??This year, the ATKV Woordwystoekenning (Word Wise Award) was awarded to the Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal (Dictionary of the Afrikaans Language - WAT) for the trajectory U, which was published online in October 2024. The purpose of the Woordwystoekenning is to reward practice-oriented reference sources for the contribution they make to the development of Afrikaans in practice.
The Buro van die WAT (Bureau of the WAT) is a leader in the lexicographic industry of South Africa and is based at Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 (SU) in an office in Banghoek Road.
In a media statement published on LitNet, the editor-in-chief and executive director, Dr Phillip Louw, said that the WAT team is proud and grateful to be honoured by the ATKV in such a special way. “The Woordwystoekening has played a central role in the Afrikaans dictionary industry for many years. This year, the acknowledgement that comes with it offers our editorial team additional motivation to continue working on this treasure trove of inclusive Afrikaans. We would therefore like to thank the ATKV and judges for this, but also to thank every donor and stakeholder who so faithfully supports us in this work for Afrikaans."
Louw also expressed his gratitude to SU for continued support: “On behalf of the WAT Trust and the Bureau of the WAT, I would like to thank Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 for the generous support for our Ten-Year Plan. Such donations make it possible for us to keep up the pace without sacrificing quality. Without SU, this U Prize would not have been possible!"
SU's registrar Dr Ronel Retief, who is the Chairperson of the WAT's board, said it was a privilege to be associated with the WAT, not only because of the Dictionary's contribution to Afrikaans and the Afrikaans dictionary industry, but also because of the leading role that the Dictionary fulfils internationally in lexicography circles.
The WAT is a comprehensive synchronous explanatory dictionary, which is primarily focused on current language usage. The selection and presentation of data in a comprehensive dictionary is the result of in-depth research into the language contained in the dictionary. It is an academic dictionary that must be compiled in such a way that it can be used as an authoritative reference source by linguists, other researchers and lovers of Afrikaans.
SU provides, among other things, structural support, office space on campus, administrative support and maintenance services to the Bureau of the WAT. This forms part of SU's commitment to the development of Afrikaans and to multilingualism, given its status as host of one of the eleven National Lexicography Units.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the Bureau of the WAT, SU and the Pan-South African Language Council (PanSAT) was signed in 2003 and again this year.
?
