Contemporary Language Development: Lessons from African Literature for Repositioning and Revitalization of Indigenous African Languages in South African Higher Education

ABSTRACTWithin the discourse of language planning and policy, there is an increasing realisation of the strategic role of information and communication technologies in the promotion of indigenous African languages. The article discusses the strategic role that social software, in particular blogs and wiki, can and should play in the development of African languages in South African Higher Education. The paper argues that while the colonial and apartheid legacy can be blamed for the underdevelopment of African languages, the reality of entrenched misconceptions about the use of African languages and poor language policy implementation in the post-apartheid era continue to hinder the promotion of these languages. The increase in the adoption of such social software tools in Higher Education institutions is therefore envisaged to present a platform for the development and promotion of African languages in the Higher Education domain.

This paper demonstrates that historical trauma, healing, and wellbeing require attention in Indigenous language cultivation and revitalization. While historical trauma affects Indigenous peoples across the spectrum of language knowledge and use, little is written about the ways it can be addressed in the teaching, learning, and development—the cultivation—of Indigenous languages. For Indigenous language educators, how we address historical trauma in our language cultivation may be one of the most critical factors affecting our potential to cultivate the wellness we seek, and new generations of speakers of our languages. Drawing on a Diné (Navajo) lens and voices from other Indigenous communities, this article focuses on historical trauma, healing, and wellbeing as important considerations in Indigenous language cultivation and revitalization, to which applied linguists, Indigenous peoples, and others interested in Indigenous language revitalization and Indigenous wellbeing should pay attention. It argues that many of the most appropriate approaches can and will come from within our own Indigenous ways of knowing and healing, and that sharing more work of this kind can strengthen cultivation and revitalization efforts. It provides recommendations for applied linguistics and allied fields, educational, governmental and other resource holders, and Indigenous communities, programs, language cultivators and revitalizers.

ABSTRACTThe Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) began in June, 2008 as a response to the Indian Residential School legacy. The commission concluded with a 2015 report which includes 94 calls to action. Some of these calls pertain to higher education including the following example “We call upon post-secondary institutions to create university and college degree and diploma programs in Aboriginal languages” [TRC, 2015. Truth and reconciliation commission of Canada: Calls to action (p. 2). Retrieved October 15, 2015, from http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/Findings/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf]. These calls to action exist within a broader global context of Indigenous language revitalization policy. What these policies have in common is the declaration of the value of Indigenous languages as well as recommendations for Indigenous language revitalization. This paper responds to these policies through an examination of Indigenous language planning in higher education. We situate this language planning within a broader project of reconciliation between Indigenous and settler peoples in Canada. We consider English dominance in higher education, Indigenous languages in university classrooms and the history of Michif, an Indigenous language spoken by Métis peoples. We describe an initiative which introduces Michif into credit courses in a teacher education programme. This paper’s discussion of the planning of this programme reveals possibilities for greater institutional inclusion of Indigenous languages in higher education.

This article examines the complex discourse around language at one South African higher education institution, viewing it through the experiences of students, and drawing connections to the seminal 1962 Makerere conference. The noted exchange at Makerere between literary giants, Chinua Achebe and Ngugi wa Thiong’o who debated the merits of colonial versus native languages, remains pertinent to the ongoing discussions about decolonisation and the creation of knowledge in academic circles, especially within the Global South. Adopting a qualitative research approach with the use of focus groups, the article investigates student perspectives on the sensitive subject of language use in academia at the University of the Free State in South Africa, emphasising the roles of both English and Indigenous languages in education. Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, and more specifically linguistic habitus, provided the framework to interpret student responses to questions about language decolonisation. The framework was also used to explore students’ thoughts on how social structures and historical contexts shape their views concerning the adoption of local languages in higher education. The study underscores the significance of incorporating local languages into academic realms while also recognising the ambivalent nature of English as both a facilitator and barrier to learning. Centring student views, the study advances the discourse on multilingualism in higher education, pushing for a balanced perspective that acknowledges linguistic diversity and confronts dominant hegemonic language norms. Furthermore, it advocates for higher education institutions to develop inclusive language practices that enhance linguistic justice. In the results and discussion section, student views on the advantageous aspects of English are articulated, noting its utility; students’ views of the significance of their native languages in the pedagogic space are also explored. This dynamic between English and Indigenous languages underlines the persistent challenges in the debate over language and decolonisation in higher education. Lastly, the article emphasises the need to delicately handle the intricacies of linguistic choices in academia, balancing the functional benefits of English with the cultural and educational value of Indigenous languages. By elevating the experiences and viewpoints of students, the research contributes to evolving language policies that are both inclusive and just, and it supports the advancement of a genuinely multilingual academic world.

