Communication and governance in a linguistically diverse human settlement in South Africa

Ngcobo, Sandiso; Mvuyana, Bongekile Y.C.

doi:10.4102/jolgri.v3i0.83

Cited by 4 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…Even though English is ranked fourth it however dominates as the lingua-franca in South Africa and globally because of its high socio-economic status which allow it to be used in education, politics and economy [31]. However, a study by Posel, Hunter and Rudwick [35] find that the notion of English as an oral lingua franca in South Africa that is likely to lead to the death of African languages might have been exaggerated by previous research.…”

Section: South Africamentioning

confidence: 96%

“…IsiZulu dominance is evident in that it is the widely spoken language across different parts of the country and media platforms. This commonality of isiZulu and ease of use is due to the existence of isiZulu-speakers across different parts of the country and the fact that it is associated with other Nguni languages such as isiXhosa, isiNdebele and isiSwati that share similar syntax and grammar [31]. Statista Research [32] find that isiZulu is spoken by around 25.3% of South African inside households in which case it is followed by isiXhosa (14.8%) and Afrikaans (12.2%).…”

Section: South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other, from grade 4 parents can choose the language of instruction for their children. This is what Makena and Matiso [47] refer to as the sudden transition from the known to the unknown language leading to many Africans struggling academically because they cannot cope with the use of the ex-colonial language in education [31]. Posel and Casale [48] argue that it is due to this language option in the policy that many African parents are choosing English because of the perception that it is critical for employment and for use as an international language.…”

Section: South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Linguistic Reconstruction of Post-Colonial South Africa and Lesotho: English Dominance Dilemma

Ngcobo,

Makumane,

Masala

2024

J. Soc. Sci.

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Language was one of the tools used by colonialists in destroying the heritage of African nations. Yet, there is limited research on how African nations have linguistically faired post their independence. The purpose of this paper is to assess the endeavors of two neighboring African governments, South Africa and Lesotho, in the post-colonial era to linguistically reconstruct their nations. Qualitative data were collected through a comparative analysis of these two countries’ constitutions, with a focus on language rights and language in education. The data analyses were conducted using the language planning theory to evaluate how available policies enhance the position of previously marginalized African languages. The results revealed that whilst South Africa has a linguistic diversity challenge and Lesotho a language homogeneity advantage, they both still retain a colonial language, English. The international status of English has resulted in it retaining its colonial dominance as a lingua franca, a language of economy, politics and education. There is still more work that needs to be done by African nations to redress the past oppressive policies that devalued their languages. Education should be given priority as a vehicle to revitalize and intellectualize African languages and liberating Africa from its dependency on colonial languages, whilst also promoting multilingualism.

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Section: South Africamentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Linguistic Reconstruction of Post-Colonial South Africa and Lesotho: English Dominance Dilemma

Ngcobo,

Makumane,

Masala

2024

J. Soc. Sci.

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“…You're doing just fine. '-Charlotte Eriksson (2013) Language is a primitive component of human communication and is an essential instrument for expressing thoughts, feelings, and experiences (Cele, 2021;Ngcobo and Mvuyana, 2022). The multitudinous cultures and languages found in the world offer prototypical insights into the experiences and perspectives of different communities, and isiXhosa as an indigenous language in South Africa is no exception (Batyi, 2022).…”

Section: Introduction and Contextual Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Probing the Structuralist Analysis of a Selected isiXhosa Short Story, ‘Ukuzibulala Akusiso Isisombululo’ (Suicide Is Not the Solution), as a Literary Work

Diko

2023

The Thinker

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Mental health crises and suicide continue to plague young men and women in South Africa, and not irrefutably secluding otherage groups. While scholarly and non-scholarly dialogues pivot to address this conundrum, isiXhosa short stories as a literary art are no exception. As a result, this article aims to conceptualise how mental health crises and suicide are mirrored in ‘UkuzibulalaAkusiso Isisombululo’ (Suicide Is Not the Solution). The objective was to unravel the interplaying meanings in respect of the phenomenon of interest. This particular short story was further appreciated as a source of data while structuralism as a theorywas elicited as an instrument to enact reasonable and empirical debates. Ultimately, it became evident that mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviours are acutely entrenched in the South African milieu, and that necessitates an extensive scholarly discourse beyond the limitations of this particular article.

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“…This finding is confirmed by Statista Research Department (2023), which found that households across South Africa ranked IsiZulu as the dominant informal language (25.3%), with IsiXhosa coming second (14.8%). These are some of the reasons that have made IsiZulu and its speakers be perceived to dominate other South African Black language speakers through their uncompromising attitude towards learning other languages (Keet & Khumalo, 2017;Ngcobo & Mvuyana, 2022). The print and visual media have also intensified this IsiZulu dominance by using it more than other South African languages (Aiseng, 2022;Buthelezi, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Minibus Taxi Industry’s Communication Strategies in Dealing with Linguistic Diversity on the Way to Business Leadership: The Case of South Africa

Masala

2023

BEL

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Informal businesses, such as the minibus taxi industry, positively contribute to the country’s economy whilst providing an essential public transport service to the linguistically diverse communities of multilingual South Africa. The systematisation of the scientific literature on the development of the minibus taxi industry proved the absence of comprehensive studies aimed at understanding the communication strategies that taxi operators use among themselves and when interacting with passengers. This paper aims to investigate the types of language strategies that take place in six taxi associations in which IsiZulu and English are the two dominant languages. This investigation is conducted against the multilingual context of the country and its attractiveness as an international and domestic tourist destination to determine how the business leadership in the taxi industry responds. The article’s theoretical framework draws from the transformative paradigm as it enables one to explore the experiences of marginalised communities. In this case, the marginalised communities are the taxi operators who stand to benefit from appropriate communication strategies. By taking the initiative and showing “agency”, they direct their efforts to solve existing problems in communication with passengers. The qualitative approach was adopted as a research methodology in which the researcher selected a structured interview approach. It involved interviews with twenty-four taxi operators and drivers who were purposefully selected in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The participants gave an account of their experiences of bi-/multilingualism in the taxi industry during taxi association meetings, when interacting informally among themselves and in their communication with passengers. The results of the analysis of the responses of the respondents showed that the communication strategies used to mediate challenges posed by linguistic diversity are translation, interpretation, slang and language dominance. It is concluded that through their agency and by taking initiatives to deal with linguistic challenges in the eThekwini taxi industry, the economically marginalised are to be commended for being able to resolve impediments to their economic growth.

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Communication and governance in a linguistically diverse human settlement in South Africa

Cited by 4 publications

References 18 publications

Linguistic Reconstruction of Post-Colonial South Africa and Lesotho: English Dominance Dilemma

Linguistic Reconstruction of Post-Colonial South Africa and Lesotho: English Dominance Dilemma

Probing the Structuralist Analysis of a Selected isiXhosa Short Story, ‘Ukuzibulala Akusiso Isisombululo’ (Suicide Is Not the Solution), as a Literary Work

The Minibus Taxi Industry’s Communication Strategies in Dealing with Linguistic Diversity on the Way to Business Leadership: The Case of South Africa

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