《Language Policy in south__ africa》.pdf

DEBATES Language Policy and Planning in the New South Africa Neville Alexander Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Af rica University of Cap e Town Introductory Remarks South Africa is in the grip of a historic transition. In all sectors of society major debates about the best policies for establishing and consolidating democracy are taking place. The most urgent and most visible struggles and tensions are to be observed in the sphere of the economy and of social pathology such as criminality and drugs. In some areas, however, major changes are beginning to be implemented. Many of these are areas where the authors of the policies concerned know very well that their interventions will only bear fruit after very many years of hard work and careful monitoring of the policies implemented. Such an area is language policy. On 9 November 1995, there was established the Language Plan Task Group (LANGTAG), an advisory committee to the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. Its main task is to advise the minister about the processes to be followed and the issues to be addressed in order to arrive at an acceptable language plan for the country. The establishment of LANGTAG is certainly a milestone in the history of language policy in South Africa. It is also the culmination of many years of dedicated anticipatory research on the part of a small group of language specialists, people who had the good fortune to read the movement of history correctly and who are, therefore, well placed at this important moment to give direction to the tendencies that are becoming manifest in this social domain. But there was no inevitability about this development and even now the matter is by no means decided. In order to understand the significance of this development it is necessary to look back briefly. Historical background Let us begi