Twenty eight years into post-apartheid in South Africa a large number of students in higher education continue to being taught in a colonial language, English, which they do not understand and are not competent in. This use of English as the main language of instruction in higher education institutions strengthens hegemony of English over African indigenous languages and further perpetuates colonial linguistic injustices. Framed by Language Management Theory, this paper reflects on the efforts by one university in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to diffuse hegemony of English through the development and promotion of an indigenous language, isiZulu, so that it becomes scientifically advanced for use as medium of instruction alongside English. As a point of departure, the paper interrogates Language in Higher Education Policy (2002) and examines the status quo of indigenous languages in higher education in the post-colonial era. To set grounds for arguments on viability of indigenous language, isiZulu, for use as medium of instruction in one university, this paper brings forth literature on the use of indigenous languages as language of instruction in South Africa and in Africa. Later, implications of mother instruction for the speakers of the language are discussed. The chapter concludes that the use of indigenous languages as medium of instruction in higher education is not impossible but necessitate willingness to embrace transformation, accelerate development indigenous languages and in doing so restore constitutional rights of the majority of students in higher education, the right to learn in their mother tongue, the one in which they understand and are competent.

ABSTRACTWithin the last two decades, there has been increased interest in how technology supports Indigenous language revitalization and reclamation efforts. This paper considers the effect technology has on Indigenous language learning and teaching, while conceptualizing how language educators, speakers, learners, and technology users holistically understand, skillfully apply and communicate creative and balanced technological solutions that are based on understanding of contextual factors. A total of 80 participants representing at least 47 Indigenous languages completed a survey in 2009 representing individuals, organizations, and institutions that serve one or more Indigenous language communities across the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Guatemala, Peru, Greenland, Mexico, Bolivia, French Polynesia (Marquesas Islands and Tuamotu Islands), and Russia. The data reveal the functions digital technology has in Indigenous language revitalization, which include (1) positive and supportive roles (2) concerns, constraints, and tensions, and (3) Indigenous language education. Regardless of the size of the community, opportunities for using technology in Indigenous language revitalization efforts are shaped by linguistic, cultural, social, economic, environmental, and technological factors as expressed in the technacy framework for language revitalization. Findings indicate that technology has wide and mostly positive applications in language learning and teaching, that the benefits of those applications remain consistent across communities regardless of size and geographic location, and that new and innovative uses of technology are being adopted to support language revitalization efforts. Overall, the study underscores the importance of context in making grounded decisions about technology as a component of contemporary language revitalization efforts.

This paper explores the drama written in indigenous African languages across many countries in Africa. It highlights the intellectual snobbery suffered by drama written in indigenous languages, probing the reasons behind the critical marginalization. It equally probes the elemental compositions of drama written in indigenous languages, investigating how oral elements revitalize and fertilize the dramatic works. The theoretical framework for this study was anchored on Ethnodramatics, a theory of indigenous drama projected by Affiah and Osuagwu while the inspirations which substantiate indigenous African languages as viable and effective linguistic mediums for dramatic creativity are derived from Ngugi wa Thiongo’s theoretical postulation on the language of African theatre in Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature (1986). The paper reveals that traditional African drama in indigenous languages creatively utilizes oral resources and elements such as proverbs, riddles, mime, music, songs, dance, and other folk arts in ways that embellish and relive their drama. The paper concludes that by writing in indigenous languages, playwrights expand the resources and frontiers of African indigenous languages, a situation that nurtures and preserves them.

