This research investigated the impact of language policy implementation towards the enhancement of community participation in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (NMMM).The NMMM is an organisation tasked with ensuring equal distribution of services to local communities. This municipality was chosen on the basis of its commitment to communicate effectively with the community and in turn encourage the community to participate fully in municipal activities. The study is conducted within the parameters of the Constitution of South Africa (1996) which states that in order to ensure language equity, all official languages must be used for the promotion of multilingualism and advancement of communities. The study therefore investigated the language policy of the NMMM and its implementation with regard to the use of all three official languages of the region, namely English, isiXhosa and Afrikaans for organisational communication. Gaps in the implementation of the municipal language policy were identified by acquiring information from selected officials responsible for service delivery and selected members of the communities who receive the services. A literature survey was conducted to investigate and conceptualise the nature of language policy development and to determine the responsibilities for policy implementation. A descriptive approach was used in the study, with the data collection coming from primary sources, such as NMMM officials and members of the community; and secondary sources, such as municipal records. A number of recommendations regarding the improvement of language policy implementation by the municipality’s Language Unit were made. It is envisaged that these changes could impact positively in encouraging community participation and ultimately improve service delivery.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:9212 |
Date | January 2013 |
Creators | Peter, Zola Welcome |
Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences |
Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Thesis, Masters, MA |
Format | 114 leaves, pdf |
Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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