tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/language-policies-22332/articleslanguage policies – The Conversation2019-09-08T08:11:31Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1220872019-09-08T08:11:31Z2019-09-08T08:11:31ZSouth African teachers switch languages in class: why policy should follow<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289642/original/file-20190827-184202-1mhfdjq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Children benefit enormously from being taught in their own languages.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">JLWarehouse/Shutterstock/Editorial use only</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you step into a classroom in South Africa’s Limpopo province during a lesson, you’re very likely to hear the teacher speaking more than one language. She might begin a sentence in English, and then switch to Sepedi – the African language most commonly spoken as a mother tongue in the province.</p>
<p>This is a practice known as code switching or <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07908318.2010.515993">code mixing</a>, which can form part of a translanguaging process. And it is not actually allowed in most South African classrooms. According to the country’s official language <a href="https://www.education.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=aIolZ6UsZ5U%20%3D&tabid=767&mid=3184">policies</a>, schools must choose a language or languages of learning and teaching. Most choose English or Afrikaans and not the African language spoken in the area. African languages are then only taught as subjects and are rarely used as a medium of instruction. </p>
<p>But, as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14664208.2019.1641349">a recent study</a> we conducted in Limpopo showed, the real daily language policy within classrooms differs significantly from the official language policy document of the school. </p>
<p>Teachers use code switching as well as a translanguaging process, alternating and blending languages to help pupils understand concepts. There is a reason for this: research has <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000002897">proved</a> <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000188642">many times</a> that pupils learn best in their own mother tongues. </p>
<p>This is, of course, not unique to South Africa – it happens in all multilingual societies to a certain degree. Some teachers who answered the questionnaire in Limpopo said they found value in code switching or translanguaging. They also felt that African languages were undervalued in their schools. This is not ideal in a country with <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/images/a108-96.pdf">11 official languages</a> that enjoy Constitutional protection.</p>
<p>A much more flexible and open teaching and language policy would help teachers and pupils to enable a meaningful learning environment in a multilingual and diverse classroom setting. Translanguaging should be embraced and supported as a teaching and learning technique.</p>
<h2>Limpopo data analysis</h2>
<p>The research was conducted among 1 094 teachers at about 110 schools across Limpopo. This large scale quantitative study covered public primary and secondary schools and the questionnaire focused on general teaching conditions, language attitudes and teachers’ language practices. </p>
<p>Only 16.5 % of all participating teachers reported never facing any language related challenges in their work. Others had all dealt with some issues related to language – either in terms of their school’s language policy or how they grappled with what languages to use in class. For some, these were strongly emotional issues. One told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I feel strongly that learners should not lose their home language in favour of other languages. Home languages are part of their identity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Others thought code switching was a great idea and <a href="http://geb.uni-giessen.de/geb/volltexte/2018/13505/pdf/KretzerMichael_2018_01_22.pdf">recognised its value</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I fully agree that it would be good for learners to be taught in their mother tongue or at least allow for code switching in the classroom to allow learners better understanding.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290276/original/file-20190830-166019-ry8tgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290276/original/file-20190830-166019-ry8tgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290276/original/file-20190830-166019-ry8tgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290276/original/file-20190830-166019-ry8tgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290276/original/file-20190830-166019-ry8tgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290276/original/file-20190830-166019-ry8tgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290276/original/file-20190830-166019-ry8tgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Setswana in a maths classroom in South Africa’s North West province.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael M. Kretzer (from http://geb.uni-giessen.de/geb/volltexte/2018/13505/pdf/KretzerMichael_2018_01_22.pdf)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other teachers viewed African languages as having limited use in teaching, especially in subjects like science. They believed these languages were better suited to social situations, and that their use should be limited to these situations. This indicates the importance and influence of language attitudes on language practices and policies. </p>
