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5 - African Languages in Transformation

Challenges and Opportunities for Zimbabwe and South Africa

from Part II - Multilingualism and Intellectualisation of African Languages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

By
Emmanuel Sithole  and
Ziyanda Yola
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

In post-independent Africa, social transformation interweaves with other ideological goals such as African renaissance, decolonisation, indigenisation and black empowerment together with ideals for good governance, democracy, social and racial harmony, economic prosperity and political sovereignty, the goal of transformation. The postcolonial order is characterised by economic deterioration, political upheavals, poverty, dictatorship, civil strife, intra- and inter-territorial wars and tribal and racial distrust. These problems are increasing despite attempts to have them solved. Drawing from regional experiences, the chapter advances that using indigenous languages is among the best practices to ensure successful societal transformation. It examines the role that indigenous languages play in guaranteeing the participation of the masses, and in the development of indigenous languages to function in productive sectors of society. It argues that social transformation requires a comprehensive action programme to rid indigenous languages of technical challenges and recommends the use of digital language resources and human language technology among other necessary human, institutional and legal interventions.

Keywords

Indigenous languageschallengesopportunitiestransformationsociety
Type
Chapter
Information
The Transformative Power of Language
From Postcolonial to Knowledge Societies in Africa
 , pp. 109 - 124
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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