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1 - The Role of African Languages in Decolonising South African Universities

from Part I - Mental Decolonisation and Cultural Diversity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

By
Thulani Mkhize
Edited by
Russell H. Kaschula  and
H. Ekkehard Wolff
Russell H. Kaschula
Affiliation:
Rhodes University, South Africa
H. Ekkehard Wolff
Affiliation:
Universität Leipzig
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Summary

The chapter contextualises the current status of African languages in South African universities. The lack of development of African languages for teaching and learning purposes was not incidental. The apartheid government sought to diminish the status of African languages while centring that of English as the premium language of teaching and learning, followed by Afrikaans. With the dawn of democracy in 1994 and the inclusion of many African languages as official languages by the new government, the stage was set for addressing language issues in schools and higher education. Yet it was only when the 2015 South African student movements burst onto scene with calls to decolonise institutions of higher learning that the question of the role of African languages in transforming South African universities was brought into focus. It is crucial to note that decolonising our universities is not about lowering the status of English or other canons but about opening up dialogue with other epistemic traditions and canons with teaching and learning taking place from an African context as a point of departure and with African languages at the forefront in universities of the South.

Keywords

African languagesdecolonisationepistemic diversitySouth African universities
Type
Chapter
Information
The Transformative Power of Language
From Postcolonial to Knowledge Societies in Africa
 , pp. 33 - 42
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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