<p>Importantly, we found that code switching was used in all schools – even those that did not explicitly allow it in their school language policy documents. Teachers used it mainly in oral communication, in classroom situations. Others were afraid to code switch because of their schools’ language policy documents.</p>
<h2>The role of School Governing Bodies</h2>
<p>Individual schools’ language policies are formulated by the School Governing Body (SGB). This is in accordance with the South African legal framework to de-centralise education and also language policies. SGBs consist of the principal and elected members; elected members are the parents or legal guardians of enrolled pupils; teachers; pupils from grade 8 upwards or other school staff members. </p>
<p>Language policies must be set up within the country’s constitutional framework and in accordance with the <a href="http://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Policies/GET/LanguageEducationPolicy1997.pdf?ver=2007-08-22-083918-000">Language in Education Policy</a>, which came into effect in 1997. Its main aim was to increase multilingualism at schools and to consider the languages spoken in the surrounding area of a school to ensure these were central to language policy and teaching.</p>
<p>Parents or other members of the SGB often have a very biased language attitude that only favours English. They feel pupils should have maximum exposure to English – and this hinders a stronger inclusion of African languages at schools. Despite a large, <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000188642">comprehensive body of research</a> that proves the value of mother tongues, such language attitudes seem to be very deeply rooted and persistent. </p>
<p>A much more flexible and open teaching and language policy would help teachers and pupils to enable a meaningful learning environment in a multilingual and heterogeneous classroom setting. Such an open language policy would and should include code switching or translanguaging to see the unused potentials of teaching in African languages as well as in English in classrooms. </p>
<p>Flexible language policies and teaching approaches should be utilised to put each and every individual pupil and his and her individual learning progress at the centre of classroom interactions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122087/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael M. Kretzer receives funding from the NRF</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Russell H. Kaschula receives funding from the NRF</span></em></p>A much more flexible and open teaching and language policy would help teachers and pupils to enable a meaningful learning environment in a multilingual and diverse classroom setting.Michael M. Kretzer, NRF SARChI Chair Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, School of African Languages, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/903972018-02-15T14:22:21Z2018-02-15T14:22:21ZMultilingualism must be celebrated as a resource, not a problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202585/original/file-20180119-80171-1fv2hz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are 11 official languages in South Africa. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/50989081@N07/4708036883/in/photolist-7mbbeg-7mf3yq-7mf4g7-7mbbMP-b9Dg7n-7mbbwa-b9DrV4-8b2VkH-s1WngX-r4W9Cu-s1X8JV-de5suQ-buALZX-de465H-n8wUAA-fDsjPz-b9Dnhv-bGcRPk-889i95-7rFd65-b9CWXR-b2w5qH-b9D3Ti-de477R-b9Dzvn">AfricanGoals2010/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>February ought to be a joyful month for South African languages. It’s been declared “<a href="http://www.pansalb.org/macrosite/background.html">language activism month</a>” by the Pan South African Languages Board, a constitutionally established body tasked with the promotion and development of the 11 official languages, as well as those recognised for religious and cultural purposes. The idea is to encourage people to promote and campaign actively for the use of the country’s 11 official languages in all disciplines across society.</p>
<p>Instead of celebrating its official languages, though, South Africa is caught in a rip current of English. This is sweeping the country further away from accepting, promoting and advancing the use of the other 10 languages.</p>
<p>Recently a group of parents took the Gauteng province’s education department to court <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-01-15-education-department-loses-overvaal-school-admissions-case/">because of language</a>. They wanted their children to be accommodated in the Afrikaans-medium school and for the school to change its language of instruction to English. The parents and learners in question do not necessarily speak English as their mother tongue. But they fought for English, rather than an African language.</p>
<p>This is what South Africa’s former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke, ruling in another case related to a school’s language of instruction, <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/2009/22.html">called</a> “collateral irony”. People who speak an African language at home prefer that their children learn in English – with its <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/2009/22.html">long colonial history</a> – than in their own mother tongues.</p>
<p>We believe there are two reasons for this. The first is political will. There’s been insufficient buy-in from the government about the importance of developing, promoting and using African languages, particularly in education. Second, ordinary South Africans are ill-informed about the advantages of mother tongue being used as the medium of instruction.</p>
