The functional viability of Indigenous African Languages in South Africa: challenges and prospects of their survival

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Date
2015
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University of Zululand
Abstract
This study sought to prove that indigenous African languages are not functionally viable, i.e. they do not perform an important function in the country. In this study I used literature to prove that indigenous African languages play a very little and less quintessential role in commerce, education, law and administration. I proved that the problem of language planning is not unique to South Africa, but has also dominated the politics of most countries in the world. The literature used also supported the argument that there are similarities in the African and global trends. This study further looked at why South Africa is said to be a truly multilingual country. To do that this study painted a picture of how South Africa looks in the eyes of most sociolinguists and scholars. The comparison in terms of use and viability was discussed at length, focusing on the language planning and the effects of politics in the planning process. One further singled out English and looked at its hegemony in all sectors and spheres of the country. South Africa cannot be singled out and, therefore, a sample of African countries needed to be used to support the argument that all post-colonial governments attempted to address the language policy problems in their countries and there are more similarities than differences in their approaches. The study also paid a special attention to lingua franca choices in Africa. An attempt was made to see if English qualifies to be the lingua franca of the Republic of South Africa. Finally, the study proved that some indigenous African languages will not die and will, therefore, never be extinct. A survey on language death in Africa was carried out at the Institute of Language Studies (Univ. of Cologne between 1988 and 1990). The study concluded that, generally, some African languages are extinct, threatened or in the process of extinction. It is also from this premise that we based our study.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science and Agriculture in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of General Linguistics and Modern Languages at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2015
Keywords
indigenous --african languages --challenges --South Africa
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