Theodorus du Plessis

Language visibility in the Xhariep: a comparison of the linguistic landscape of three neighbouring towns

The majority of current linguistic landscape (LL) studies concentrate on urban areas. This study concentrates on the LL of the southern Free State, with the aim of investigating whether the LL of rural areas is as responsive to broader socio-political changes as cityscapes are. The LL not only reflects societal changes, but is also employed to impact on society by creating and maintaining power relations and (collective) identities. For this reason, public linguistic choices are motivated largely by both pragmatic and symbolic considerations. The political transformation in 1994 wrought changes in several domains in South Africa. A remnant of the previous regime is the ethnolinguistically divided neighbourhoods (a white, coloured and black area in each town). The three population groups make separate contributions motivated by their different socio-economic compositions and their new roles within the transformed society. This division provides the basis for a more in-depth investigation of the dynamics between society and the public space.

Language Planning from below: The Case of the Xhariep District of the Free State Province.

The Xhariep District is the largest district municipality of the Free State Province of South Africa, covering 26% of the total land surface of this province. It comprises three local municipalities, namely Letsemeng, Kopanong and Mohokare and contains a total of 17 towns. The District is a multilingual area, with Afrikaans (37.1%) and Sotho (37.1%) as the two predominant home languages, followed by Xhosa (19.9%) as the third most prevalent home language. The draft language policy of the Xhariep partly acknowledges this demographic distribution of the languages. In terms of this policy, Afrikaans and Sotho are two of the official languages of the Xhariep District Municipality. English, which is the home language of less than 1% of the Xhariep population, is recognised as the third official language of the Municipality. In the interim, without a formal new language policy, the communities of the area have come up with their own language initiatives. This article presents an analysis of such micro-language planning initiatives at the community level. Language-related problems and the needs of the community are identified, along with the types of intervention that exist at the community level in order to deal with these problems. The investigation is based on an analysis of ethnographic data, collected in a subregion of the Kopanong Municipality during 2008 and 2009, concerning the deployment of a new language policy in the area since 1994.The Xhariep District is the largest district municipality of the Free State Province of South Africa, covering 26% of the total land surface of this province. It comprises three local municipalities, namely Letsemeng, Kopanong and Mohokare and contains a total of 17 towns. The District is a multilingual area, with Afrikaans (37.1%) and Sotho (37.1%) as the two predominant home languages, followed by Xhosa (19.9%) as the third most prevalent home language. The draft language policy of the Xhariep partly acknowledges this demographic distribution of the languages. In terms of this policy, Afrikaans and Sotho are two of the official languages of the Xhariep District Municipality. English, which is the home language of less than 1% of the Xhariep population, is recognised as the third official language of the Municipality. In the interim, without a formal new language policy, the communities of the area have come up with their own language initiatives. This article presents an analysis of such micro-language ...

Language-in-education policy development in Tanzania: An overview

Tanzania is a multilingual country with 150 ethnic languages spoken within its borders. The current sociolinguistic situation in Tanzania necessitates the continued use of Kiswahili as a unifying language. The majority of urban children now actually acquire it as their first language. It is also the language most frequently used in government offices, as well as in everyday activities countrywide. Despite the adoption of one of Africas largest languages as an official language, the government has constantly insisted that English should remain the only medium of instruction at post-primary level, because of its tremendous power and prestige in the global market. The governments stance reveals a limited understanding of what a system for promoting bilingualism and biliteracy in education should involve. This article therefore investigates language policy development in education in Tanzania in terms of the sociolinguistic framework of bilingual education.

Die Pan-Suid-Afrikaanse Taalraad en die regulering van taalsigbaarheid in Suid-Afrika – 'n ontleding van taalregteklagtes

