A landmark dictionary project is preserving Kaaps while giving new recognition to the communities whose stories it continues to tell.

Professor Quentin Williams launches the Kaaps Dictionary, the first comprehensive dictionary of its kind dedicated to documenting and celebrating Kaaps. Image: Shelley Christians/UWC

For generations, Kaaps has been spoken in homes, workplaces and communities across the Western Cape. Rich in history, identity and lived experience, it has shaped countless lives while often remaining overlooked in formal education and academic scholarship.

Now, the Kaaps Dictionary is helping change that.

Led by University of the Western Cape (UWC) alumnus and staff member, Professor Quentin Williams, the project that produced this landmark publication involved more than a decade of research, collaboration and determination to give Kaaps the recognition it deserves. Drawing on historical evidence dating back to the 1600s and 1700s, it demonstrates that Kaaps has deep roots and a legitimate place in South Africa’s linguistic and cultural landscape.

The scale of interest in the publication has been extraordinary. When Professor Williams first announced the dictionary project in 2021, he received 48 interview requests in less than two weeks, revealing a remarkable and largely untapped public appetite for Kaaps to be recognised and understood.

The Kaaps Dictionary was officially launched at the University of the Western Cape, marking a significant milestone in the recognition and preservation of the language. Image: Shelley Christians/UWC

That demand has only grown. Since the dictionary was first published in April, it has already been reprinted seven times.

Behind the project is also a story of academic freedom, mentorship and collaboration. Professor Williams has spoken of the profound influence of Professor Christopher Stroud, who supported his intellectual development and gave him the freedom to pursue ambitious work.

As Professor Williams acknowledges, however, the dictionary is very much a team achievement, bringing together researchers and collaborators whose collective work has helped transform years of scholarship into a resource with practical applications in schools, universities and communities.

For UWC, that matters. The University’s commitment to social justice and community-centred scholarship is reflected in research that does more than document a language: it helps restore dignity, affirm identity and ensure that people can see their linguistic reality expressed in the spaces where knowledge is created.

As UWC Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Monwabisi Ralarala said at the launch: “If you lift the language, you lift the people.” The Kaaps dictionary is now doing exactly that by amplifying a language, lifting up the people who speak it, and creating a written legacy for generations to come.

Meanwhile, Professor Williams and his team are working towards the next logical milestone by using the dictionary as the foundation for a guide to Kaaps grammar, which they hope to publish towards the end of 2026.