Chapter One is an historical review of the rejection of colonial domination in various states in Africa, before the spotlight was directed at the relationships between the "white" and "black" inhabitants of South Africa. The numerous problems which arise out of this inter-relationship can best be ascribed to the identity crisis which "white" and "black" experience in a multi-lingual country. The South African society needs to normalise its relations with cultural and language groups by means of communication. Chapter Two reviews the historical background, linguistic characteristics, the use, functions and the distribution of the ten most important languages of which the South African community consists. The diversity of these languages generates and complicates the debate which currently prevails concerning a language policy for a future non-racial South Africa. The geographical, social, historical and cultural factors which are conducive and non-conducive to language distribution are high-lighted in Chapter Three. In a changing South Africa, where affirmative actions are being insisted on, it is expected that the current privileged position of Afrikaans will be placed under political pressure. A painful process of self-examination by Afrikaans-speaking Afrikaners - one of the major role-players in the current controversy concerning the continued existence and status of Afrikaans in a "postApartheid era" - has been precipitated. Chapter Four looks at how the "white", "coloured", "black" and "Indian" Afrikaans-speaking Afrikaners' mother tongue has evolved to its present status. The arguments for and against, viewpoints of, and pleas for the re-unification of Afrikaans-speaking Afrikaners to a larger single power base is emphasized. The possible future status and functions of Afrikaans insofar as its present status, functions and attitudes are concerned, are extrapolated in Chapter Five. The viewpoint concerning a possible scenario for the above-mentioned matters as expressed by a wide spectrum of South African society - academics, cultural groupings, political leaders, non-mother-tongue speakers of Afrikaans - is evaluated. A scenario of the possible role of Afrikaans in a "post-Apartheid era" in South Africa is sketched in Chapter 6. The conclusion is that the Western culture as understood by the black man, differs in more than one way from the perception of the white man. First and foremost, the acceptance of and respect for the languages and cultures of all fellow South Africans is the first step towards seeing all South Africans as being Africans. / Opsomming: Hoofstuk Een is 'n historiese oorsig van hoe die verwerping van koloniale oorheersing elders in Afrika diekontaken verhouding tussen die "wit" en "swart" inwoners van Suid-Afrika onder die soeklig geplaas het. Die talle probleme wat uit die kontaksituasie spruit, kan gereduseer word tot die identiteitskrisis wat "wit" en "swart" in 'n multitalige land beleef. Die Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskap het In dringende behoefte aan die normalisering van die verhoudings, vera! deur middel van kommunikasie, tussen die kulturele- en taleverskeidenheid. In Hoofstuk Twee word daar gekyk na die historiese agtergrond, linguistiese eienskappe, gebruik en funksies en die verspreiding van die tien vemaamste tale waaruit die Suid-Afrikaanse talegemeenskap bestaan. Die diversiteit van tale genereer en kompliseer die debat wat tans oor 'n taalbeleid vir 'n toekomstige nierassige Suid-Afrika gevoer word. Die geografiese, sosiale, historiese en kulturele faktore wat taalverspreiding bevorderof teenwerk, word in Hoofstuk Drie belig. In 'n veranderende Suid-Afrika, waar op regstellende aksies aangedring word, kan daar verwag word dat Afrikaans as gevolg van sy bevoorregte posisie onder politieke druk geplaas sal word. Vir die Afrikaanssprekende Afrikaners, as een van die hoofrolspelers in die polemiek oor die voortbestaan en status van Afrikaans in 'n "post-Apartheidsera", het dit 'n pynlike proses van selfondersoek gebring. In Hoofstuk Vier word daar gekyk hoe die "blanke", "anderskleurige", "swart" en "Asiatiese" Afrikaanssprekende Afrikaner sy moedertaal tot op hede ervaar het. Die argumente vir en teen, sienings van, en pleidooie vir 'n hereniging van Afrikaanssprekende Afrikaners tot 'n groter mags basis word belig. Die moontlike toekomstige status en funksies van Afrikaans word in Hoofstuk Vyfvanuit die huidige status, funksies en houdings geprojekteer. Die standpunte oor bogenoemde sake word vanuit 'n wye spektmm van akademici, kultuurgroeperinge, politieke leiers sowel as niemoedertaal-sprekers van Afrikaans van die talegemeenskap van die RSA op 'n moontlike scenario gefokus. ii 'n Scenario -oefening van die moontlike rol van Afrikaans in 'n "post-Apartheidsera" in Suid-Afrika word in Hoofstuk Ses geskets. Daar word tot die gevolgtrekking geraak. dat die Westerse kultuur, soos verinnerlik deur die swart man, in belangrike opsigte van die van die wit man verskil. Daarom is die aanvaarding van en respek vir aIle Afrikane as mede-Suid-Afrikaners die eerste stap om te verseker dat die Afrikaanssprekende Afrikaners se taal en kultuur gerespekteer sal word.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:rhodes/vital:3575 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | Van Rensburg, Nicolaas Gerhardus Lourens |
| Publisher | Rhodes University, Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | Afrikaans |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis, Doctoral, PhD |
| Format | 124 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Van Rensburg, Nicolaas Gerhardus Lourens |
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