The following article from the (Johannesburg?) daily, The Star, was seen at http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=233&fArticleId=2464457 (thanks to a Google alert). South Africa has 11 official languages and is an interesting case of the issues involved in acknowledging multilingualism in an African society. DZO
Indigenous languages ignored by leadership Language board has not fulfilled its task of promoting use of 11 tongues March 31, 2005 South Africa has 11 official languages: Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, SiSwati, Tshivenda, Zitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, IsiXhosa and isiZulu. But English, it seems, is the chosen means of communicating. President Thabo Mbeki in his State of the Nation speech in February only used English. This was hardly the right example from the head of the country. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel is famous for peppering his Budget speech with phrases in indigenous languages, but the overall content remains English. Education Minister Naledi Pandor sports one of the best English accents in government. Eloquent and composed, she ought to start showing the range of her tongue. A recent report handed to Pandor found that there is inadequate resource and support for the indigenous African languages. The report, on the development of these languages in higher education, warns of a crisis regarding preservation, maintenance and identity of indigenous African tongues. The pattern at higher education institutions is hardly surprising considering the eurocentric culture and curricula. English is the language used at tertiary institutions, even the formerly disadvantaged. More alarming, the report shows, is the decline in the study of African languages, resulting in closure of such departments. The report suggests institutions should be required to identify an indigenous African language of choice for initial development as a medium of instruction. "They could adopt a regional approach by taking collective decisions on areas of speciality to be targeted for teaching in a specific indigenous African language," it says. Far from being a problem solely at tertiary level, what hope is there for official languages when the medium at schools is English or Afrikaans? African languages are doomed when the leadership ignores the lofty ideals they helped put into the constitution. "Recognising the historically diminished use and status of indigenous languages of our people, the state must take practical and positive steps to elevate and advance the use of these languages," says the constitution. It calls for use of official languages for the purposes of government, taking into account usage, practicality, expense, regional circumstances and balance of needs and preferences of the population or province concerned. It recommends that national and provincial governments use at least two official languages. All languages must enjoy parity of esteem and must be treated equitably. It makes provision for establishment of a Pan South African Language Board to initiate research to create conditions for development and use of all official languages, the Khoi and San languages and sign language, and ensure respect for other languages used in SA, including German, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Portuguese, Tamil, Telegu and Urdu; Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskrit and other languages used for religious purposes in SA; and the promotion of multilingualism in SA. But the board has been a disappointment in visibly promoting or creating conditions for development of the official languages. It has been wracked by internal tensions. Staff claim they were employed with the aim of service delivery but the environment was not conducive. So it is hardly surprising that a decade after it began operating, SA's 10 years of democracy have little to savour in terms of language promotion. The board has done little to provide for recognition of multilingualism in the country. The board is tasked with: creation of conditions for development and promotion of equal use of all 11 languages; extension of rights relating to language and status of languages which before April 27 1994 were restricted to regions; prevention of use of a language for exploitation, domination or division; promotion of multilingualism; provision of translation/interpreting facilities. Lofty ideals, such as those in the constitution, benefit the nation when they become reality. Until then English is our unofficial currency. What hope remains for the nation when politicians choose English as a convenience but the mother tongue at election time, imbizos or to impress the cabinet? -- ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/rkgkPB/UOnJAA/Zx0JAA/TpIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