Indigenous language media in Africa function to meet the communication, social interaction, information, educational, development and entertainment needs of people. They play a significant role in shaping language pride and language choice, in the process of informing communities about various socioeconomic developments. Indigenous African language media are part of the African indigenous communication system including music, drama, storytelling, proverbs and poetry. This book has demonstrated the various uses and applications of indigenous language media such as music, film, radio broadcasts in indigenous languages, non-verbal communication cues, town criers, graffiti and other traditional communication tools in a modern setting. A common message across all the chapters is that indigenous language media in Africa in their various formats occupy a very important role in society by mediating the realities around us, entertaining us through film, music, poetry, etc. and of course supporting the development process by mobilising marginal communities to participate in, for example, public health campaigns and democratic processes such as elections. Specifically, indigenous language films bring a fresh perspective to the cultural and creative industry. The use of indigenous languages is not limited to traditional media as there is interesting evidence on the increasing use of indigenous language media in digitally driven social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook. Scholars in this book view social media as breathing spaces for minoritised languages. There are still some challenges in using indigenous languages in social media spaces. This could be attributed to the fact that youths who in most cases constitute most social media users are unable to fully write and read in indigenous African languages because they regard them as lacking in sophistry. Indigenous language media such as African language newspapers remain in a precarious position because of a variety of political economy challenges present in Africa including the digitalisation conundrum. Studies in this book have demonstrated how indigenous language newspapers have migrated to online platforms to continue with the business of providing news and information in a digital era. Even though some indigenous communication forms are seemingly archaic in today's digital society, they still have relevance and can be used with varying success to send communication messages. In Nigeria, indigenous communication forms such as the use of palm leaves, burning of tyres, chanting, and dancing as well as the female gender stripping naked in public have been used as protest communication to draw the attention of the authorities to public grievances. The use of indigenous communication forms is despite the recent diffusion of digital technologies and utopian assumptions that digital technologies can easily usher in democratisation across the whole African continent based on the success of the Arab Spring revolutions of the early 2010s in North Africa. The Arab Spring revolutions were a series of anti-government protests that started in Tunisia in 2010 and spread into Morocco, Libya and Egypt in 2011, disposing authoritarian regimes in those countries. Indigenous communication forms can still be effectively used to inform authorities of citizen discontent and to communicate messages that can impact policy formulation. Radio broadcasts in indigenous languages promote participation and empowerment of minority and special interest groups such as women. The importance of indigenous language media has been heightened during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of the ongoing COVID-19, indigenous language media have been applied to increase awareness of the pandemic among marginal communities to prevent new infections through the adoption of appropriate health and hygiene behaviours. Using indigenous languages to communicate about COVID-19 is part of cultural promotion and preservation as the languages are prevented from further decay or death. Studies in this book also make unique theoretical contributions that gravitate towards the critical tradition to understand the phenomenon of indigenous language media in Africa. For example, radical feminism is used to analyse the content of indigenous language films in Zimbabwe. The study of indigenous language media remains a critical enterprise, and we urge other scholars interested in this field to carry on the work by focusing on themes and topics that were not exhaustively covered in this volume. For example, there is a need for future studies that are strongly founded on the critical theory tradition. Critical theory research is concerned with a critique of society focusing on domination, alienation, social struggles and the attainment of social justice. Research on indigenous language media in African foundation on critical theory will be more concerned with the dominance of Western-styled media of mass communication in Africa and how such dominance can be overturned by prioritising indigenous languages and indigenous language media with a potential of influencing and shaping policy. Most studies on indigenous language media in Africa as demonstrated in this book are still founded on qualitative methods. This is because qualitative methods are best suited to study indigenous language media in Africa as in their nature they seek to describe and understand a phenomenon in greater detail. Another reason for the predominance of qualitative studies in this book is because qualitative research is linked to interpretivism which views social reality as socially constructed and contextual. Therefore, the studies are contextually grounded by providing the unique experiences, uses and applications of indigenous language media in Africa's different geographic locations. Qualitative methods of textual analysis such as thematic analysis, content analysis and critical discourse analysis are predominantly used in data analysis. The case study approach is also frequently used to research peculiar issues about indigenous language media outlets or publications. There remains a need to conduct ethnographically grounded studies that explore how indigenous language media are produced and consumed across different contexts and cultures. Production-based ethnographies may focus on newsroom routines in the context of digitisation, motivations and skill base of African language journalists. There is also a growing need for research on indigenous language media that has pragmatic outcomes and has the potential to impact decision-making or policy shifts. Future research on indigenous language media in Africa should adopt an activist stance that deliberately aims to save indigenous languages from extension and protects such media from unfair market forces which tend to favour the dominant media that publishes in colonial languages such as English, Portuguese and French. For this we call for research that comes with actionable recommendations that function to save indigenous language media from the brink of collapse. There is a need to vary the case studies used to understand indigenous language media or to use the same case studies differently by applying new lines of inquiry and alternative theorising. With regard to film, we encourage more studies that focus on the appropriation of indigenous language films in Africa. As one of the authors has stated, there is a need for more studies on the effects of patriarchy/matriarchy in indigenous language films from the viewers' and the actors' perspectives. There is also potential for indigenous language media to improve the variety of content it offers. There are calls to have context-specific and sensitive programming that addresses the plight of people with disabilities in Namibia. Similarly indigenous language media producers can vary their content to include marginal issues that affect disadvantaged groups beyond health awareness such as food and economic security. Finally, we note that there are still few studies that research indigenous language media from a decolonial perspective. We propose a new research that is critical, policy-oriented, raising vital philosophical questions about the dominance of the English language media and adopting a decolonial approach. Decoloniality must be employed as a theoretical and methodological approach that forms part of a bigger decolonial project to promote a positive disposition towards African languages and culture. It is also important for policymakers to take indigenous media seriously because it is embedded in the culture of the people. By preserving the indigenous media, it means the culture of the people is also preserved.

