The focus of this study is an investigation of the language policy and language policy implementation in the Department of Correctional Services of South Africa. Language usage is a right of all the citizens of South Africa as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) which is the supreme law of the country. It is imperative that language policy makers in the Department of Correctional Services should adhere to the provisions of the constitution. It also aims at establishing whether the Department of Correctional Services’ policy is aligned to the national language policy framework as well as provincial language policy framework that provide for the use of the eleven (11) official languages in general and in particular. In this research study, background information serves to give an overview of how language policy of South Africa since 1994 has been perceived by various scholars and the historical overview of the language policies during the apartheid era. The African languages were given a low status as the language diversity of South Africa was not acknowledged by the government of that day. The evaluation of the contents of language policies that were used previously and currently in the Department of Correctional Services shed light to the issues of language attitude, language choice and language use in this department. During the apartheid era there were working languages set for prisoners as well as staff regarding communication either verbally or in writing in the Department of Correctional Services. The official languages were English and Afrikaans of which the latter was dominant. The question of whose language, for what purpose and how was it received was also investigated. / African Languages / D.Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

no abstract available / Linguistics / M.A. (Sociolinguistics)

This thesis consists of a series of analytically independent, but conceptually interrelated studies of language ideologies across a number of different discursive terrains. The overarching objective of these interventions is to illuminate the relationship between language, politics and subjectivity from a number of different historical, philosophical, theoretical and empirical perspectives. This, in turn, is pursued with the aim to critically interrogate the ways in which social psychology has traditionally conceptualised and approached language (and language related phenomena), and to explore some of the conceptual, metatheoretical and theoretical requirements for a reconfigured, critical social psychology of language. Towards this end, the following specific themes are explored: (1) the political role language has historically played in South Africa, especially with regards to the articulation and political embodiment of various ethnically, racially and nationally mediated forms of subjectivity (Chapter 3); the politically productive role language has played in the emergence of nationalism, nation-state societies and the modern political order more broadly (and, vice versa, the role nationalism and the modern nation-state has played in delineating language as an ontologically, epistemologically and politically consistent object of state, academic and popular interest) (Chapter 4); (3) the way in which nationally mediated and state-oriented conceptions of language, politics and political subjectivity have been assumed, naturalised and reproduced by traditional social psychology throughout the twentieth century (Chapter 5); and (4) the way in which ordinary discussions about language in an everyday South African setting contribute (by invoking liberal and nationalist discourses, amongst others) to the continued racialisation of language and public space in this country, and to the further legitimisation of linguistically mediated forms of inequality and marginalisation (Chapter 6). In each instance the focus is on language as both constructed and constructive in relation to the emergence of particular social and political orders and their associated subjectivities. The thesis concludes with a reflection on the limits of discourse and ideology as frameworks for the study of language, politics and subjectivity, and develops a number of tentative ideas about language as a corporeal component of embodied and affective subjectivities (Chapter 7). / Thesis (Ph. D.) (Psychology)