Abstract The Pan South African Language Board and the regulation of language visibility in South Africa—an analysis of language rights complaints. The regulation of language visibility on public signs, i.e. of the linguistic landscape, comprises an important aspect of language policy in multilingual societies. If it is argued that the language clause of the South African Constitution envisages a multilingual landscape, concrete language policy guidelines regarding such language visibility are indispensable. Due to the acute shortage of such guidelines, Pansalbs findings on complaints about language visibility could play an important role in addressing this shortcoming. The Board is mandated to provide advice, specifically on language policy. Pansalbs own language policy guidelines also lack provisions on the linguistic landscape. The Boards gazetted findings concerning language rights complaints thus constitute an important source for studying language policy. This article provides an analysis of complaints regarding language visibility on which the Board made important findings between 1997 and 2006. The analysis is conducted against the background of theoretical insights pertaining to the linguistic landscape as a field of enquiry within sociolinguistics. Deductions are based on policy principles that could contribute towards overt policy regarding the treatment of language visibility on public signs in South Africa. Opsomming Die regulering van taalsigbaarheid by openbare tekens, met ander woorde van die linguistiese landskap, vorm ‘n belangrike aspek van taalbeleid in meertalige samelewings. Indien geredeneer word dat die taalklousule van die Suid-Afrikaanse Grondwet ‘n meertalige linguistiese landskap in die vooruitsig stel, soos sommige Suid-Afrikaanse geleerdes inderdaad doen, is konkrete taalbeleidsriglyne vir die hantering van taalsigbaarheid by openbare tekens onontbeerlik. Gesien die huidige nypende tekort aan sodanige riglyne, kan die Pan-Suid-Afrikaanse Taalraad (Pansat) se bevindinge oor taalklagtes wat met taalsigbaarheid verband hou ‘n belangrike leemte vul. Pansat se wetlike mandaat maak juis voorsiening dat die instansie advies oor taalbeleidsaangeleenthede kan gee. Die instansie se eie taalbeleidsriglyne bevat ook nie bepalings oor die linguistiese landskap nie. Pansat se Staatskoerant-gepubliseerde bevindinge oor taalregteklagtes vorm dus ‘n belangrike bron van ondersoek na taalbeleid. In hierdie artikel word ‘n analise gemaak van ‘n stel taalregteklagtes waaroor die instansie tussen 1997 en 2006 belangrike bevindinge oor taalsigbaarheid gemaak het. Die analise word gemaak teen die agtergrond van teoretiese insigte in die linguistiese landskap as ondersoekterrein binne die sosiolinguistiek. Op grond van hierdie analise word dan beleidsbeginsels afgelei wat kan bydra tot die daarstel van overte beleid vir die hantering van taalsigbaarheid op openbare tekens in Suid-Afrika.

Language visibility and the transformation of geographical names in South Africa

Abstract This article addresses an aspect of the regulation of language visibility that is not usually covered, namely the language choice in a standardised geographical name. The decision regarding language has implications in respect of the eventual sign whereby the name is displayed in public. Decisions on the language of such names may lead to either bilingual or multilingual names. A typology of ‘bilingual names’ is thus proposed, which could also apply to multilingual names. Data from between 2001 and 2007, obtained from the South African Geographical Names Council, are analysed to establish patterns regarding the choice of language in the standardisation of these names. The results indicate that language visibility is not a factor in the names standardisation process in South Africa. The apartheid preference for monolingual names is being continued, indicating that the transformation of names does not include the transformation of the standardisation process as such.Abstract This article addresses an aspect of the regulation of language visibility that is not usually covered, namely the language choice in a standardised geographical name. The decision regarding language has implications in respect of the eventual sign whereby the name is displayed in public. Decisions on the language of such names may lead to either bilingual or multilingual names. A typology of ‘bilingual names’ is thus proposed, which could also apply to multilingual names. Data from between 2001 and 2007, obtained from the South African Geographical Names Council, are analysed to establish patterns regarding the choice of language in the standardisation of these names. The results indicate that language visibility is not a factor in the names standardisation process in South Africa. The apartheid preference for monolingual names is being continued, indicating that the transformation of names does not include the transformation of the standardisation process as such.

The role of language policy in linguistic landscape changes in a rural area of the Free State Province of South Africa

Following previous studies on language policy and language visibility changes in the Free State Province of South Africa, which yielded evidence of the systematic Anglicisation of the public domain, a question arose as to whether the same tendency is encountered in a rural context. In pursuance of this, a comprehensive linguistic landscape survey was conducted during 2008 and 2009 in three major towns of the Kopanong Municipality, in the rural southern Free State. The resulting dataset (1 549 signs) was analysed for evidence of sociolinguistic reconfiguration and changes in language choice, as observable on public signs. A central finding is that changes in the linguistic landscape of the three towns involve a dual process: the erasure of Afrikaans, coinciding with increased monolingualisation (elevating English); and the re-bilingualisation (elevating Bantu languages) of signs. Although language policy does play some role, it is actually the lack of language visibility regulations that spearheads most of...

Language Policy-Making in the Free State: An Analysis of Language Policy Activities between 1994 and 2007.

This paper critically describes the process of language policy-making in the Free State province of South Africa since 1994, based on an adapted version of the ‘streams approach’ to policy-making. Three policy-making phases are identified, namely a first phase under the Free State Provincial Language Committee; a second phase under the Free State Provincial Government Language Service; and a third phase also under this service, but involving an external language agency within the context of the so-called Multilingual Informatics and Development Programme. Only the last two phases produced language policy drafts. The draft produced by the third phase was, however, the first to be approved by the Executive Council of the province. An overview is provided of each of these phases after which a comparison follows in terms of the major policy-making streams. In conclusion, some deductions are made regarding language policy-making in the Free State based on the findings of this investigation.

