Researchers are increasingly drawn to the study of societal bilingualism (or multilingualism), which is the study of the specific nature of bilingualism practiced by a nation, state, province or territory. Such studies seek to identify the institutions and legal frameworks put in place to regulate and reproduce bilingualism, as well as to understand groups which practice bilingualism. Drawing on a descriptive approach that flows from a sociological model of critical theory and conflict theory, this study is based on societal bilingualism in Cameroon, the only other country in the world, apart from Canada, that has both English and French as its only official languages. Cameroon is also one of the few African countries that do not have a local language as an official language. Acknowledging the central role of texts and their analysis in understanding social practices, this case study is carried out using critical document analysis to examine previous research, mass media products, government reports, historical data and information, laws, orders, press releases and speeches to uncover the precise nature of official language bilingualism in Cameroon. The study offers insights into the relevant historical and language background against which a critical discussion on official language bilingualism and an analysis of the legal frameworks and institutions set up to regulate and reproduce this bilingualism can be carried out. Attention is given to translation policies and to the most recent measures taken to foster State bilingualism in Cameroon. Indeed, official language bilingualism has been heavily predicated on translation, its institutions and legal framework. This timely case study traces the nation’s failure, as witnessed by the current situation of unrest, to successfully implement, mainly through translation, an official language bilingualism policy that grants equal status to English and French across the national territory. This research concludes that an alternative solution would be to introduce bilingual education as well, particularly from the nursery and elementary school levels, given that, for a long time now, Cameroon has had early simultaneous bilinguals who speak both English and French before they attain school age. A brief comparison between the context of official language bilingualism within the educational system in Cameroon and in Canada highlights the fact that Cameroon has the potential to establish one of the strongest forms of bilingual education in the world.

U. S. does not have an official language even though the country is home to the highest number of English speakers in the world and English is the primary language spoken there. Since 1980s, there have been efforts to make English the official language of the land. However, they have not been successful so far. The paper Language Policy in the U. S.: Debating Official Language attempts to clarify why English has never been officialized. First, the language policy debates since the American Revolution are examined and the role of official language in the debates is defined. Second, the actors of official English debates are introduced, their motivation is explained and arguments for and against making English official are presented. Third, potential impact of official language legislation is scrutinized based on a comparative analysis of five official English bills. Thus, the paper provides an overview of the topic of official English debates and gives reasons why the U. S. Congress has never passed an official language law.

The purpose of this essay is to investigate how the authorities Swedish Migration Board and Swedish Transport Administration communicate with the users on the social media Facebook and Twitter. This essay is based on a qualitative content analysis of a total of six different posts on Facebook and Twitter, which the authorities of the Swedish Migration Board and the Swedish Transport Administration have done. The result is that Twitter's comments threads were perceived as more general and not personally angled. On Facebook, the commentaries contained very personal questions concerning the person who wrote the question. The most common language acts of both authorities are mainly information. They occur to the greatest extent, and mostly in all posts and responses. The nature of the information is usually informative but sometimes also explanatory. Other language actions that appear a part are calls. The most common call is when the text ends with a link reference. The text wants the reader to press the attached link, thus performing an action. The ways of creating relationship and the extent to which the texts try to create relationships with the recipients differ between the two different social media. On Facebook, it is clearer that the texts are trying to create relationships. Twitter does not match the same pattern.

English has integrated into Swedish society, and into the Swedish language. In this study, the goal is to examine why English has become so influential in Sweden and if this has occurred previously. This will be studied by examining the historical relation between Swedish and three languages, German, French and English. Moreover, the English language influences will be examined more extensively in its global spread and its social relation to Swedish. This essay will contain a limited study, which will ask a sample of twenty individuals if they think Sweden requires a second language, and what language they would select to fill this position. There is a pattern to observe in the historical language influences, which are: the global presence of the language, the integration and immigration into the Swedish society and the grammatical and lexical significance of loanwords. The majority of the sample selected English as the language that would fill a second language position in Sweden, and close to half of the sample thought Sweden requires a second language. With such a limited sample and with few questions, no claims could be made regarding the requirement of a second language in Sweden. This could be expanded further into a more extensive study with less focus on the historical influences upon Swedish.

Thesis (Ph. D.(Translation and Linguistics Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / This thesis assesses the use of Northern Sotho as an official language in the Capricorn and Mopani District Municipalities of Limpopo Province. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa stipulates clearly that all eleven official languages are equal. The study argues that Northern Sotho, as one of the 11 official languages of the Republic of South Africa, deserves to be treated with respect. It (the study) has shown that Northern Sotho is currently not enjoying the proper status that is afforded to it by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996). The business world does not make use of Northern Sotho as it is regarded as an inferior language which is associated uneducated people. Furthermore, the study has discovered that many of the public and private sector companies communicate with their employees and members of the public in English, while most of these employees and members lack the necessary linguistic proficiency. Information that is directed to employees and members of the public only serves the purpose if it is distributed to them in the languagethat they best understand. The main factor with regard to the use of Northern Sotho in all spheres of life is that many Northern Sotho speakers feel ashamed of speaking the language, particularly in public. This is not surprising because many, mainly educated African people, despise their indigenous languages because they consider them backward, inferior and under-developed. English is still used as a dominant language. The researcher drew on theories of scholars such as Piaget, Laswell, Weaver and Schramm to ground this study. Ethnolinguistic vitality theory is also considered as the study of minority languages and more specifically, Northern Sotho, involves language vitality issues. The researcher has used qualitative research methodology designed through document analysis, observations and individual interviews. Research findings confirm that the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) indicates that all the 11 official languages should be used in all spheres of life with equal regard and consideration. This implies, among others, the entrenchment of the right of learners and students to be taught in the language that they best understand. The 12 participants from Capricorn and the 12 from Mopani Districtv Municipalities stated that the use of English should not be tampered with. All the other remaining respondents concurred that Northern Sotho should be granted its rightful status in all official communication. Northern Sotho was found to have linguistic vitality in that majority of Capricorn and Mopani District Municipalities’ residents are Northern Sotho speakers who deserve to be afforded their constitutional right to be served in the medium of Northern Sotho as their indigenous language of choice

