The management of isiZulu as a language of teaching and learning at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's College of Humanities

Abstract

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.