Summaries in English and Afrikaans / This study concerns the teaching and learning of Afrikaans as a foreign language in colleges of education in the Northern Province. An empirical survey was conducted at Makhado and Shingwedzi Colleges of Education where teachers are trained for the Primary Teachers' Diploma. This study seeks to identify issues which perpetrate negative attitudes to the subject of Afrikaans, as is manifested by low student enrolment, or its absence. Apart from the fact that South Africa is proclaimed by the Constitution of the country to be both multilingual and multicultural, non-Afrikaans student teachers seem to ignore the advantages of including Afrikaans as one of the units of their linguistic flexibility. The study thus identifies the knowledge, skills and attitudes which teachers and student teachers should acquire in this foreign language during their training in order to be successful practitioners in the field. The study endeavours to inform its learners that the language should be regarded as a tool of communication, not one of politics. This knowledge is necessary as African learners tend to associate the subject Afrikaans with the apartheid era of government. Chapter two deals with theoreticar considerations which underpin the teaching of the subject of Afrikaans. The role of language policy and its planning was identified as the basis of negative attitudes towards the language. Chapter three deals with instructional issues pertaining to the teaching of the subject of Afrikaans as a foreign language. These issues include the How? and Why? of factors to be considered in the teaching of the subject with the aim of enhancing the teachers' understanding of the subject. Research is conducted on problematical areas. Chapter four concentrates on the empirical research. The research endevours to identify issues in the teaching of the subject The thesis concludes that there is a need to revisit the aims of learning the Afrikaans language and a need to concentrate on cultivating a culture of learning in the subject of Afrikaans. This can be accomplished by enriching the language through acquiring various teaching skills and addressing various needs of learners. / Hierdie studie handel oor die onderrig en leer van Afrikaans as vreemde taal in onderwyskolleges in die Noordelike Provinsie. h Empiriese studie is gedoen by die Makhado Onderwyskollege en die Shingwedzi Onderwyskollege waar onderwysers vir die Primere Onderwysdiploma opgelei word. In hierdie navorsing word getrag om die faktore wat aanleiding gee tot die lae inskrywingsyfer vir Afrikaans as vak te identifiseer. Afgesien van die feit dat die Grondwet van SuidAfrika voorsiening maak vir veeltaligheid en multikulturaliteit, ignoreer nieAfrikaanssprekende studente die voordele wat daaraan verbonde is om Afrikaans as vak by hulle studiepakket in te sluit. Die kennis; vaardighede en houdings wat onderwysers en onderwysstudente moet verwerf om Afrikaans as vreemde taal suksesvol te kan onderrig, word hier ge'identifiseer. Poging word aangewend om aan te toon dat Afrikaans as werktuig vir kommunikasie aangewend moet word en nie as h politieke werktuig nie. Hierdie kennis is noodsaaklik, aangesien leerders die taal en dus ook die vak Afrikaans, meestal assosieer met die voormalige apartheidsregering. Hoofstuk twee handel oor die teoretiese aspekte wat die grondslag van die onderrig van die vak Afrikaans vorm. Die rol wat die taalbeleid tans speel en ook in die verlede gespeel het, word ge"identifiseer as basis vir die negatiewe ingesteldhede teenoor die taal. , Hoofstuk drie handel oor onderrigaangeleenthede betreffende die vak Afrikaans as h vreemde taal. Hierdie sake sluit in die Hoe? en Waarom? van faktore wat in ag geneem word by die onderrig van die vak wanneer beoog word om die onderwyser se insig betreffende die vak te verbeter. Navorsing is gedoen oor areas wat problematies blyk te gewees het. In hoofstuk vier word die empiriese navorsing weergegee. Hierdie navorsing trag om sekere aangeleenthede betreffende die onderrig van die vak oop te dek. Die tesis volstaan daarmee dat daar 'n nood is om die doelstellings met die onderrig van Afrikaans weer eens te beskou en dat dit ook nodig is om daarop te konsentreer om die onderrig van Afrikaans op aile vlakke te bevorder. Dit kan bereik word deur die verryking van die taal deur middel van die aanleer van verskillende onderrigvaardighede en deur die behoeftes van die leerders aan te spreek. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

Even though language formed part of the post-apartheid agenda which was set out to redress the ills of the pre-democratic South Africa, there are still concerns that the status of indigenous languages has not been elevated. Using decolonial work of Steve Biko, Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Frantz Fanon as theoretical lens, I aimed at exploring perceptions of key informants on post-apartheid language policies, young South Africans and parents /guardians toward indigenous languages. In-depth and narrative interviews were used to collect data from language policy key informants and young South Africans who started schooling after 1994 and focus group discussions with parents/guardians were held. Thematic, narrative and discourse analyses were used to analyse the data. Indigenous languages were perceived by participants as having an inferior status compared to languages of oppression and that was attributed to inferiority complex, lack of will from government to promote these languages and absent voice of indigenous language speakers in the fight for the status of indigenous languages. South Africa’s language diversity was also perceived as a challenge believed to contribute toward the difficulty of properly implementing post-apartheid language policies. The study results suggest a need for a stronger civil society which would assist in the dismantling of categorising languages as superior and inferior. Furthermore, the results point to a need for a more humanising approach which treats indigenous languages with respect. / Psychology / D. Phil. (Psychology)

