Development Of African Languages Research Articles

Development of African Languages as the Medium of Instruction in Higher Education: From Policy to Practice

This study, using the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) as a key case study, critically examined the integration of African languages, specifically isiZulu, in South Africa’s higher education system. Employing a qualitative approach, the research conducted semi-structured interviews with lecturers and students while analysing relevant policies through a comprehensive examination of secondary data. The theoretical framework is grounded in sociolinguistics that focuses on diglossia—a linguistic phenomenon where two languages serve distinct functions in multilingual communities. The article engaged with the legacy of apartheid and colonialism, considering racial power differences that position African languages as inferior. The findings highlight the transformative role UKZN has embarked on of intellectualising isiZulu, challenging persistent misconceptions about the capacity of African languages to contribute to knowledge within higher education. The recommendations stressed the need for innovative teaching approaches, and robust support services for students engaging with academic content in African languages. This paper contributes to reshaping the narrative around African languages, recognising their vital role in higher education. Keywords: African Languages, Higher Education, Transformation, Language Policy, Diglossia

Between Archaic and Modernity (gender aspect of African culture)

The article is an analytical review of the materials of the scientific conference "Gender aspects of African Culture: between Archaic and Modernity", held at the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences in November 2021. The conference discussed such issues as gender characteristics of the transmission of traditions to the younger generation (archaic and modern forms and methods); the education system in the context of the transmission of universal (European) models of values; reflection of the struggle between traditional and modern in the development of African languages at the present stage. A number of reports were devoted to the problems of traditional art as an integral part of modern cultural forms. The attention of the speakers was focused on the problems of the sacred role and political significance of the activities of representatives of national culture (including their civic position, criticism of the policy of the authorities, the fight against the dictates of religious movements). The problems of cultural interaction within the framework of a mixed family and mestizo children as intermediaries of two cultures occupied a large place in the work of the conference. Considerable attention was paid to the issues of feminism as an expression of women's self-realization and self-identification, the struggle against all forms of exploitation and for the freedom of will of an individual through artistic means, as well as "state feminism" as a radical means in the fight against archaism.

Vernacular Lexicography in African Languages: From Early Days to the Digital Age

This article discusses some aspects of vernacular lexicography in African languages from a historical perspective. Firstly, it focuses on early lexicographic activities of missionaries who developed dictionaries alongside other print materials in African language communities where they worked. Because these pioneer lexicographers lacked prior lexicographic training and experience, as well as sufficient linguistic experience and cultural understanding of the people they interacted with, their dictionaries are fraught with limitations and prejudices which have been subjected to criticism from mother-tongue speakers. However, the article acknowledges the vital contributions of those earliest activities to African lexicography and the development of African languages in general. Secondly, the article deals with modern vernacular lexicography inspired by digital affordances and linked to the revitalization, documentation and preservation of marginalized and endangered minority languages. Talking Dictionaries developed by the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages are discussed as they relate to African languages, particularly in Zimbabwe. With reference to African languages, Talking Dictionaries highlight challenges which are linked to the level of lexicographic development and general development of the languages. Drawing on the broader context of Talking Dictionaries in non-African languages where the fortunes have been more positive, as well as other digitally inspired lexicographic projects that involve speech communities, suggestions are made regarding improvement of vernacular lexicographic activities in African languages.

Students’ Attitudes and Preferences toward Language of Learning and Teaching at the University of South Africa

ABSTRACTThe strategic Survey on Language Attitudes and Preferences of Unisa Students toward Language of Learning and Teaching (SLA) research project is a longitudinal study conducted in the wake of the University of South Africa’s (Unisa’s) revised language policy to promote multilingualism and the development of the African languages as language of learning and teaching (LoLT). Data for the preliminary qualitative part of the study was gathered by means of interviews and focus groups. The results confirm the complex nature of language attitudes in a sociohistorical context. The aim with this qualitative study was to determine the different opinions and beliefs that influence and constitute the attitudes of students towards the proposed use of African languages as LoLT at Unisa. The students’ opinions and beliefs (belief statements) are linked theoretically to relevant research and are reflected in the questionnaire compiled for the follow-up quantitative study. Proceeding from the qualitative investigation, this article offers suggestions for the development of African languages as LoLT and emphasises student involvement in language planning and implementation.

Social software as a tool of promoting indigenous African languages in 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.