<h2>A rich resource</h2>
<p>Those responsible for drawing up language policies and curricula must be aware of what scholar Richard Ruíz, who spearheaded a revitalisation of indigenous South American languages, calls the <a href="https://arizona.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/orientations-in-language-planning">orientations of language planning</a>. </p>
<p>Orientation, Ruíz says, refers to</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a complex of dispositions toward language and its role, and toward languages and their role in society. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are three orientations: language as a problem, language as a right and language as a resource. </p>
<p>Part of South Africa’s challenge is that language, and in particular multilingualism, is generally seen as a problem rather than as a rich resource. Several other African countries view their indigenous languages as resources: Kiswahili in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and Afan-Oromo in Ethiopia are all good examples of this. And some small corners of South Africa are getting it right; <a href="https://imfundo.wordpress.com/tag/xhosa-teaching/">isiXhosa is used</a> to teach maths and science in the Cofimvaba district of the Eastern Cape province.</p>
<p>If the country’s policymakers, politicians and ordinary citizens understood this it would open innumerable doors. It would <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02572117.2015.1056455">create opportunities</a> for language development and greater access to services – from government departments, courts of law, hospitals, banks and so on. This in turn would provide many new job opportunities for African language speakers.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-continents-languages-can-unlock-the-potential-of-young-africans-90322">How the continent's languages can unlock the potential of young Africans</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>South Africa’s courts do have interpreters for some local languages, but there have been complaints about the quality of their training and work. There’s no reason why this can’t be rectified, as models elsewhere in the world show. The courts of New Brunswick in Canada (www.officiallanguages.nb.ca>imce>pdfs) are staffed by judicial officers and attorneys who are linguistically competent in the region’s indigenous languages. </p>
<p>So what does South Africa need to shift its thinking about African languages from “problem” to resource? The answer is two-fold: better policies, and greater public awareness.</p>
<h2>Seeking solutions</h2>
<p>The country does not need a single central language policy, as is currently the case. Policies should be drafted and enacted at provincial level instead. South Africa has nine provinces, and their majority languages differ. That’s why a “one size fits all” central language policy isn’t working.</p>
<p>Each province’s dominant African language or languages should be promoted equally alongside English and Afrikaans.</p>
<p>There is also a need for ordinary South Africans to find their voice in <a href="https://journals.co.za/content/journal/10520/EJC-5a4eec169">fighting for multilingualism</a>. Language activists must work together with bodies like the Pan South African Languages Board, the <a href="http://www.dac.gov.za/national-language-service">National Language Service</a> (which is part of the Department of Arts and Culture), NGOs, schools, universities and the media to create multilingual awareness. This will help people to see language as a rich natural resource.</p>
<p>What is needed now is the emergence of a united and transformed multilingual vocal voice, where South Africa is seen as a country for speakers of all official languages rather than an English-only elite.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90397/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>South Africa must be seen as a country for speakers of all its official languages rather than an English-only elite.Russell H. Kaschula, Professor of African Language Studies, Rhodes UniversityZakeera Docrat, Doctoral Student in African Languages (Law and Language/ Forensic Linguistics), Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/735132017-02-27T04:35:37Z2017-02-27T04:35:37ZThe long journey from a refugee camp to an Australian school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158030/original/image-20170223-32118-157tifi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Children at a refugee camp in Greece. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Frederic Seguin/Newzulu</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The final year of school is <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-way-we-teach-our-children-is-truly-crazy-20170223-gujyh1.html">tough for a lot of kids</a>. So much seems to be riding on this culmination of 12 years of study. </p>
<p>When Rema was in Year 12 in an Australian school she found it particularly difficult. She is a very clever girl. She had studied hard and her long held ambition was to study medicine. Her parents, a civil engineer and a physics teacher, are hugely supportive of her. </p>
<p>But Rema’s hard work, goal-setting and intelligence, along with her parents’ professional status and support, just weren’t enough. </p>
<p>War had intervened. Twice.</p>
<h2>One out of 3.7 million stories</h2>
<p>Rema was born in Iraq, and had just finished Year 5 in primary school when the family were forced to flee the war in Iraq and move to Syria as refugees. She lost more than a year of school as the family sought to find a way to start life over again. </p>