Indigenous communities worldwide face threats to their linguistic and epistemic heritage with the unabated spread of dominant colonial languages and global monocultures, such as English and the neoliberal, imperialistic worldview. There is considerable strain on the relatively few Elders and speakers of Indigenous languages to maintain cultures and languages decimated by centuries of colonialism. One shared and common goal for Indigenous language revitalization initiatives is to reinvigorate intergenerational language transmission in the home, the community and beyond in as many ways as possible. How can technology support this nuanced process and existing initiatives? Following an Indigenous research paradigm, this article explores an immersive, community-led Indigenous language acquisition approach – TEK-nology (traditional ecological knowledge [TEK] and technology) – to support Anishinaabemowin language revitalization and reclamation (ALRR) in the Canadian context. The TEK-nology pilot project identifies (1) the impacts of centring Indigenous worldviews in technology, language learning and teaching; (2) how we can develop and co-create technology-enabled, culturally and environmentally responsive pedagogies and (3) the important implications of decolonizing language education for Indigenous and majority languages. The TEK-nology pilot project demonstrates how community-led, relational technology and immersive Indigenous language acquisition can support ALRR and foster more equitable multicultural and multilingual education practice and policy.

The South African Journal of African Languages was officially established in 1981 to advance the visibility and intellectualisation of indigenous South African languages as outlined in its aims and scope. Regrettably, greatly entrenched imperialist ideologies obstruct these languages’ comprehensive visibility in this journal. Therefore, this article critiques the (in)visibility (presence or absence) of indigenous languages in SAJAL from 1994 to 2023 using the cultural capital theory. Four notable findings emerge. Firstly, from the same year the journal was established (1981) until 1994, only English and Afrikaans were used in SAJAL, symbolising hegemonic imperialist objectives. Secondly, the use of local language titles during this period (1981, when the journal was established, until 1994, the new dawn of South Africa) suggests the commodification of indigenous South African languages. Thirdly, from 1995 to 1998, some articles and book reviews appeared in Sepedi or Sesotho sa Leboa, but this trend abruptly vanished, only re-emerging from 2015 to 2023, along with articles and book reviews in isiXhosa, isiZulu and Xitsonga. Other indigenous languages remain absent. Fourthly, over SAJAL’s history (at the time of writing this article), only fifty-three publications have been in indigenous languages, compared to hundreds in English and Afrikaans. These findings underscore the demand for authors and reviewers to reconsider language choices, and for SAJAL to address the alarming disparity between colonial and indigenous languages in its publication frequency.