Interlending Services: Trends, Languages, and use for Collection Development at North-West University

ABSTRACTThis paper uses the bibliometrics methods to analyse the interlending service trends, language and collection development at the North-West University. The results show that despite some challenges, ILS services at the NWU decreased. More than 98.5% of all documents requested are in English language followed by Setswana and Afrikaans. Out of the 535 books requested by the Mafikeng Campus, 138 were added to the collection of the library. These results point to a need for academic libraries in Africa to adopt strategies for the development of African languages. The results support the continued use of ILS data for collection development purposes.

Using ParaConc to extract bilingual terminology from parallel corpora: A case of English and Ndebele

The development of African languages into languages of science and technology is dependent on action being taken to promote the use of these languages in specialised fields such as technology, commerce, administration, media, law, science and education among others. One possible way of developing African languages is the compilation of specialised dictionaries (Chabata 2013). This article explores how parallel corpora can be interrogated using a bilingual concordancer (ParaConc) to extract bilingual terminology that can be used to create specialised bilingual dictionaries. An English–Ndebele Parallel Corpus was used as a resource and through ParaConc, an alphabetic list was compiled from which headwords and possible translations were sought. These translations provided possible terms for entry in a bilingual dictionary. The frequency feature and ‘hot words’ tool in ParaConc were used to determine the suitability of terms for inclusion in the dictionary and for identifying possible synonyms, respectively. Since parallel corpora are aligned and data are presented in context (Key Word in Context), it was possible to draw examples showing how headwords are used. Using this approach produced results quickly and accurately, whilst minimising the process of translating terms manually. It was noted that the quality of the dictionary is dependent on the quality of the corpus, hence the need for creating a representative and clean corpus needs to be emphasised. Although technology has multiple benefits in dictionary making, the research underscores the importance of collaboration between lexicographers, translators, subject experts and target communities so that representative dictionaries are created.

The Impact of Translation Activities on the Development of African Languages in a Multilingual Society: Duramazwi reMimhanzi as a Case-study

ABSTRACT: The article examines the impact of translation activities on the development of Afri-can languages in the multilingual Zimbabwean society. It analyses Shona musical terms created through translation processes and strategies such as borrowing, coining, compounding and deri-vation. Focus is on the way this ongoing term-creation is contributing to improving or hindering the development of Shona. The importance of such processes and strategies are discussed in the broader context of empowering African languages. The article also offers recommendations on how best to produce systematized terminology in music and other specialized fields. Keywords: TRANSLATION, DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICAN LANGUAGES, MULTILIN-GUAL SOCIETIES, BORROWING, COINING, COMPOUNDING, DERIVATION, TERMINOL-OGY, TERMINOGRAPHY ***** OPSOMMING: Die uitwerking van vertaalaktiwiteite op die ontwikkeling van Afrikatale in 'n veeltalige samelewing: Duramazwi reMimhanzi as 'n ge-vallestudie. Die artikel ondersoek die uitwerking van vertaalaktiwiteite op die ontwikkeling van Afrikatale in die veeltalige Zimbabwiese samelewing. Dit ontleed Sjonamusiekterme geskep deur middel van vertaalprosesse en -strategiee soos ontlening, munting, samestelling en afleiding. Die fokus is op die manier hoe voortgaande termskepping bydra tot die verbetering of belemme-ring van Sjona. Die belangrikeid van sulke prosesse en strategiee word bespreek in die wyer kon-teks van die bemagtiging van die Afrikatale. Die artikel maak ook aanbevelings hoe om op die beste manier gesistematiseerde terminologie in musiek en ander gespesialiseerde gebiede voort te bring. Sleutelwoorde: VERTALING, ONTWIKKELING VAN AFRIKATALE, VEELTALIGE SA-MELEWINGS, ONTLENING, MUNTING, SAMESTELLING, AFLEIDING, TERMINOLOGIE, TERMINOGRAFIE

The Impact of Translation Activities on the Development of African Languages in a Multilingual Society: "Duramazwi reMimhanzi" as a Case-study *

The Impact of Translation Activities on the Development of African Languages in a Multilingual Society: "Duramazwi reMimhanzi" as a Case-study *

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Africa’s Linguistic Diversity

African languages have played an important role in the development of linguistic theory but their role in the fields of historical linguistics and linguistic typology has been less prominent. Africa’s linguistic diversity has been long underestimated given the dominance of the four-family model proposed by Joseph Greenberg. Criticism of this model has long held among specialists in some of Africa’s smaller and lesser-known language families, but has only recently become more widely acknowledged among linguists. Archaeologists, geneticists, and others continue to model African prehistory based on African linguistic classifications, which are outdated and which have failed to withstand scrutiny. This teaching and learning guide suggests a program to train scholars in recognizing and evaluating the standards by which various African language classifications have been made. Africa’s linguistic diversity will be shown to be far greater than what is suggested by the four-family model.

