Global Courant 2023-05-09 16:36:35
The new R100 banknote launched last week by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) contains an apparent spelling error in the Xitsonga translation of ‘Reserve bank’.
This was realized when the release of the new note caused an uproar among some Xitsonga speaking communities who noticed the spelling change.
The old banknotes designated Reserve Bank’s Xitsonga spelling as “Bangi-Nkulu.” However, on the new R100 note, the Reserve Bank’s Xitsonga translation was changed, dropping the second ‘N’ in Bangi-Nkulu. The word now reads as Bangi Kulu.
The change is highlighted on the copy below.
However, the Pan South African Language Board, responsible for the translation, says the extra ‘N’ was incorrect on the old notes – explaining that the ‘N’ is only used when referring to a person and not a setting.
There is a Xitsonga dialect spoken in the Malamulele area of Limpopo Province that does not use the ‘N’ – even when it should be used – but other Xitsonga speaking communities disagree with the change.
These other communities said this explanation for the change is wrong, and removing the ‘N’ changes the whole meaning of the word – blaming the lack of consultation with language experts as the real cause of the misspelling.
Many members of the Xitsonga-speaking communities are calling for the Reserve Bank to revert to the old spelling, adding that it represents a very small dialect within the Xitsonga language (Malamulele area) and is not representative of the larger community.
Aside from the spelling error, the new banknotes also came with improved security features and new designs that celebrated the country’s heritage.
The biggest changes to the banknotes are that the individual Big Five are now represented by their families. The note coloring is also a bit deeper – especially the R50 notes, which lean more towards purple than the pink color before.
The new coin designs and specifications have been known since they were published in the publication newspaper early this year.
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