SATI Council
Johan Blaauw – Chair
About
Johan Blaauw is a language practitioner with some 45 years’ experience. He has been a SATI member since 1985, and he has previously served on SATI’s Executive/Council as secretary, vice-chair and chair, as well as in the Accreditation and Ethics Committees. He is a SATI honorary member.
He has played a role in establishing SATI’s editing and interpreting accreditations, and in the physical running of the latter on behalf of SATI for approximately two decades. He can contribute to Council this experience and an extensive knowledge of the industry, also having participated since the mid-1990s in the eventual establishment of the SA Language Practitioners’ Council Act and its regulations.
SATI accreditation
Editing: Afrikaans
Editing: English;
Simultaneous interpreting: Afrikaans-English
Simultaneous interpreting: English-Afrikaans
Translation: Afrikaans-English
Translation: English-Afrikaans
Contact information
Laurinda van Tonder – Vice Chair
About
Laurinda van Tonder has been a proud SATI member for the last 13 years. They are an experienced interpreter who has rendered interpreting services at close to 100 events for the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and its portfolio committees, as well as various civil society organisations, private companies and universities.
As a lecturer at the University of Johannesburg with 10 years of experience as an academic, they use their translation, editing and interpreting experience to help language practitioners-in-training master the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in language-centric professions.
Laurinda is currently completing a PhD in Applied Linguistics.
Laurinda helped to plan the last three of SATI’s Triennial Conferences and worked as a virtual office assistant (from 2013 to 2014) helping with the compilation of the monthly bulletin and its translations.
They also serve as webmaster on the executive committee of the South African Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Society, which promotes research excellence in the fields of language practice, linguistics and applied linguistics.
SATI accreditation
Simultaneous interpreting: English-Afrikaans
Simultaneous interpreting: Afrikaans-English
Contact information
Bev Boland – Treasurer
About
Bev studied languages and translation and went on to use those skills in the exports industry. She then trained as a language practitioner at the SA Police Service. Since 2007, she has worked freelance, focusing on sworn translation from Afrikaans into English and English editing. She worked part-time in the SATI office from 2007 to 2017, including as accreditation officer, and served one term on the SATI Council (2007–2012).
Bev lives in Joburg with her husband and two sons. In her spare time, she enjoys the theatre and long walks with friends. She also co-owns a bookshop specialising in Africana and volunteers for a foundation-phase literacy project.
SATI accreditation
Editing: English
Sworn translation: Afrikaans-English
Translation: Afrikaans-English
Contact information
Dennis Mhlanga – Council Member
About
Dennis Mhlanga holds a postgraduate diploma in Translation and Interpretation, an honours in African Languages and Linguistics, and a master’s in Translation, and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Witwatersrand. He has over 13 years of experience as a language practitioner specialising in medico-legal and forensic texts, translation, editing, proofreading, and subtitling.
He has worked as a freelance language practitioner for the Gauteng Legislature and National Parliament. He is currently, a full-time associate lecturer in interpreting studies at the University of Witwatersrand.
SATI accreditation
Simultaneous interpreting: English-isiZulu
Simultaneous interpreting: English-Xitsonga
Marsanne Neethling – Council Member
About
Marsanne Neethling is a Master’s graduate in Intercultural Communication with a focus on South African Sign Language linguistics.
She has served as freelance South African Sign Language (SASL) interpreter over the past 29 years in various capacities, with experience in media, conference, government, corporate, academic, performing arts and NGO sectors.
She has been freelancing as International Sign interpreter for various events since 2021 and obtained her World Federation of the Deaf and World Association of Sign Language Interpreters accreditation status in 2024.
Marsanne is currently a South African Sign Language interpreter at the Stellenbosch University Language Centre. She has just completed a term on the SATI Council, during which time she made valuable contributions. She is eligible for another term.
SATI accreditation
Simultaneous interpreting: South African Sign Language-English
Simultaneous interpreting: English-South African Sign Language
Salomé van Niekerk – Council Member
About
Salomé is an associate language specialist and the head Afrikaans linguist at RWS Africa (formerly ST Communications). Before that, she was a freelance translator and copy editor. She has been SATI-accredited for 11 years.
Salomé is passionate about training for translators in Africa, quality frameworks for low-resource languages, and translation review optimisation. Her position at RWS has given her the opportunity to grow in skill as a translator, and to work with translators and languages from all over Africa, which she enjoys immensely.
She views it as a privilege to have been on both sides of the translator–LSP relationship and she learns from the translators in her team every day. Outside of work, Salomé loves yoga, walking and spending time with her young daughters.
SATI accreditation
Translation: English-Afrikaans
Contact information
Sponono Mahlangu – Council Member
About
Dr Katjie Sponono Mahlangu holds a BA degree with the University of South Africa (UNISA) and BA (Hons), MA and DLitt degrees with the University of Pretoria.
She is the Executive Director for the isiNdebele Dictionary Unit of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) and teaches at the University of Pretoria. She describes herself as a researcher, educator, part-time lecturer, translator, interpreter, author and editor in isiNdebele.
SATI accreditation
Simultaneous interpreting: English-isiNdebele