This thesis consists of a series of analytically independent, but conceptually interrelated studies of language ideologies across a number of different discursive terrains. The overarching objective of these interventions is to illuminate the relationship between language, politics and subjectivity from a number of different historical, philosophical, theoretical and empirical perspectives. This, in turn, is pursued with the aim to critically interrogate the ways in which social psychology has traditionally conceptualised and approached language (and language related phenomena), and to explore some of the conceptual, metatheoretical and theoretical requirements for a reconfigured, critical social psychology of language. Towards this end, the following specific themes are explored: (1) the political role language has historically played in South Africa, especially with regards to the articulation and political embodiment of various ethnically, racially and nationally mediated forms of subjectivity (Chapter 3); the politically productive role language has played in the emergence of nationalism, nation-state societies and the modern political order more broadly (and, vice versa, the role nationalism and the modern nation-state has played in delineating language as an ontologically, epistemologically and politically consistent object of state, academic and popular interest) (Chapter 4); (3) the way in which nationally mediated and state-oriented conceptions of language, politics and political subjectivity have been assumed, naturalised and reproduced by traditional social psychology throughout the twentieth century (Chapter 5); and (4) the way in which ordinary discussions about language in an everyday South African setting contribute (by invoking liberal and nationalist discourses, amongst others) to the continued racialisation of language and public space in this country, and to the further legitimisation of linguistically mediated forms of inequality and marginalisation (Chapter 6). In each instance the focus is on language as both constructed and constructive in relation to the emergence of particular social and political orders and their associated subjectivities. The thesis concludes with a reflection on the limits of discourse and ideology as frameworks for the study of language, politics and subjectivity, and develops a number of tentative ideas about language as a corporeal component of embodied and affective subjectivities (Chapter 7). / Thesis (Ph. D.) (Psychology)

no abstract available / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Sociolinguistics)

After many years of the oppressive apartheid government, the new democratic era came into being in 1994. Lot of policy changes came into being, including language policy. This new language policy of the post-apartheid era recognises eleven official languages which include the nine indigenous African languages which were previously recognised as regional languages in the different homelands. The present study investigates the progress of Tshivenda in terms of status and development since it was accorded the official status in South Africa. Literature investigating the status of Tshivenda is generally sparse. This study investigates the status of Tshivenda in South Africa to explore how minority languages which are also recognised as official languages are treated. In most multilingual countries, there are issues which affect the development of minority languages, but the South African situation is interesting in that some of the minority languages are recognised as official languages. This study is a comparative in nature. Firstly, the study compares the level of corpus planning and development in Tshivenda and other indigenous South African languages. Secondly, it compares how people use Tshivenda in a rural area of Lukalo Village where the language is not under pressure from other languages and in Cosmo City, an urban area in Gauteng where Tshivenda speakers come into contact with speakers of more dominant languages such as isiZulu and Sesotho. Language use in different domains like, media, education, government and the home is considered in order to establish how people use languages and the factors which influence their linguistic behaviours. The study also establishes the perceptions and attitudes of the speakers of Tshivenda as a minority and those of the speakers of other languages towards Tshivenda’s role in the different domains such as education and the media. This study was influenced by previous research (Alexander 1989, Webb 2002) which found out that during the apartheid period Tshivenda speakers used to disguise their identity by adopting dominant languages like isiZulu and Sesotho in Johannesburg. Accordingly, the present research wanted to establish how the language policy change in the democratic era has impacted on the confidence of Tshivenda speakers regarding themselves and their language. This study establishes that although Tshivenda is now an official language in post-apartheid South Africa, it still has features of underdevelopment and marginalization that are typically of unofficial minority languages. Translation, lexicographic and terminological work in this language still lags behind that of other indigenous South African languages and there is still a shortage of school textbooks and adult literature in this language. As a result, using the language in education, the media and other controlling domains is still quite challenging, although positive developments such as the teaching of the language at university level can be noted. The Tshivenda speakers generally have a positive attitude towards their language and seem prepared to learn and use it confidently as long its functional value is enhanced, which is currently not happening. As a result, some Tshivenda speakers still regard English as a more worthwhile language to learn at the expense of their language

