Prof Cornelius Eleanor

Overview

​ Eleanor Cornelius obtained the qualification DLitt et Phil in Applied Linguistics from the University of Johannesburg in 2012. She teaches modules in text editing and psycholinguistics at undergraduate level and honours level. In addition, she supervises master’s and doctoral studies. Prof Cornelius gained experience in both academic and professional contexts. She is a fully accredited simultaneous interpreter in two directions (English-Afrikaans; Afrikaans-English). She is an NRF-rated researcher (C2). Prof Cornelius started her career as a language practitioner at the Bureau of the Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal in Stellenbosch, after which she joined in the Department of Afrikaans at the Port Elizabeth campus of Vista University, and subsequently the Department of Afrikaans at the University of Fort Hare. In 1998, Prof Cornelius was appointed principal language practitioner in the State Language Services of the then Department of Arts and Culture, where she worked as a translator of government documents such as legislation, policy documents, speeches etc. The biggest challenge of Prof Cornelius’s career arrived when she assumed the position of deputy director of language planning at the Pan South African Language Board (PANSALB). She was tasked with establishing dictionary units for each of the eleven official languages. By the time she left PANSALB to join the Rand Afrikaans University in 2002, all eleven units were established and fully functional. At the former Rand Afrikaans University, Prof Cornelius was responsible for the establishment and management of a foundation programme, and later extended degree programmes, for underprepared students in the Faculty of Humanities. Prof Cornelius managed these programmes for six years. At the beginning of 2008, Prof Cornelius relocated to the Department of Linguistics and Literary Theory. She has had a longstanding relationship with this Department, since she has been teaching practical legal translation and interpreting in a part-time capacity for many years. She has read papers at many local and international language conferences and academic development conferences. Prof Cornelius also regularly presents workshops on the topic of “Plain language”. She has also presented seminars on the topic of her doctoral research ‘n Linguistiese Ondersoek na die Verstaanbaarheid van Verbruikersdokumente vir die Algemene Afrikaanssprekende Publiek . She is often called upon to review papers for publication in scholarly journals and she acts as external examiner for various universities at different levels ranging from undergraduate modules to PhD theses. Prof Cornelius is a vice president of the Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs (the International Federation of Translators) where she heads up two standing committees: Association Development, and Awards. Since 2023, she is the vice-chairperson of FIT Africa Regional Centre, a regional structure of FIT which she helped to establish. Recently, in South Africa, she has been appointed by the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture to serve on the first board of the South African Language Practitioners Council, a statutory body with the function to regulate the language practice industry in South Africa. Prof Cornelius serves on the programming committee of the prestigious ‘New Trends in Translation and Technology’ (NeTTT) international conference and she is the LanCSAL coordinator of placement of students in the EM TTI programme funded by the EU (the Erasmus Mundus Master’s Programme in Technology for Translation and Interpreting). Publications Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals: De Bruin, G.F. & Cornelius, E. 2019. “My Pen is in my Hand”: ‘n Ondersoek na die Leksikale Aktivering in Engels-Afrikaanse Algemene Tweetaliges, Beroepsvertalers en Beroepstolke. Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe , 59(2), Junie: 1-19. Cornelius, E. & Pienaar, M. 2018. Voorkeurstrategieë in die Noord-Sotho-Vertaling van Terminologie van het Tolken . Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus , 55: 109-131. Cornelius, E. & Pienaar, M. 2017. Die Vertaling en Lokalisering van Terminologie van het Tolken vir 'n Suid-Afrikaanse Teikengehoor. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics, 47: 181-201. Cornelius, E. 2016. An Appraisal of Plain Language in the South African Banking Sector. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics, 46 : 25-50. Cornelius, E. 2015. Defining ‘Plain Language’ in Contemporary South Africa. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics , 44: 1-18. Cornelius, E. 2015. Sinskonstruksies Kenmerkend van Regstaal. Litnet Akademies , 12(3), December 2015: 239-273. Pienaar, M. & Cornelius, E. 2015. Contemporary Perceptions of Interpreting in South Africa. Nordic Journal of African Studies , 24(2): 186-206. Cornelius, E. 2013. Die Benutting van Leserskommentaar by die Herskryf van ‘n Verbruikersdokument in Gewone Afrikaans. LitNet Akademies , 10(3): 507-546. Cornelius, E. 2011. The Curious Case of Legal Translation. Literator , 32(1): 121-143. De Bruin, K. & Cornelius, E. 2011. Self-Directed Learning and Career-Decision Making. Acta Academica , 43(2): 214-235. Cornelius, E. 2010. Plain Language as Alternative Textualisation. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2010,28(2): 171–183. Cornelius, E. 2010. ‘n Verkenning van Tegsvertaling as ‘n “Spesiale Geval”. Journal of Language Teaching , 44(1): 71-87. Pienaar, M. & Van Zuydam (Cornelius) E. 2004. Die Taalpraktisyn as Indekseerder, Journal for Language Teaching 38(1): 117-130. Articles in Non-Accredited Journals: Cornelius, E. 2020. Wat sou die Impak van die Vierde Nywerheidsrewolusie op Vertaling en Tolking kon wees? Litnet Seminare en Essays , 16 March 2020. Cornelius, E. 2016. Potential Impact of QT21. Translating and the Computer 38. Proceedings of the 38 th Conference of AsLing, The International Association for Advancement in Language Technology , 17-18 November 2016, London, UK. Cornelius, E. 2011. The consumer as reader: Empowerment through language. Muratho , 11(1): 9-13. Cornelius, E. 2012. The spotlight on … legal translation. Muratho , 12(1): 13-17. Books: Cornelius, E. 2020. Gewone Taal: 'n Oorsig. Stellenbosch: African Sun Media. ISBN 978-1-928480-60-0; ISBN 978-1-928480-61-7 (e-book) Pienaar, M. & Cornelius, E. 2018. Interpreting terminology / Terminologie van het tolken / Tolkterminologie / Mareo a tlhathollo / Amatemu okutolika . Stellenbosch: African Sun Media. ISBN 978-1-928314-40-0; ISBN 978-1-928314-41-7 (e-book) Contributions to Books/Enclyclopaedias: Cornelius, E. 2024 (in process). “Professional Translator Associations – Navigating the Global Linguistic Landscape”. Chapter X. In: Walker, C. & Lambert, J. (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of the Translation Industry . Routledge (Taylor and Francis Group). Pienaar, M., Cornelius, E. & Kotzé, H. 2022. “Tolking”. In: Carstens, W.A.M. & Van Dyk, T. (eds) Toegepaste Taalkunde in Afrikaans . Pretoria: Van Schaik, chapter 20. Cornelius, E. & De Bruin, G.F. 2022. “Gewone Taal”. In: Carstens, W.A.M. & Van Dyk, T. (eds) Toegepaste Taalkunde in Afrikaans . Pretoria: Van Schaik, chapter 24. Cornelius, E. & De Bruin, G.F. 2021. “Self-translation of an Afrikaans Short Story by S.J. Naudé: An analysis in Descriptive Translation Studies”. In: Inggs, J. & Wehrmeyer, E. (eds) African Perspectives on Literary Translation . Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group. Chapter 7, pp. 130-143. Cornelius, E. 2016. “Exploring and developing legal translation competence: learning from the old dogs.” In: Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk, B. & Thelen, M. (eds.). Translation and Meaning, Part 11. Proceedings of the Łódź Session of the 6th International Maastricht-Łódź Duo Colloquium on “Translation and Meaning” , Held in Maastricht, the Netherlands, 21-22 May 2015. Cornelius, E. 2013. “Establishing lexicography units.” In: Gouws, R.H., Heid, U., Schweickard, W. & Wiegand, H.E. (eds.), Dictionaries: An International Encyclopedia of Lexicography. Supplementary volume: Recent Development with Special Focus on Computational Lexicography (HSK 5.4). Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Chapter VI, Article 33: 574-580. Groenewald, C.J. (ed.) 1988. Gemeenskapsverhoudinge en verhoudingsorganisasies in die Wes-Kaap: ‘n Ondersoek deur die Studiegroep vir die Bevordering van Gesonde Gemeenskapsverhoudinge . Department of Sociology, University of Stellenbosch. (ISBN 07972 0201 3).​​