Language Policy Formulation in Multilingual Southern Africa

Abstract

After attaining political independence from their erstwhile colonial masters, a major preoccupation for all ex-colonial African countries has been the formulation of national policies (economic, educational, political, social, etc.) considered appropriate to their mode of national development. None of these has proved more difficult to achieve than the formulation of language policies that reflect the complex multilingual contexts of these countries. The present paper is an attempt to identify the causal factors that have led to this state of affairs. Part One deals with the historical background, and attempts to trace some sources of the problems that continue to complicate the process of language policy formulation. Part Two deals with present realities, and Zimbabwe and South Africa are used to illustrate ex-colonial African countries trying to formulate a comprehensive language policy. The two parts are linked by the observation that past and lingering societal perceptions, and consequently attitudinal orientations, can be said to play a part in rendering language policy formulation in highly complex multilingual countries an extremely intricate task.