would follow the protocols in the government,” he said.
The protocols, in this case, are that the “avatar of language” – the Pan South African Language Board – advises on the language and wording used, the governor said.
He said this is the case for all official languages in the country. Because South Africa has 11 official languages – soon to be 12 – not all languages could fit on all the notes. Thus, the Reserve Bank was advised to include all languages on a print rotation.
The Language Board handled the translations, and “we accepted the advice of the language board,” Kganyago said.
The governor added that the differences in spelling will not affect the notes or their value. “The old ones will have the ‘N’ in it, and the new ones will not,” he said. Collectors might be lucky enough to find a note with both versions of the word.
Kganyago said that the debate around the “error” has highlighted an important debate on language in South Africa.
“This debate may have been taking place among some of the Xitsonga people, and no one would have known about it. What these notes have done is get the Xitsonga speakers to talk about this. It highlights the diversity of South Africa and its languages,” he said.
Read: Reserve Bank launches new banknotes and coins for South Africa
