The Politics of Linguistic Apartheid: Language Policies in Black Education in South Africa

Abstract

There are few areas of educational policy making that are as controversial as that of the development and implementation of various educational language policies;1 this has been especially true in the case of South Africa.2 Language policies, specifically those in the educational sphere, have been the source of tension and disagreement in South Africa since the efforts of the British to impose the English language (as well as English cultural and political institutions) on the Boers in the nineteenth century. Today they constitute one of the many points of contention between the black majority and the white minority government in South Africa. In this article, the nature and socio-political implications of apartheid in general, and contemporary language policies in particular, for black education in South Africa will be discussed and analyzed. Policy alternatives for post-revolutionary (i.e., majority rule) South Africa will be presented.