Language policy and language use in South Africa: an uneasy marriage

Abstract

The change to democracy in South Africa in 1994 brought with it many changes in various spheres of activity. Languages could not escape these changes. The linguistic situation, which was previously characterized by the dominance of English and Afrikaans, could not be immune to the process of change. The other languages (Bantu languages) which were left out were brought into the linguistic scenario. This means that South Africa, an emerging nation, has chosen a multilingual approach as its language policy. As a result, for the first time in the history of language policies, there is a country with eleven official languages. The question is, is it possible for African Languages, which are at their infant stage of development with regard to technical terminology, to survive at par with English, a language with a tradition of scientific and technical literature? The aim of this paper is, therefore, to discuss the problems related to the coexistence of English and African languages in South Africa. It will also focus on the attitudes towards English and the language policy in South Africa.