<p>Fortunately the language of school was the same, Arabic, and with help from her teacher mum, Rema made up her missed year of school, and worked hard at high school in Syria. She was on track to do medicine at university. Then war intervened again. </p>
<p>The family fled to Jordan - refugees once more, and, once again, Rema was unable to go to school. She became one of the 3.7 million refugee children around the globe <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/news/press/2016/9/57d7d6f34/unhcr-reports-crisis-refugee-education.html">unable to attend school</a>.</p>
<p>Rema’s family was selected to fill <a href="https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/60refugee">Australia’s annual quota of around 13,700 refugees</a>.</p>
<p>The family was provided with <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/settlement-and-multicultural-affairs/programs-policy/settlement-services/humanitarian-settlement-services-hss">settlement support</a> on arrival and they are very thankful to have found a safe and stable haven. </p>
<p>But Rema had to make up yet more missed schooling, and this time she had to do it in a brand new language. She did remarkably well but there just wasn’t enough time time to catch up on all the lost learning, especially while simultaneously learning English from scratch. </p>
<p>At the time, Rema said, wishfully, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“If I could show you what I know in Arabic or French, you can see how much I know.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>She explained her frustration, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Even if you’re writing and you are trying your best, but then the other Australian kids just beat you because they get it easily.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are thousands of stories like Rema’s in Australia, <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002448/244847E.pdf">and millions more across the globe</a>. Clever, ambitious kids whose goals and dreams have been whipped away from them by events they have no part in. </p>
<p>The average years in exile for refugees has <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/57d9d01d0">soared beyond 20 years</a>, and education opportunities are so poor that <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/news/press/2016/9/57d7d6f34/unhcr-reports-crisis-refugee-education.html">only 22% of refugee children receive any secondary education</a>. </p>
<h2>Education for refugees in Greece</h2>
<p>Recently I visited one of the many refugee camps in Greece. These housed around 60,000 refugees who were headed for northern Europe when Europe’s borders closed last year. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158035/original/image-20170223-32094-7lamwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158035/original/image-20170223-32094-7lamwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158035/original/image-20170223-32094-7lamwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158035/original/image-20170223-32094-7lamwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158035/original/image-20170223-32094-7lamwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158035/original/image-20170223-32094-7lamwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158035/original/image-20170223-32094-7lamwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">YouAmI set up preschool language classes in the Greek camp using a donated portable building.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Originally just transiting through Greece, they are <a href="http://www.dw.com/en/greece-left-alone-in-the-refugee-crisis/a-36699740">now trapped there in makeshift camps</a>. </p>
<p>Greece is struggling to cope with <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-poverty-idUSKBN15Z1NM">its own poverty crisis</a> so there are real limits to the kind of settlement services they can offer. </p>
<p>Abandoned toilet paper factories and disused munitions sites do not easily convert to comfortable living space for hundreds or thousands of people.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, Greece has opened its public school system, up to Year 9, to the thousands of children in the refugee camps. This year children have been bussed to the nearest local schools to do intensive Greek classes in the afternoons, in preparation for full integration of the children into the mainstream school system in September.</p>
<p>It is a laudable move, but it is not without significant challenges.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/mp-storms-athens-school-refugee-classes-170117210855348.html">Right wing political groups</a> are already actively picketing some schools demanding the removal of the refugee children. </p>
<p>Greek parents in the local communities are worried about what the consequences will be for their own children’s learning. Many of the camps are in rural areas, so the refugee children will be attending small village schools which have had no experience of migrants.</p>
<p>Greek teachers are concerned about their own ability to work effectively with children who have had disrupted schooling, traumatic experiences, limited school language and who are living in very difficult and impoverished circumstances in the camps. They have never had to do this before and have no training.</p>
<p>These are not dissimilar to the challenges faced by most countries hosting and educating refugees - <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-an-influx-of-refugee-background-students-mean-for-schools-48738">even wealthy countries like Australia</a>.</p>
