Taalbeleid in die onderwys
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Date
2004
Authors
Truter, E. J. J.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
The notion that multilingualism could be a problem took root globally in the twentieth
century after the demise of colonial domination. At the beginning of the nineteenth
century, however, multilingualism was already viewed as problematic in South
Africa. This monograph researches language policy in South African schools over a
period of more than three centuries (from 1652 to 1961) focusing on the Union Government
period (1910-1961).
After more than a century of single-medium education, Dutch schools in the Cape
were largely replaced by schools with English as the sole language of instruction
when the colony was annexed by the British. As time went by, Dutch enjoyed a status
and function that was forbidden in the British colonies in the two Boer republics.
Cataclysmic events such as the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) influenced the decisions
of the law-makers at the National Convention in 1909 and the language legislation
of the Union Government.
Under the Union Government language planning in the white and black school
systems, which functioned separately, centred mainly on the status of Afrikaans and
English. At first English imperialism benefited the English language, especially after
the War, but the recognition of Afrikaans in the next decade contributed greatly to
the establishment of a new language policy with particular application to the school
system. Under the Union Government, the language that benefited most was usually
the one dominating the political order, to the detriment of the other language. Afrikaans
fought an uphill battle for equal recognition in the school system against
“English linguistic imperialism”.
After the Union Education Report of 1911 and the provincial legislation of 1912,
combined parallel- and dual-medium schools developed side-by-side with Englishmedium
schools. The implementation of language policy in schools developed along
different lines in each of the four provinces. With the recognition of Afrikaans as an
official language, the position of mother-tongue Afrikaans-speaking pupils improved.
The parental option to choose their children’s language of instruction was used by
both Afrikaans- and English-speaking parents to score political (ideological) points
in the ensuing years. Afrikaans was patronised and advanced by various National Party
governments, which implemented two principles: mother-tongue education and
single-medium schools. Afrikaans thus became the dominant medium of instruction
at the secondary-school level. As a result, bilingualism among both teachers and pupils
decreased.
For the greater part of the Union Government period, the interests and wishes of
African (black) education were subordinated to the political purposes and ideologies
of white groups. The conflicts between Afrikaans- and English-speakers were to spill
over into African education and find expression particularly in the language policies
of the various governments. Even before the National Party came to power in 1948,
there was strong opposition to Bantu Education. The implementation of the Bantu
Education Act (Act no 47 of 1953) not only entrenched the two separate education systems (white and black), but also united the black movements against the government
which was taking decisions on their behalf. The emphasis placed on different
ethnicities (Bantu cultures) by means of the implementation of mother-tongue
education was viewed as a divide-and-rule policy rather than as an honest attempt
to promote the various black cultures. Ideological resistance to Afrikaans was a
strong reason for the preference blacks gave to English. Black schools were unable to
produce bilingual (African language/English) pupils of the same calibre as the bilingual
(Afrikaans/English) pupils of white schools.
Description
Keywords
Multilingualism, Language policy, Schools, Afrikaans, English
Citation
Truter, E. J. J. (2004).Taalbeleid in die onderwys. Acta Academica, Supplementum 2, i-173.