A spirit tried and tested with fire

Per my ground-breaking Dictionary of Protolanguage Terms, the Latin term vex (Tswana: fekeetsa) also relates to victa (“triumph over”), and to the Greek word hika (in Tswana, heka is also to mount, be on top of). However, my application for a grant to research and expand my Protolanguage Dictionary – which already has more than 300 such cohesive words – was unfortunately rejected by a panel acting on behalf of the Intellectual Property section of the Registrar of Companies.

Using funds from the Blank Tape Levy, they had invited people in the “Creative Industry” to submit applications, but after nearly a year of waiting, a single, terse line dismissed my submission as “outside the scope of the Creative Industry”.

  Well, it was not for lack of trying. Unable to obtain detailed guidelines, I had checked, from the outset, and was assured by officers, that my intended submission lay well within the scope and guidelines. I also believed my pioneering dictionary to have emerged through a “creative” process, and that my intended software to newly interpret – and retranslate in bulk – ancient Sumerian texts according to a Setswana unlocking key would result in “intellectual property”. Mostly, I was sure that taking Setswana to new heights was the desired “tangible” contribution to culture. Ultimately, though, being disinclined to argue over definitions and to harangue an evidently disinterested panel, I’ve decided to let it all slide.

Editor's Comment
Human rights are sacred

It highlights the need to protect rights such as access to clean water, education, healthcare and freedom of expression.President Duma Boko, rightly honours past interventions from securing a dignified burial for Gaoberekwe Pitseng in the CKGR to promoting linguistic inclusion. Yet, they also expose a critical truth, that a nation cannot sustainably protect its people through ad hoc acts of compassion alone.It is time for both government and the...

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