This study investigates the impact of Family Language Policy (FLP) on the conservation of minority languages in Zimbabwe. Family language policy is a newly emerging sub field of language planning and policy which focuses on the explicit and overt planning in relation to language use within the home among family members. The study is therefore predicated on the view that the conservation of any minority language largely depends on intergenerational transmission of the particular language. Intergenerational transmission is dependent in part, on the language practices in the home and therefore on family language policy. To understand the nature, practice and negotiation of family language policy in the context of minority language conservation, the study focuses on the perspectives of a sample of 34 L1 Kalanga parents and 28 L1 Tonga parents, who form the main target population. In this study, parents are considered to be the ‘authorities’ within the family, who have the capacity to articulate and influence language use and language practices. Also included in this study are the perspectives of language and culture associations representing minority languages regarding their role in the conservation of minority languages at the micro community level. Representatives of Kalanga Language and Cultural Development Association (KLCDA), Tonga Language and Culture Committee (TOLACCO) as well Zimbabwe Indigenous Languages Promotion Association (ZILPA) were targeted. This research takes on a qualitative approach. Methodologically, the study deployed the interview as the main data collection tool. Semi structured interviews were conducted with L1 Kalanga and L1 Tonga parents while unstructured interviews were conducted with the representatives of language and culture associations. This study deploys the language management theory and the reversing language shift theory as the analytical lenses that enable the study to understand the mechanics of family language policy and their impact on intergenerational transmission of minority languages in Zimbabwe. Language management theory allows for the extendibility of the tenets of language policy into the family domain and specifically affords the study to explore the dialectics of parental language ideologies and family language practices in the context of minority language conservation in Zimbabwe. The reversing language shift theory also emphasises the importance of the home domain in facilitating intergenerational transmission of minority languages. Findings of the study demonstrate that family language policy is an important aspect in intergenerational transmission of minority languages, itself a nuanced and muddled process. The research demonstrates that there is a correlation between parental language ideologies and parental disposition to articulate and persue a particular kind of family language policy. In particular, the study identified a pro-minority home language and pro- bilingual family language policies as the major parental language ideologies driving family language policies. However, the research reveals that parental language ideologies and parental explicitly articulated family language polices alone do not guarantee intergenerational transmission of minority languages, although they are very pertinent. This, as the study argues, is because family language policy is not immune to external language practices such as the school language policy or the wider language policy at the macro state level. Despite parents being the main articulators of family language policy, the study found out that in some instances, parental ideologies do not usually coincide with children’s practices. The mismatch between parental preferences and their children’s language practices at home are a reproduction, in the home, of extra familial language practices. This impacts family language practices by informing the child resistant agency to parental family language policy, leading to a renegotiation of family language policy. The research also demonstrates that parents, especially those with high impact beliefs are disposed to take active steps, or to employ language management strategies to realise their desired language practices in the home. The study demonstrates that these parental strategies may succeed in part, particularly when complemented by an enabling sociolinguistic environment beyond the home. The articulation of a pro-Tonga only family language policy was reproduced in the children’s language practices, while the preference for a pro- bilingual family language policy by the majority L1 Kalanga parents was snubbed for a predominantly Ndebele-only practice by their children. In most cases, the research found out that language use in formal domains impacted on the success of FLP. Tonga is widely taught in Schools within Binga districts while Kalanga is not as widespread in Bulilima and Mangwe schools. Ndebele is the most widespread language in Bulilima and Mangwe schools. As such; children of L1 Kalanga parents tend to evaluate Kalanga negatively while having positive associations with Ndebele. All these language practices are deemed to impact on family language policy and therefore on intergenerational transmission of minority languages in Zimbabwe. The desire by parents for the upward mobility of children results in them capitulating to the wider socio political reality and therefore to the demands of their children in terms of language use in the home. The study therefore concludes that family language policy is an important frontier in the fight against language shift and language endangerment, given the importance of the home in intergenerational transmission of minority languages. The study therefore implores future research to focus on this very important but largely unresearched sub field of language policy. The study observes that most researches have focused on the activities of larger state institutions and organisations and how they impact on minority language conservation, to the detriment of the uncontestable fact that the survival of any language depends on the active use of the language by the speakers. The research also recommends that future practice of language policy should not attempt to promote minority languages by discouraging the use of other majority languages, but rather, speakers should embrace bilingualism as a benefit and a resource and not as a liability. The interaction between the top down state language policy and the bottom up micro family language policy should be acknowledged and exploited, in such a way that the two can be deployed as complementary approaches in minority language conservation. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (Languages, Linguistics and Literature)

