Challenges of the implementation of language policies in southern Africa: what is the way forward?
Loading...
Date
2016-01
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
At the attainment of independence, most African governments adopted the colonisers’ foreign languages as official
languages to be used in business, the judiciary, education, local government and parliament. Examples of foreign
languages that have dominated local languages in Africa are English, French and Portuguese. This paper argues that
indigenous languages in Southern Africa, which is the focus of the survey, have low variety status vis-à-vis foreign
languages for a variety of reasons, the major being the challenges faced in the implementation of the language policies in
these countries. While the survey found that there are language policies in the country studied, it can be concluded that
having a language policy in place is not congruent to its implementation and its desired effects. The study recommends
adopting the Tanzanian language policy model that formalised Swahili as a national language for all purposes. To all
intents and purposes, the Swahili model has been a resounding success.
Description
Peer reviewed article published under Inkanyiso journal, Volume 8 Number 2, Jan 2016, p. 156 –161
Keywords
Linguistics, language policy, Southern Africa
Citation
Kangira, J., 2016. Challenges of the implementation of language policies in southern Africa: what is the way forward?. Inkanyiso: Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 8(2), pp.156-161.