<h2>Solutions for a global challenge</h2>
<p>At the heart of the solution is ensuring these children <a href="https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/language-for-resilience-report-en.pdf">have access to excellent language programs</a>, both to support the maintenance of their mother tongue and to support them in the languages of education and employment in their hosting or settlement country. </p>
<p>Training must be provided to teachers to prepare them for teaching children who do not speak the language of the school, who have had traumatic experiences, disrupted schooling, and are likely to be living with extreme financial stress.</p>
<p>With access to coherent and quality education programs, that respond to their life experiences, these children can continue on their journey of resilience and achievement - to the benefit of us all.</p>
<p>In my future, I know I want a doctor like Rema by my side when I am in need of an intelligent, persistent and focused health professional. A woman who has seen the world from all sides and has still decided she wants to be on humanity’s side.</p>
<p>• <em>Rema is a pseudonym. She was a participant in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272790745_Supporting_school-university_pathways_for_refugee_students%27_access_and_participation_in_tertiary_education">a larger research study of the educational experiences of refugees</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73513/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Misty Adoniou works for the University of Canberra. She has received federal government and international funding to investigate the education and orientation of refugees to Australia. She is on the Board of Directors of TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) International, a not-for-profit teachers' association.</span></em></p>Child refugees need to have access to quality language programs so they have a chance at doing well at school - and teachers also need to be given appropriate training.Misty Adoniou, Associate Professor in Language, Literacy and TESL, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/519162015-12-09T04:08:00Z2015-12-09T04:08:00ZWhy Afrikaans doesn’t qualify for special treatment at universities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104624/original/image-20151207-2962-1k6uvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students at Stellenbosch University call for Afrikaans to be scrapped as the institution's main language.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Foundation essay: This is a foundation essay. It is longer than usual because it takes a wider look at a key issue affecting society.</em></p>
<p>There is a fierce debate underway about the language of instruction at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Students <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2015-08-27-not-open-says-open-stellenbosch">protested</a> throughout 2015 against the use of Afrikaans as the institution’s main language. This culminated in the university management deciding to <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/sea-change-in-varsity-language-policies-1.1949008#.VmVxeHYrLIU">adopt English</a> as its primary language of instruction.</p>
<p>The Afrikaans language is widely used: it is the third <a href="http://www.southafrica.info/about/people/language.htm#afrikaans">most commonly</a> spoken of South Africa’s 11 official languages, after isiZulu and isiXhosa. But it has a torrid history. It has not, two decades after the end of apartheid, shaken off its <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/june-16-soweto-youth-uprising">association</a> with that system. Its critics argue that it continues to have a racially exclusionary impact in, <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-04-28-op-ed-open-stellenbosch-tackling-language-and-exclusion-at-stellenbosch-university/">for example</a>, Afrikaans language universities. Its defenders <a href="https://www.afriforum.co.za/afrikaans-stellenbosch-university-exclusion-technique-says-nzimande/">strongly fight</a> for the language’s place in the South African higher education sector.</p>
<p>Those opposing the change at Stellenbosch have invoked the country’s Constitution, saying it guarantees everyone education in their mother tongue. This suggests that Afrikaans-speaking communities have a constitutional right to demand tertiary education in Afrikaans. This line of argument also holds that a public university like Stellenbosch must maintain the privileged status of Afrikaans, or at least afford it an equal status with English. </p>
<p>In our view, the assumptions underlying these arguments are false. This becomes apparent when examining the <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-2-bill-rights#29">actual content</a> of the Constitutional right concerning language in education. It is also crucial to interpret this right in the context of the Constitution’s overall purposes and values.</p>
<p>Section 29(1)(2) of the Constitution reads: Everyone has the right</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a. to a basic education, including adult basic education; and</p>
<p>b. to further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It continues:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice in public educational institutions where that education is reasonably practicable. To ensure the effective access to, and implementation of this right, the state must consider all reasonable educational alternatives, including single medium institutions, taking into account:</p>
<p>a. equity;</p>
<p>b. practicability; and</p>