Summaries in English and Afrikaans / This study concerns the teaching and learning of Afrikaans as a foreign language in colleges of education in the Northern Province. An empirical survey was conducted at Makhado and Shingwedzi Colleges of Education where teachers are trained for the Primary Teachers' Diploma. This study seeks to identify issues which perpetrate negative attitudes to the subject of Afrikaans, as is manifested by low student enrolment, or its absence. Apart from the fact that South Africa is proclaimed by the Constitution of the country to be both multilingual and multicultural, non-Afrikaans student teachers seem to ignore the advantages of including Afrikaans as one of the units of their linguistic flexibility. The study thus identifies the knowledge, skills and attitudes which teachers and student teachers should acquire in this foreign language during their training in order to be successful practitioners in the field. The study endeavours to inform its learners that the language should be regarded as a tool of communication, not one of politics. This knowledge is necessary as African learners tend to associate the subject Afrikaans with the apartheid era of government. Chapter two deals with theoreticar considerations which underpin the teaching of the subject of Afrikaans. The role of language policy and its planning was identified as the basis of negative attitudes towards the language. Chapter three deals with instructional issues pertaining to the teaching of the subject of Afrikaans as a foreign language. These issues include the How? and Why? of factors to be considered in the teaching of the subject with the aim of enhancing the teachers' understanding of the subject. Research is conducted on problematical areas. Chapter four concentrates on the empirical research. The research endevours to identify issues in the teaching of the subject The thesis concludes that there is a need to revisit the aims of learning the Afrikaans language and a need to concentrate on cultivating a culture of learning in the subject of Afrikaans. This can be accomplished by enriching the language through acquiring various teaching skills and addressing various needs of learners. / Hierdie studie handel oor die onderrig en leer van Afrikaans as vreemde taal in onderwyskolleges in die Noordelike Provinsie. h Empiriese studie is gedoen by die Makhado Onderwyskollege en die Shingwedzi Onderwyskollege waar onderwysers vir die Primere Onderwysdiploma opgelei word. In hierdie navorsing word getrag om die faktore wat aanleiding gee tot die lae inskrywingsyfer vir Afrikaans as vak te identifiseer. Afgesien van die feit dat die Grondwet van SuidAfrika voorsiening maak vir veeltaligheid en multikulturaliteit, ignoreer nieAfrikaanssprekende studente die voordele wat daaraan verbonde is om Afrikaans as vak by hulle studiepakket in te sluit. Die kennis; vaardighede en houdings wat onderwysers en onderwysstudente moet verwerf om Afrikaans as vreemde taal suksesvol te kan onderrig, word hier ge'identifiseer. Poging word aangewend om aan te toon dat Afrikaans as werktuig vir kommunikasie aangewend moet word en nie as h politieke werktuig nie. Hierdie kennis is noodsaaklik, aangesien leerders die taal en dus ook die vak Afrikaans, meestal assosieer met die voormalige apartheidsregering. Hoofstuk twee handel oor die teoretiese aspekte wat die grondslag van die onderrig van die vak Afrikaans vorm. Die rol wat die taalbeleid tans speel en ook in die verlede gespeel het, word ge"identifiseer as basis vir die negatiewe ingesteldhede teenoor die taal. , Hoofstuk drie handel oor onderrigaangeleenthede betreffende die vak Afrikaans as h vreemde taal. Hierdie sake sluit in die Hoe? en Waarom? van faktore wat in ag geneem word by die onderrig van die vak wanneer beoog word om die onderwyser se insig betreffende die vak te verbeter. Navorsing is gedoen oor areas wat problematies blyk te gewees het. In hoofstuk vier word die empiriese navorsing weergegee. Hierdie navorsing trag om sekere aangeleenthede betreffende die onderrig van die vak oop te dek. Die tesis volstaan daarmee dat daar 'n nood is om die doelstellings met die onderrig van Afrikaans weer eens te beskou en dat dit ook nodig is om daarop te konsentreer om die onderrig van Afrikaans op aile vlakke te bevorder. Dit kan bereik word deur die verryking van die taal deur middel van die aanleer van verskillende onderrigvaardighede en deur die behoeftes van die leerders aan te spreek. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)