The 30th International AFRILEX Conference: Keynote Speakers
International Keynote:
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Prof. Gilles-Maurice de Schryver, BantUGent (the UGent Centre for Bantu Studies), Ghent University, Belgium
Bio: Gilles-Maurice de Schryver is a research professor of African linguistics at BantUGent (the UGent Centre for Bantu Studies), as well as a computational linguist at LT3 (the Language and Translation Technology Team), both at Ghent University, in Belgium. He is also an extraordinary professor in the Department of African Languages at the University of Pretoria, a job title he formerly held at the University of the Western Cape (2006-2012), both in South Africa. In 2002 he co-founded TshwaneDJe HLT to develop lexicographic software. He has a long-standing affiliation with Afrilex, having served two terms as the President of AFRILEX (2009 - 2013), and prior to that serving in other capacities on the Executive board of AFRILEX. He is the author or co-author of close to 400 books, book chapters, journal articles and conference papers, mainly on Bantu corpus linguistics and lexicography in general. His publications also include award-winning dictionaries for Northern Sotho, Zulu and Xhosa, published with Oxford University Press.
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Keynote title: AFRILEX at 30
African Keynote:
Prof. Langa Khumalo, South African Center for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR), North-West University, South Africa
Bio: Langa Khumalo is a Full Professor and Chief Director of the South African Center for Digital Language Resources at the North-West University. He is the former Director of Language Planning and Development at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He is a member of the Oxford Business Alumni Network. He is the current Chair and Coordinator of the Africa Union IsiZulu Language Commission. He served two terms as President of AFRILEX (2021-2025). He is a member of the Scientific Board of the Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society (University of the Western Cape) and a member of the inaugural Executive Committee of the Digital Humanities in Southern Africa. In 2023 he received a Recognition Award from the University of the Free State for his Contribution to Multilingualism nationally and internationally. He has recently been appointed by the Department of Higher Education and Training as a Member of the Advisory Panel for Language Policy Implementation.
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Keynote title: On AI and the future of African lexicography