<p>c. the need to redress the results of past racially discriminatory laws and practices.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This provision does not guarantee the unqualified right to mother tongue education. It also doesn’t preclude the existence of single medium institutions. And, importantly, it sets out very specific factors the state must consider in implementing the right. These are equity, practicability and the issue of redress.</p>
<h2>1. Equity</h2>
<p>Equality and social justice are the Constitution’s founding values. It <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-2-bill-rights#9">defines</a> equality as including</p>
<blockquote>
<p>the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This means that the right to higher education must be equally accessible to all without any form of unfair discrimination. It must be delivered in a way that allows everyone to participate equally.</p>
<p>This is not only a constitutional imperative. It is core to the teaching project of any excellent university. A diverse body of staff and students enables exposure to a variety of world views and experiences. It is vital to the creation of new forms of knowledge and learning. If a language policy in any way undermines the creation of a diverse, inclusive campus community it impoverishes a university’s academic life.</p>
<p>Educational institutions, whether they are schools or universities, should not function as static and insular entities. The broader community’s interests must be taken into account, especially in light of the Constitution’s values. The Constitutional Court made this clear in an <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2009/32media.pdf">important judgment</a> about language policy in public schools.</p>
<h2>2. Practicability</h2>
<p>“Practicability” in tertiary education includes a range of considerations like budgetary constraints, the availability of staff to teach in particular languages of choice, learning infrastructure and students’ language preferences.</p>
<p>Academics and university managements cannot simply ignore the reality that growing numbers of students choose to be educated in English even when this is not their mother tongue. In our discussions with students at Stellenbosch University, two reasons have been offered in support of English as the medium of instruction. </p>
<p>Firstly, it is a common language which enables shared communication both in the classroom and in extra-curricular activities, residences and campus social environments. It is also the de facto language of business, politics, academia and law in South Africa and globally. A solid command of English is essential to graduates’ future careers and their ability to function effectively in a transformed South Africa as well as multi-cultural global environments.</p>
<p>The second reason may be more difficult for sections of the Afrikaans community to come to terms with. This relates to the language’s history and its continued association with the apartheid era. More than 20 years into the democratic dispensation, black students continue to testify to their painful experiences of Afrikaans being used on Stellenbosch campus, in residences and in the town to exclude and marginalise them.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sF3rTBQTQk4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">“Luister” (Listen), a short documentary about black students’ experiences at Stellenbosch University.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Redress</h2>
<p>This is particularly relevant to Stellenbosch University. The institution, many of its academics and former students contributed to the ideological, political and economic underpinnings <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2013-06-08-rethinking-maties-apartheid-past">of apartheid</a>. It did not challenge the injustices of apartheid.</p>
<p>The pace of racial change and redress at the institution has been glacially slow since democracy dawned in 1994. As far as the Constitution’s demands are concerned, there is still much to be done at Stellenbosch University to ensure open and free access to tertiary education. This will not happen by entrenching the language-dominated patterns of past privilege. It will be driven through changes and reforms to open up the institution to a diverse body of staff and students.</p>
<p>The admission of substantially more black students and the appointment of more black staff must be the highest priority. This is not only to help create a diverse campus community but because it gives effect to the constitutional imperative to redress the racial injustices of apartheid. </p>
<p>The university’s language policy must support and promote this fundamental constitutional objective, not constitute a barrier to it. All indications are that this objective will not be achieved without a significant shift towards English as the primary language of both teaching and official interaction at the campus. </p>
<h2>Support needed</h2>
<p>Stellenbosch University’s management team is trying to create a language policy that will offer pragmatic, sound solutions to this complex set of issues. It is working with academic staff who are experts on language and education, and in consultation with a broad range of student bodies. This makes sense. Academic staff at a particular institution are best placed to understand their students’ needs, teaching principles in specific disciplines and institutional constraints. </p>