Dealing with disparities: the teaching and assessment of official languages at first language level in the grade 12 school-leaving phase in South Africa

Disparities emanating from South Africas apartheid history still pose a number of challenges to the country, especially in education. Since the transition to democracy in 1994, the prescribed government school curriculum has undergone several revisions in an endeavour to set standards and provide instruction of a high quality. On the language education front, laws and policies have been adopted to ensure, inter alia, the maintenance and development of the 11 official languages and the granting of parity of esteem as required by the countrys constitution. Notwithstanding the fact that the objective of an equal and quality education may take considerable time to achieve, the ongoing provision of an education of an undesirable standard two decades into democracy could be seen as undermining the constitution and as a perpetuating form of injustice. This paper problematises the equalisation of educational standards against the historical background of the country and provides a critical overview of initiativ...Disparities emanating from South Africas apartheid history still pose a number of challenges to the country, especially in education. Since the transition to democracy in 1994, the prescribed government school curriculum has undergone several revisions in an endeavour to set standards and provide instruction of a high quality. On the language education front, laws and policies have been adopted to ensure, inter alia, the maintenance and development of the 11 official languages and the granting of parity of esteem as required by the countrys constitution. Notwithstanding the fact that the objective of an equal and quality education may take considerable time to achieve, the ongoing provision of an education of an undesirable standard two decades into democracy could be seen as undermining the constitution and as a perpetuating form of injustice. This paper problematises the equalisation of educational standards against the historical background of the country and provides a critical overview of initiatives taken by education authorities to introduce a more equitable system. The conclusion reached is that policy is not translating into effective practice and that insufficient attention is being devoted to the standard of teaching and assessment of the school language subjects, placing them in a weak position for use in linguistically challenging (higher register) domains.

The South African Language Rights Monitor and information on language policy and planning in South Africa

Abstract The South African Language Rights Monitor (SALRM) was launched in 2003 for the purpose of making available an annual comprehensive report on the language rights situation in South Africa. Since then the focus of the report has been broadened to cover language matters in general. The core question being investigated in this article is whether the Monitor contains relevant information on language policy and planning. Joseph Lo Biancos distinction between three sources of language policy and planning is used to extrapolate relevant information from the 2009 issue. The data set collected for this purpose uncovers some tendencies that point to the contestation of public texts that are perceived to have become outdated. The study finds the report contains some useful information that could help a body such as Pansalb in fulfilling its language policy and planning mandate. It also emphasises the importance of the context within which language interventions are conceived.AbstractThe South African Language Rights Monitor (SALRM) was launched in 2003 for the purpose of making available an annual comprehensive report on the language rights situation in South Africa. Since then the focus of the report has been broadened to cover language matters in general. The core question being investigated in this article is whether the Monitor contains relevant information on language policy and planning. Joseph Lo Biancos distinction between three sources of language policy and planning is used to extrapolate relevant information from the 2009 issue. The data set collected for this purpose uncovers some tendencies that point to the contestation of public texts that are perceived to have become outdated. The study finds the report contains some useful information that could help a body such as Pansalb in fulfilling its language policy and planning mandate. It also emphasises the importance of the context within which language interventions are conceived.

Language conflict and change in language visibility in South Africa's Free State Province number plate case

AbstractUsing print media coverage of language discontent between 1994 and 2002 regarding three number plate changes, which were applied in the North West, Northern Cape and Free State Provinces of South Africa, this article will analyse the dynamics of language conflict. This will be done against the background of theoretical considerations pertaining to the use of language legitimisation and delegitimisation as instruments for changing language regimes. Particular attention is given to the Free State case, as language discontent in that province received sustained coverage for more than five years. An in-depth analysis reveals how the focus of the discourse in this case shifted from language representativity to administrative functionality, and the steps taken by the decision-maker to reach this position. The analysis also sheds light on the role of language activist behaviour in turning language discontent into full-blown language conflict in the Free State case.Abstract Using print media coverage of language discontent between 1994 and 2002 regarding three number plate changes, which were applied in the North West, Northern Cape and Free State Provinces of South Africa, this article will analyse the dynamics of language conflict. This will be done against the background of theoretical considerations pertaining to the use of language legitimisation and delegitimisation as instruments for changing language regimes. Particular attention is given to the Free State case, as language discontent in that province received sustained coverage for more than five years. An in-depth analysis reveals how the focus of the discourse in this case shifted from language representativity to administrative functionality, and the steps taken by the decision-maker to reach this position. The analysis also sheds light on the role of language activist behaviour in turning language discontent into full-blown language conflict in the Free State case.