This paper strives to make a case for the use of Northern Sotho as an indigenous official language in the post-apartheid South Africa. It contends that though Northern Sotho is constitutionally accorded the status of an official language in the new South Africa, it is marginalised in its practical everyday use as other languages still dominate it. The paper utilised Capricorn District Municipality in Limpopo Province as a case study that is grounded on the Qualitative research approach. It is, furthermore, underpinned by Ethnolinguistic Vitality and Afrocentric theoretical assumptions. Sampled data was collected by interviewing 24 Northern Sotho participants in the Municipality and was thematically analysed through the transcription of those interviews. The findings revealed that Northern Sotho does not enjoy the status that the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) has granted it. It recommends that this constitutional travesty be rectified by implementing the existing Language Policies as it erodes the identity of the marginalised speakers of the language.
In South Africa, students and lecturers have been asking university management and government to rename teaching and learning facilities in line with the higher education transformation agenda. Strikes, demonstrations and debates regarding the decolonisation and Africanisation of higher education have been used as ways to communicate the need to fast-track the renaming process. Renaming lecture rooms, lecture theatres, laboratories, sports facilities, halls of residence, campus roads and other facilities help to embrace African culture, values and beliefs. This paper explores Africanisation by renaming of teaching and learning facilities. To understand Africanisation, a qualitative study was conducted using semi–structured interviews and observation of university facilities to understand the process of renaming. Selected naming committees, student representative members and lecturers participated by giving their views on the renaming of teaching and learning facilities. Findings from this study revealed that facilities with African names embrace African identity, ownership and brings peace and a sense of belonging to the learning and teaching environment.
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