<p>This is presumably why the Higher Education and Training <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/act101.PDF">Act</a> does not give university councils exclusive jurisdiction to determine language policy, as is often mistakenly believed. It requires that such policy be made with the concurrence of university senates - that is, bodies made up primarily of academics.</p>
<p>Similar work is <a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Free-State-University-to-review-language-policy-20150611">underway</a> at another historically Afrikaans institution, the University of the Free State.</p>
<p>These approaches are by no means perfect. But they are precisely the kind of reasonable, pragmatic endeavours which we believe deserve support and further engagement - not the condemnation coming from sections of the Afrikaans community.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51916/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandra Liebenberg receives research funding from the National Research Foundation. She writes here in her personal capacity and her views should not be ascribed to the National Research Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The South African Research Chair in Property Law is funded by the Department of Science and Technology, administered by the National Research Foundation and hosted by Stellenbosch University. AJ van der Walt writes here in his personal capacity and his views should not be ascribed to any of these institutions. </span></em></p>Those who don’t want Stellenbosch University to make English the main language of instruction have invoked South Africa’s Constitution - but the assumptions underlying their arguments are false.Sandra Liebenberg, HF Oppenheimer Professor and Chair in Human Rights Law, Stellenbosch UniversityAJ van der Walt, Distinguished Professor Faculty of Law, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/493812015-11-05T03:55:28Z2015-11-05T03:55:28ZEnglish rules in Uganda, but local languages shouldn’t be sidelined<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/100754/original/image-20151104-21196-199x7zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">English is Uganda's official language - but wouldn't it make sense to adopt a few more along with it?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joshua Wanyama/Africa Knows</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are 41 <a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/country/UG">living languages</a> in Uganda. But only three are ever mentioned in debates about the East African nation’s official language: Luganda, Swahili and English.</p>
<p>All three are controversial, and present an interesting starting point for a debate around the choices Uganda could exercise in choosing a language policy.</p>
<p>Ultimately, we believe it makes sense for more than three languages to be elevated to the status of national language. This would hardly be an unprecedented model on the continent. South Africa has 11 official languages. Zimbabwe has 15.</p>
<h2>The linguistic status quo</h2>
<p>English has been Uganda’s lone official language since independence in 1962. In 2005 Swahili, which is foreign and so viewed as being neutral, was proposed as the country’s second official language. But this has yet to be ratified by parliament.</p>
<p>Luganda and Swahili are used as languages of inter-ethnic communication. English dominates all formal communications in the spheres of education, the judiciary, politics and government.</p>
<p>The official status of Swahili is more symbolic than functional, mainly because of Uganda’s association with regional intergovernmental body the <a href="http://www.eac.int/">East African Community</a>. Swahili features on Ugandan shilling notes and notices in courts of law. The country’s language policy also prescribes its use in primary and secondary schools, but many schools disregard this.</p>
<p>Luganda, on the other hand, is the language of the biggest ethnic group in central Uganda. It works as a language of inter-ethnic communication, of wider communication and as a lingua franca. It is used in all domains: education, media and telecommunication, urban hip-hop, trading and in church. </p>
<h2>The status of English</h2>
<p>English gained its status as the language for government officials and aristocrats during the colonial period. It was associated with a higher social class, status and prestige.</p>
<p>There is no recent census on the use of English. But in 1972, the linguist Peter Ladefoged <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Language_in_Uganda.html?id=6IcOAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y">revealed</a> that only 21% of Ugandans were able to hold a conversation in English. </p>
<p>English remains the major medium of instruction despite the introduction of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/ugandas-private-schools-must-stop-snubbing-language-learning-policy-46819">local language</a> policy in primary schools. All in all, Ugandans consider English to be the way to success and a better life. </p>
<h2>Swahili as an option</h2>
<p>Swahili is an <a href="http://swahililanguage.stanford.edu/where%20swahili%20is%20spoken.html">African lingua franca</a> and shares with English the characteristics of being the <a href="http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo3618917.html">most influential</a> trans-ethnic language in East Africa. </p>
<p>In 1972, Ladefoged <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Language_in_Uganda.html?id=6IcOAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y">estimated</a> that 35% of Ugandans spoke Swahili fluently. Today, with no language census data, we can only paint a picture on its usage. </p>
