![Language practitioners from the various WCG departments attended the launch Language practitioners from the various WCG departments attended the launch](https://www.westerncape.gov.za/sites/www.westerncape.gov.za/files/language_practitioners_from_the_various_wcg_departments_attended_the_launch.jpg)
The Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) hosted the launch of the Government Specific Trilingual Terminology Booklet and the handover of the Western Cape Language Code of Conduct at the Western Cape Provincial Language Forum Meeting on 29 September.
The booklet provides assistance with the translation of government specific language into Xhosa, Afrikaans and English. The aim of the booklet is to improve the quality of translations and to ensure consistency within translations across the various departments of the Western Cape.
Brent Walters, Head of Department for DCAS thanked the language practitioners who were present for their contribution to language and the way in which it is used within government. "Language is very important in our country, because it is linked to our identity" he said.
DCAS Minister Anroux Marais said it was fitting that the handover of the Language Code of Conduct and the launch of the Trilingual Terminology Booklet took place on 29 September, as 30 September is International Translation Day. "We should never underestimate the immense power of language, and specifically, access to one’s mother-tongue" said Minister Marais.
The launch of the terminology booklet is but one of the ways in which DCAS supports language development and equal status for the three official languages of the Western Cape.
Tania Colyn
Head of Communication Service
Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport
Tel: 021 483 9877
E-mail: tania.colyn@westerncape.gov.za