Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Open Access Language variation in the media of the Low Countries(University of the Free State, 2006) Schramme, AnnickEnglish: Language policy is an essential part of national movements. This paper will demonstrate that the Flemish public broadcasting company has played an important role in the process of nation-building, through its use and dissemination of Standard Dutch. On the one hand, the public broadcaster wished to promote the Dutch language and culture. On the other, Standard Dutch was essentially imported from the Netherlands. The current flexibility in the media vis-à-vis the use of Standard Dutch reflects the changing role of the public broadcaster in general. In a competitive media context, entertainment has become more important, at the expense of the educational role of the public broadcaster. The analysis of this evolution is based on research into the personal archive of Johan Fleerackers, who for 12 years (1965-1977) was the chief advisor of several Flemish ministers of culture.Item Open Access Revisiting the South African book market: towards a change of tongue?(University of the Free State, 2006) Morgan, NaomiEnglish: In this overview of the South African book market, based on publications until July 2006, the publication of novels is divided into three language categories: English, Afrikaans and African languages. As regards the last two categories, a multilingual book market with the possibility of being translated into the world’s most important literary languages, would be considered ideal. Historical, social and personal reasons for choosing a language other than the writer’s mother tongue are investigated. A tendency amongst writers from these language groups to write or to begin writing in English solely for financial reasons is also investigated.Item Open Access Coverage of language-related topics, and in particular, language rights and language policy issues in the South African printed media(University of the Free State, 2006) Lubbe, Johan; Truter, ElbieEnglish: The printed media is an important instrument in bringing about community mobilisation, and can make a contribution in the debate on language matters by influencing the political (ideological) orientation of policy-makers which at this stage can be characterised as internationalisation. Internationalisation leads to language hierachisation or linguicism. Linguicism entails that the resources of minority groups, which include language, are seen as handicaps. The empirical investigation reported on in this article established inter alia the percentage of topics reported on, the distribution of reporting per language medium of newspapers, the types of records on language complaints, and the sources of language rights incidents. In order to determine the validity of the conclusions the results are compared to official complaints lodged with PanSALB. It was established that the printed media is a reliable barometer of the feelings and attitudes of its readers, and a government can benefit by ensuring that citizens’ constitutional rights are upheld, and avoid conflicts by seeking to solve problems before they escalate.Item Open Access Indigenous languages and the media in South Africa(University of the Free State, 2006) Kaschula, RussellEnglish: This article explores the status of South Africa’s indigenous languages and how they are being used in the media. More specifically, the performance of these languages in the print media, the broadcasting media and the Internet, is outlined. This is done against the backdrop of the South African Constitution, Section 6, which entrenches eleven official languages. Contrary to the Constitution’s provisions, it is found that the indigenous languages are achieving varying levels of success within the media. The reasons for this are outlined. Finally, the effects of globalisation on the indigenous languages within the media are assessed.Item Open Access Playing with language in a media-promoted standardisation context: public broadcasting and adolescent linguistic practices in Flanders(University of the Free State, 2006) Jaspers, Jurgen; Meeuwis, MichaelEnglish: It is illustrated how the Flemish Belgian public broadcasting corporation intensifies an already marked project of linguistic standardisation, explicitly identifying substandard language use as sloppy. This standardising ambition can be said to backfire, however, when one observes the language games of a group of adolescents at school. For the latter, the traditional focus on Standard Dutch has made this variety available for play and masquerade. The broadcasting corporation’s renewed standardisation attempts therefore only seem to harm its own mission, marking substandard varieties as available for relief, enjoyment, and less status freighted interaction.Item Open Access Language assessment in Catalan local television: the model adopted by the Local Television Network(University of the Free State, 2006) Bruguers, JardiEnglish: The author, who played a role in creating a language assessment service for the Xarxa de Televisions Locals (Local Television Network) in Catalonia, assesses the organisational philosophy behind public television language services, with specific reference to Catalonia, and from this standpoint proposes an assessment model which is appropriate to local television. This is the background to the formation of the Unitat de Dinamització i Assessorament Lingüístics (Unit for the Promotion and Assessment of Language) for which the author was responsible. The article reveals the line of reasoning used for assessment and the principles implemented in organising this Unit. In contrast to the language services for autonomous public television, which are structured mainly (but not exclusively) around an assessment model which focuses on end products, the author proposes and justifies an assessment model for the local television stations which form part of the Local Television Network, focusing on the process, one which emphasises the training of media communications professionals in order for them to acquire the necessary degree of autonomy for managing language quality in their audiovisual products.Item Open Access Multilingualism, Afrikaans and normative political theory(University of the Free State, 2006) Duvenage, PieterEnglish: This contribution focuses on the survival of Afrikaans within the framework of a multilingual South Africa. The first section provides a brief historical reconstruction of the power-political shifts that Afrikaans underwent between 1966 and 2004. In the second section some of the arguments that were used for and against Afrikaans between 1994 and 2004 are presented. In the last section these arguments are shifted to the terrain of contemporary normative political theory, where three aspects are important: the question of addressing language loss in the world; the importance of multicultural citizenship, and the need for a more profound and multilingual understanding of democracy. In short: a democracy is not just characterised by the instrumental counting of votes, but also by the qualitative articulation of different voices.Item Open Access The development of a multilingual language policy at the SABC since 1994(University of the Free State, 2006) Du Plessis, TheodorusEnglish: This article describes the development of a new multilingual broadcasting system within the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), from the 1995 editorial language policy up to and including the adoption of the current (2004) policy. The concept of a multilingual broadcasting system is defined; and an overview of the development of the SABC’s multilingual language mandate is provided. An analysis of the 1995 language policy is conducted, and the management of the policy within the context of broadcasting reforms is investigated. Essentially, the SABC follows a pragmatic multilingual approach, in an endeavour to find a general language platform without ignoring language diversity, as reflected in the two language policy principles, “shared languages” and “equitable treatment”. The increase in the use of English and its establishment as the anchor language, the downscaling of Afrikaans, and the general handling of multilingualism must be appraised in terms of this context, rather than quantitatively.