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English-afrikaans bilingual building dictionary

Mr Pierre Oosthuizen

Lecturer, Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, 9301, South Africa. Phone: +27 (0) 51 401 3322 or +27(0; 84 244 1344, email: <oosthuizenpm@ufs.ac.za>

Title: English-Afrikaans Bilingual Building
Dictionary/ Afrikaans-Engels Tweetalige Bouwoordeboek
Author: Die Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns
Publisher: Sunbonani Media Ninth print: 2020

With originating roots scattered across the globe, this playful language derived its name from Africa. What is more unique to South Africa than Afrikaans? A communication medium amalgamated, adapted and applied by mothers from different cultures and continents who not only chose South Africa as their domicilium citandi et executandi, but also to raise their children through a unique South African mother tongue. By accommodating variety, this language tends to be inclusive against the norm, which might explain why Afrikaans is the preferred lingua franca in many parts of the country. Since the tower of Babel, building sites are recognised as a gathering of miscellaneous cultures and languages in dire need for a bridging communication medium. Phenomenally, evolved through time, building terms were and still are being born. The pregnancy period for the first bilingual building dictionary took longer than expected and was only delivered in 1960 by the "Vaktaalburo", a division of the South African Academy of Science and Art. Thirty years and eight prints later saw the last issue of this document. This year, the year of the COVID-19 world pandemic, marks sixty years after the first publication and thirty years since the previous print. This 2020 edition contains over 1,480 additional Afrikaans and English building terms, mainly obtained from a collection of building documents. Where else will you find Afrikaans and English built environment abbreviations and metric units than in a building dictionary? The appearance of this document has been renewed, revised, and attuned with page letter tags and affluent guided headers to quickly allocate terms. A surprisingly valuable educational addition to this dictionary is the 360 colourful illustrations and explanations weaved through the pages. In conclusion, this 2020 English-Afrikaans Bilingual Building Dictionary is a long overdue, well-crafted revision, now available to fill that reserved space on the bookshelves of professionals, practitioners, academics and students in the built environment. With a concrete spiral staircase on a gloss cover, the dictionary will be effortlessly distinguishable from other books in all good bookstores throughout South Africa. Alternatively, contact the publisher, Sunbonani Media (liezel@sunbonani.co.za or (051) 444 2552), for printed and electronic copies.