<p>The language has a fraught history in Uganda. By the time European Protestant explorers arrived in Buganda in 1877, followed by Catholics in 1879, Swahili was used as a language for inter-ethnic communication, in the courts and as a language for trade in East Africa. In 1928 it was declared the official language in education and administration. This was met with stiff opposition from Buganda and bishops who sent a petition to the colonial secretary. The policy was reversed and Luganda was reinstated as the official language in the administration.</p>
<p>In Buganda, Swahili was said to be a language of slavery and bondage and its association with Islam made it a rival to Christianity. </p>
<p>In 1972 during the presidency of the dictator Idi Amin Dada, Swahili was again declared the national language of Uganda and introduced as a compulsory language on radio and television. Government employees were ordered to use Swahili, increasing its use. But the end of the regime also saw the end of the official use of Swahili.</p>
<p>Although the central region became hostile towards Swahili, in Northern Uganda it had a different status and image. The inhabitants of Northern Uganda, for instance, were recruited into the King’s African Rifles from 1902 through to the 1960s to serve in colonial government’s army. Joining the army was prestigious. When they returned home, they came back with a new language: Swahili.</p>
<p>Swahili was admired and learnt by the relatives of the army officers. It spread in the region. Even today Swahili is used in Northern Uganda as a lingua franca. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, despite its long history in Uganda, Swahili has failed to attain prominence as has happened in other East African countries.</p>
<p>A number of negative attitudes developed about Swahili that have diminished its status. Its use by undisciplined and unprofessional soldiers during periods of political unrest between 1970 and 1985 did not help its image; it became marginalised and associated with torture and theft. Its use in the army also made it look like a language of command rather than a language for social interaction.</p>
<p>Although in 2005 Swahili was given a new impetus in Uganda’s national life, ten years on it still awaits the ratification of parliament. </p>
<h2>Luganda – the controversial indigenous tongue</h2>
<p>Luganda is the most widely spoken indigenous language and the most widely spoken second language alongside English. The native speakers of Luganda are the Baganda, who <a href="https://www.ethnologue.com/">constitute 18%</a> of the population.</p>
<p>Luganda is spoken primarily in the south eastern Buganda region of the country, along the shores of Lake Victoria, as well as up north towards the shores of Lake Kyoga. </p>
<p>Its use has spread to other parts of the country, mainly in the urban centres where it is used in business, transport, church, media and as the medium of inter-ethnic communication. Baganda, who belong to Uganda’s subnational kingdom of Buganda, are both numerically and geographically the primary ethnic group of the capital city of Uganda, Kampala.</p>
<p>Luganda is one of the first African languages to document the country’s indigenous history through translations of the Bible, evangelical and catechism literature. </p>
<p>In 1912 it became the official language of the government. In 1928 it was replaced by Swahili because of complaints from other ethnic groups who thought Luganda and its speakers were favoured above others. But Buganda contested this decision and Luganda was reinstated as the official language of the administration.</p>
<p>Baganda chiefs who became administrators during the colonial time promoted the use of Luganda even in areas that did not primarily speak Luganda. It later developed into a language for literacy and education and the language of the church. Until recently, most parts of Western and Eastern Uganda used Luganda in church and education.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.africanstorybookproject.pwias.ubc.ca/sites/africanstorybookproject.pwias.ubc.ca/files/Tembe%20and%20Norton%202008.pdf">Recent studies</a> also indicate a preference by locals to use Luganda over their local languages in education because parents believe that it opens doors to urban life. </p>
<p>But it has also been repeatedly turned down as the potential national language. According to speakers of other languages, the strong ethno-linguistic identity displayed by its primary speakers has acted as a turn off. Secondly, naming Luganda the national language would be viewed as favouring the Baganda.</p>
<h2>So what’s the solution?</h2>
<p>Uganda is not the only country in Africa that has struggled with the question of national languages. South Africa and Zimbabwe have gone the multi-language route. Uganda could do the same. </p>
<p>Wouldn’t it be helpful and prudent if, say, Runyoro-Rutoro; Runyankore-Rukiga, Luganda, Ngakarimajong and Ateso were elevated to official status? These are the major languages in Uganda and are fairly representative of all the country’s peoples.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49381/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Medadi Ssentanda is affiliated with Makerere University and Stellenbosch University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Judith Nakayiza does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The stories of and attitudes to three particular languages – English, Swahili and Luganda – provide an interesting starting point for a debate around Uganda’s language policy.Medadi Ssentanda, Lecturer, Department of African Languages, Makerere UniversityJudith Nakayiza, Lecturer in African Languages, Makerere UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.