This paper explores the enduring problem of language in African literature, with a particular focus on African dramatic texts and Ola Rotimi’s innovative response through multilingual dramaturgy. Situated within the frameworks of decolonisation theory and postcolonial literary criticism, the study interrogates the ideological and practical challenges African writers face in selecting a language of literary expression. The central question — What should be the language of African literature? — continues to provoke spirited debate, shaped by colonial histories, linguistic diversity, cultural identity, and audience accessibility. The paper identifies and critically engages with four major schools of thought on the issue: the linguistic purists who advocate for indigenous African languages; the foreign language realists who prioritize global intelligibility through colonial languages; the proponents of Pidgin English as a bridge between oral and literary traditions; and, finally, the multilingualists exemplified by Ola Rotimi, who seeks a reconciliatory path. Using close readings of If…: A Tragedy of the Ruled and Hopes of the Living Dead, the paper examines how Rotimi strategically assigns different language registers — indigenous languages, Pidgin English, and Standard British English — to characters based on their social status, ethnicity, and communicative roles. Rotimi’s method does not merely reflect Nigeria’s linguistic plurality; it actively constructs a theatre of inclusivity and realism, one that foregrounds language as both a performative and political tool. Moreover, his technique of multilingual layering, supported by in-text interpreters and strategic translation, illustrates how African literature can maintain cultural authenticity while achieving global intelligibility. In conclusion, the study advocates for multilingualism not merely as an artistic device but as a sustainable linguistic philosophy for African literature. It underscores the importance of writer intentionality, audience scope, and translation in resolving the language dilemma in African literary expression.

ABSTRACTOver the past few decades, there has been an increased awareness of the strategic role of indigenous African languages in multilingual South Africa. This article discusses the strategic role that indigenous languages could and should play in the promotion of multilingual South Africa. The article pays attention to bilingual education and the functional status of these languages in Higher Education. We argue that the use of isiZulu as a medium of instruction alongside English in Higher Education not only overturns a long-held dismissive attitude towards African languages, but immensely strengthens the status of African languages across Africa by providing a positive example of what has been achieved at one university in Africa. A policy espousing a dual language medium of instruction counteracts the hegemony of English that is perpetuated in postcolonial Africa. It is concluded in the article that the use of the previously disregarded African languages such as isiZulu as the second medium of instruction at the University of KwaZulu-Natal is not only seen as enforcing additive bilingualism, but also as primarily addressing the goal of social equity: forging equal access to education and equal language rights for all citizens of a democratic country.

This session consists of two talks: One by David Kroik and the other by Maajja-Krihke Bransfjell. The abstracts are provided below in that order: South Saami language revitalisation, Indigenous efflorescence and Spaces for Saami language useIn this talk, the construction of spaces for Saami language use is explored. In these spaces, learning and use of South Saami is at the centre. This dissertation in language teaching and learning focusses on the South Saami language, an Indigenous language in the parts of Saepmie that overlaps with Norway and Sweden. Against the backdrop of colonisation of the Saami and a long trend of assimilation by means of e.g. schooling, focus lies on contemporary spaces for Saami language use in formal educational contexts. Spaces for Saami language use are investigated and theorised upon from an insider position by a researcher/practitioner drawing upon a collaborative approach to the production of knowledge. The insider gaze through the lens of the theoretical concept of spaces for Saami language use and Indigenous efflorescence analyses South Saami language teaching, learning and revitalisation as part of a global trend in which Indigenous peoples reclaim, revitalise and restore their continuous use of land, space and language. The author investigates opportunities for and obstacles to furthering the development of spaces for Saami language use. How Saami practitioners of Indigenous efflorescence, for instance teachers, coordinators, artists and others commit to the language is brought to the fore. By means of their acts of decoloniality, they seek to take responsibility for and challenge the current educational situation. Spaces for Saami language use emerge as time and conditions ripen for them. Although unexpected to many, given the history of assimilation, to the practitioners of efflorescence involved in the process, this emergence comes not as a surprise but as a hard-earned result of the struggle. Although much work remains, hope is reawakened when conscious hard work and persistent labour bear fruit. «Edtjebe saemiestidh daelie?» [Are we supposed to speak Saami now?]: language spaces, language awareness and the use of language in a south-saami classroomAbstractRecent public reports proclaim that Saami children should be provided with education that facilitate their productive Saami language skills (NOU 2016:18, 2016; Pasanen et al., 2022, s. 13). Despite these reports and research suggesting that language education should be executed using strong language models (Baker Wright, 2017) in order to achieve Saami language proficiency, Saami language education is restricted to a few hours weekly, using weak language models. With inspiration from the language revitalization project in Svahken Sijte (Todal, 2007) and Árran mánájgárdde in Lule-Saami area (Pasanen et al., 2022), I implemented Norwegian language spaces in a Saami classroom to encourage students to speak Saami in class. I let the bilingual concept translanguaging (Baker Wright, 2017; García et al., 2016) guide my work together with the teacher in the Saami classroom, in which students were able to utilize their whole language repertoire. By means of classroom observations and interviews with the teacher and group interviews with the students, I evaluated the effect of the language spaces. By utilizing Norwegian language spaces in Saami language education, my analyses show an increased awareness around the use of Saami language in the classroom among teacher and students alike. The language spaces acted as a language frame in the classroom, in which the concretization of the languages contributed to an increased use of Saami language among the students. Based on this research I claim that language spaces can contribute to increased Saami language proficiency within children.

