Principles and Practice of South African Lexicography is directed at experts in the field of practical and theoretical lexicography in South Africa, applying the general theory of lexicography to the South African lexicographic environment. The authors of this book are leaders in the field of South African lexicography and active participants in the international lexicographic arena, publishing regularly in national and international journals and giving papers at international conferences and workshops.

This book explores and discusses emerging perspectives of Ubuntu from the vantage point of “ordinary” people and connects it to human rights and decolonizing discourses. It engages a decolonizing perspective in writing about Ubuntu as an indigenous concept. The fore grounding argument is that one’s positionality speaks to particular interests that may continue to sustain oppressions instead of confronting and dismantling them. Therefore, a decolonial approach to writing indigenous experiences begins with transparency about the researcher’s own positionality. The emerging perspectives of this volume are contextual, highlighting the need for a critical reading for emerging, transformative and alternative visions in human relations and social structures.

After forty years in academia, P.S. Groenwald leaves a rich heritage, which is measured not only in terms of his impressive list of publications, but also in terms of those for whom he was the academic mentor. His versatility as academic is reflected in the variety of specialist fields in which his former students find themselves. Experts in literature and linguistics, lexicographers and translators all found their niches under his tutelage. In appreciation of the enormous contribution that he made towards their careers and academic schooling, former students and colleagues have decided to honour him with this festschrift.

This book is the first to offer an interdisciplinary and comprehensive reference work on the often-marginalised languages of southern Africa. The authors analyse a range of different concepts and questions, including language and sociality, social and political history, multilingual government, and educational policies. In doing so, they present significant original research, ensuring that the work will remain a key reference point for the subject. This ambitious and wide-ranging edited collection will appeal to students and scholars of southern African languages, sociolinguistics, history and politics.