Children's shows such as “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and “The Elf and the Shoemaker” will be translated into Zulu, Sotho, Tsonga and Afrikaans.
BBC Studios' preschool channel CBeebies will translate seven of its Sleepy Time Stories into African languages for Heritage Month.
“To mark Heritage Month and celebrate the diversity of our country, we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of Africa's languages, in collaboration with our preschool channel, CBeebies,” says Pierre Cloëté, commercial director for BBC Studios in Africa.
Children's Programs Goldilocks and the Three Bears and the Magic Pot and Elf and Shoemaker It will be translated into isiZulu, Sesotho, Xitsonga and Afrikaans.
“CBeebies is aimed at young learners, so translating parts of Sleepy Time Stories into four languages will allow young viewers and their parents to learn and develop their language skills whilst enjoying the show throughout September,” Cloete declared.
The British channel is not the first to embrace language diversity in its children's programming. Earlier this year, Nickelodeon SpongeBob In Afrikaans and Zulu.
this is SpongeBob' twenty fiveNumber the anniversary and the “Nick In Your Language” initiative aimed at promoting local languages.
See also: [WATCH] South Africa launches SpongeBob Squarepants in Zulu and Afrikaans
Celebrating Languages Year-Round
Mkondletheli Dumela, founder of the Mahara Language App, said it was important to show pride in indigenous languages all year round, not just during Heritage Month.
“It's important to go beyond the symbolic recognition of certain months and incorporate African languages into everyday life,” Dumela said. The Citizen.
Mahlahle is a vibrant app designed for kids between the ages of 2 and 8. The initiative is part of Angula, another company founded by Dumela.
The app was released in July 2024, but Dumela and his team have been working on the app for the past six months.
Dumela originally founded Angula, an award-winning app with over 20,000 registered users, built to help adults learn and understand African languages.
The company began as a form of language activism, with Dumela initially founding the Xitsonga.org project to adapt the Tsonga language for the digital age.
As the Xitsonga.org project grew in popularity, stimulated by a suggestion to expand the scope of Xitsonga.org to cover more languages, the concept of Angula was born.
“It covers the same language as Mahlahle, but with more complex topics that are suitable for adult learners,” Dumela said.
“Mahlahle is a helpful addition to help young children explore and understand African languages and cultures. ” Sentimentally, Mahlahle is the name of Dumela's daughter and means Venus in Tsonga.
Read now: For kids: Mahlahle app teaches and preserves African languages