Indigenous African languages have often suffered neglect in health development campaigns until recently. Considering the multi-faceted effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on different peoples and societies worldwide, this article argues that vaccine campaigns in African settings cannot be impactful if they are not disseminated in the indigenous African languages. The article is hinged on Salawu’s model of indigenous language for development communication, which affirms the connection between language of communication and people’s understanding of the message communicated. The study employed a survey experimental research method. Using the pool sampling technique, both online and offline questionnaires were used to survey the opinions of 191 Nigerian and 114 South African respondents in Lagos and Mafikeng, respectively, about dominant indigenous languages used for COVID-19 vaccine messages, their degree of understanding vaccine messages and their acceptance or rejection of the vaccine messages. Interview sessions were conducted with five purposively selected health communication and media experts to determine the significance of and challenges encountered in the use of indigenous African languages for COVID-19 vaccine campaigns. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools, such as frequency count and percentage, chi-square, percentile and logistic regression; while the qualitative data were thematically analysed. While respondents mostly identified with messages in Yoruba, Igbo, Setswana and isiZulu, a few respondents identified with a combination of languages, although these languages did not influence their acceptance of vaccines.

Australia as a product of setter colonialism and of mass immigration is a society that is characterised by widespread multilingualism, although at the same time, it is also a society characterised by widespread monolingualism in the dominant language, English. It is thus a society in which many heritage language speakers are present but also one in which prevailing beliefs about the desirability and sufficiency of English language monolingualism have influenced how languages are understood and treated (Clyne, 2008). The presence of linguistic diversity and the dominance of English have shaped Australia’s educational responses to languages and its language-in-education policies. This chapter will explore how language-in-education policy has addressed the needs of heritage language learners who speak either indigenous or immigrant languages. Before beginning this discussion, however, there is a need to consider some of the terminological issues that exist in Australia around heritage language learning. The term ‘heritage languages’ is not actually a widely used term in the Australian context and languages are more usually referred to as ‘community languages’, meaning immigrant languages, which are contrasted with ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages’, ‘Australian languages’ or ‘indigenous languages’. The term ‘community languages’ has been preferred in Australia over ‘heritage languages’ because it does not imply that the languages concerned are being lost or associated with the past and so has a particular discursive resonance. At the same time, this terminology creates a division between speakers of types of languages, which is consequential for how Australia understands minority languages. In Australia the term ‘background speaker’ is often used to indicate a person who has a heritage connection with a language. This term typically refers to a speaker of an immigrant language and has a rather fluid definition ranging from those who acquire a language other than the dominant English language at home as a first language to those with a family connection to the language but who do not speak it. In this chapter I will use ‘immigrant languages’ and ‘indigenous languages’ to refer to the two distinct groups of languages and will break with Australian usage to use heritage languages, when it offers a convenient way to make connections across these categories, which could not be done easily using the more conventional Australian terminology. This chapter will examine government language-in-education policy for provision of education programs for immigrant and indigenous languages and trace the ways that these policies have evolved over time and how they interact with other aspects of language in education policy.