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SPEAKING LIKE A NATIVE: VERNACULAR LANGUAGES AND THE STATE IN SOUTHERN RHODESIA, 1890–1935

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2002

DIANA JEATER
DIANA JEATER
Affiliation:
University of the West of England
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Abstract

During the early years of white administration in Southern Rhodesia, few whites spoke the local vernaculars. The state used those few, largely traders and farmers, to translate and interpret. Members of the Native Affairs Department were expected to learn ‘on the job’. However, by the early 1920s, poor language abilities in the civil services, combined with growing segregationist tendencies in the face of African competition, prompted the state to reconsider whites’ knowledge of the vernaculars. The issue raised important questions about defining the boundary between ‘natives’ and ‘civilized peoples’, interactions between white and African communities, and the long-term project for the state.

Keywords

Zimbabwelinguisticscolonialeducationmissions
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of African History , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , February 2001 , pp. 449 - 468
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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