La politique de la langue azerbaïdjanaise doit être étudiée en suivant quatre aspects différents mais très liés : la politique linguistique à l’égard de la langue officielle, la politique linguistique à l’égard des langues minoritaires en Azerbaïdjan, la politique linguistique à l’égard de la Turcophonie et la politique linguistique à l’égard des minorités azerbaïdjanaises vivant surtout dans les pays frontaliers tels que l’Iran, la Géorgie ou bien la Fédération de Russie (également la République du Daghestan de la Fédération de Russie). Cet ensemble constitue pour la politique linguistique de l’Azerbaïdjan à la fois une intervention sur la langue officielle mais aussi sur les langues minoritaires de la part de l’Etat et un domaine de coopération internationale dans le cas de la Turcophonie. Par conséquence, l’aspect régional de cette politique est considéré comme une action ayant des enjeux essentiels pour le développement et le rayonnement de l’azerbaïdjanais comme langue minoritaire. / Policy Azerbaijani language must be studied in four different but closely related aspects : the language policy towards the official language, the language policy towards minority languages in Azerbaijan, the language policy towards the Turcophonie and the language policy against Azerbaijani minorities especially in neighboring countries such as Iran, Georgia or Russia (also the Republic of Dagestan of the Russian Federation). This set is for the language policy of Azerbaijan in both the official language intervention but also on minority languages from the state and an area of international cooperation in the case of Turcophonie. Consequently, the regional aspect of this policy is considered as an action that key issues for the development and influence of Azerbaijani as a minority language.

Thesis (M. A. (Translation Studies and Linguistics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / This study provides the guidelines for the implementation of a mandatory African language course for first-year students at the University of Limpopo. The study utilised a phenomenological design to help participants to understand the need for a compulsory language course. Most importantly, the study aimed to understand the meanings that the participants ascribed to the importance of the course on campus at large. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews from 8 participants from the University of Limpopo. The sample size comprised of postgraduate students studying African language modules at the university, lecturers in African language modules, namely, Sepedi, lecturers in Tshivenḓa, and in Xitsonga. This study tested Language Management Theory (LMT) by Neustupny and Jernudd (1970). The study clarifies the meaning of section 4 (4.8) of the University of Limpopo’s language policy. Furthermore, this study brought the concept of ‘multilingualism’, as used in the setting of the University of Limpopo, into critical focus. This study recommended language module content needed at the University of Limpopo. Finally, the findings of the study show how students benefit from completing an African language course. The researcher suggested a compulsory African language module for all first-year students as a means to promote the use of African languages in academia. Furthermore, the study recommended that the language chosen by the students should not be their home tongue.

The research project takes a hard look into the attitudes or perceptions of speakers of African languages towards the new language policy of South Africa. The question answered in this regard is, `What do people say?' The research project explores the extent of radical shift in African consciousness giving impetus to the resurgence of African languages so that they carry philosophical and scientific discourse to unprecedented heights. Maintaining the primordial language policy that is dominated by English and Afrikaans is like putting new wine into old skins. Thus, the research also seeks to establish strategies that could be implemented in order to ensure the revitalisation and rejuvenation of African languages so that all the languages take their rightful place. In other words, the research explores ways of injecting a new kind of consciousness that integrates language and content in schools so as to replace the primordial "telescopic philanthropy" type of approach existing currently in education and other major domains. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

This dissertation interrogates the representation of SiSwati programming (a minority language) on SABC 1 It critically analyses the statutory provisions in place for language parity and utilises hegemony as the theoretical framework for understanding the concept of language parity in the South African broadcasting landscape. To the researcher’s knowledge, there is limited information pertaining to this particular research topic however, most of the previous literature refers to all eleven official languages and not SiSwati specifically. Hegemony, a strand of critical theory as developed by Antonio Gramsci, will serve as the theoretical base of this study. This study falls within the framework of qualitative research. An extensive literature study of various sources and a content analysis of the relevant legislative documents form the basis of the research. SABC TV is positioned in a highly competitive, multi-channel market environment with powerful social, political and economic forces to contend with, this makes it difficult for SABC TV to fulfil its mandate of treating all eleven official languages equitably, hence languages such as SiSwati are underrepresented on national television. This study is seminal and relevant insofar as it offers a much needed insight into the plight of a marginalised language by the country’s public broadcaster. / MA (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This dissertation interrogates the representation of SiSwati programming (a minority language) on SABC 1 It critically analyses the statutory provisions in place for language parity and utilises hegemony as the theoretical framework for understanding the concept of language parity in the South African broadcasting landscape. To the researcher’s knowledge, there is limited information pertaining to this particular research topic however, most of the previous literature refers to all eleven official languages and not SiSwati specifically. Hegemony, a strand of critical theory as developed by Antonio Gramsci, will serve as the theoretical base of this study. This study falls within the framework of qualitative research. An extensive literature study of various sources and a content analysis of the relevant legislative documents form the basis of the research. SABC TV is positioned in a highly competitive, multi-channel market environment with powerful social, political and economic forces to contend with, this makes it difficult for SABC TV to fulfil its mandate of treating all eleven official languages equitably, hence languages such as SiSwati are underrepresented on national television. This study is seminal and relevant insofar as it offers a much needed insight into the plight of a marginalised language by the country’s public broadcaster. / MA (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014