Steps forward and new challenges: indigenous communities and mother-tongue education in southern Africa

Two international conferences held in southern Africa in 2005 gathered education and language experts to discuss practical, theoretical, and political aspects of the development of African languages for education. Despite the diversity of the participants, there was unanimous agreement that the economic and social benefits of providing mother-tongue education far outweigh the costs. Furthermore, the predominant view was that mother-tongue education in minority languages should be seen as valuable in its own right, and not merely as a bridge to the dominant language, and that it should continue beyond the first few years of schooling. These meetings represent a major step forwards, ushering the movement toward mother-tongue education into a new phase of priority and collaboration. However, with this new phase come new challenges. As the movement toward mother-tongue education gains steam, and as national governments, local and global non-government organizations, and international donors get on board, we must remain attuned to the need for projects that are flexible, process-oriented, and firmly embedded in the communities they aim to serve. Using an innovative mother-tongue education project in Namibia as a case study, this paper highlights some important considerations and potential pitfalls.

The Role of the Computer in the Development of African Languages

Au fil des ans, plusieurs linguistes et educateurs africains ont exprime le besoin d'un developpement de toutes les langues africaines qui, pendant des annees, n'ont pas eu de culture ecrite. Depuis peu, un nombre de changements dans la direction de la recherche linguistique et d'autres changements sociaux et politiques se sont ajoutes a l'urgence du developpement de ces langues. Cet article examine a nouveau ce besoin au vu des recents developpements. Il presente le fait que la recherche actuelle dans le contexte du paradigme de la grammaire generative de Chomsky tend a determiner les principes universels de toutes les langues du monde, et que ceci demande une analyse a priori de ces langues pour atteindre ce but. En outre, le developpement de ces langues entrainerait la traduction d'une litterature utile sur les evolutions actuelles, specialement dans les domaines de l'agriculture et de la sante publique des langues anglaise, francaise, allemande etc. vers les langues africaines. Deux domaines ou l'ordinateur demontre son utilite sont le regroupement de substantifs dans leurs propres categories (destine aux langues qui utilisent le systeme de classification des substantifs) et la 'compilation' lexicographique ou terminologique. La rapidite et l'exactitude de l'ordinateur sont specialement utiles pour cette activite.

Die invloed van taalhoudings op onderrigmediumkeuse in Suid-Afrika

The influence of language attitudes on the choice of the medium of instruction in South Africa The South African Constitution (Act 108 of 1996) recognises language as a basic human right and emphasises the right of choice of every individual with regard to the language of learning and teaching (LOLT). In exercising their democratic language choice, the majority of South African learners and their parents reject their right to mother-tongue education and disregard research findings that emphasise the benefits of mother-tongue instruction. From a study of subject-related literature it has become clear that the masses in South Africa believe that a knowledge of English is the key to economic and political empowerment. Against the background of these findings, the article reports on an empirical study on the language attitudes of undergraduate Education and B.Ed. students at the Bloemfontein and Queenstown campuses of the University of the Free State. The study confirms the findings of the subject-related study to a large extent, namely that English is seen as the key to economic and political empowerment. The opposite is, however, proven by literacy and poverty figures, as well as by studies on blacks’ proficiency in English. Proceeding from the economic, political and educational realities, the article offers a few suggestions for the development of African languages as LOLT.

Translation and African development

In this article we shall argue that translation may be a crucial component in African development schemes. Given the central role of language in development, the most important question facing African social engineering strategies is therefore whether (a) Africans should resort to using some foreign language(s) such as the languages of the former colonial powers, or (b) some indigenous African language(s) can be used for the development in Africa. Arguing from our translatological perspective (Uwajeh), we propose the ‘translation option’ as a compromise solution to this dilemma. The article takes up five points: In the first section, it concentrates on the importance of translation for the development of African languages. In the second, translation is analysed as a beneficial influence on African cultural transformation. In the third, it is shown how translation can lead to the educational advancement of Africans. The fourth discusses the impact translation might have on the revitalisation of African mass media. Finally the fifth section emphasises the role of translation in the democratisation process of the African body politic. The overall concern is to provide a rationale for sound translation policies in African development strategies. Accordingly the concluding remarks recommend the establishment of national translation commissions in Africa.