20898045 Ella Horne General Linguistics Blog 3: Topic: Afrikaans should remain a medium of instruction at the University Of Stellenbosch

Week 3 : Language, Identity, Bias and Privilege

Friday 24th March 2017



Topic 3:


 “Afrikaans should remain a medium of instruction at the University of Stellenbosch.”

One needs to look at the many different aspects this statement involves and the effects and implications upon these aspects the statement currently brings and would bring if Afrikaans were to remain or if it were to be removed as a medium of instruction at the University of Stellenbosch.

On the one hand, one needs to consider whether it contributes or hinders the current and future goals for progressive social, racial and educational upliftment, transformation and integration at the University of Stellenbosch and for South African nationwide if Afrikaans were to remain as a medium of instruction at the University of Stellenbosch. To meet the current and future goals mentioned above, it would require accommodating the majority of South African prospective students in the medium of instruction of their mother tongue or preferred language.

Statistically, only 14% of black South African matriculants took Afrikaans as a subject, thus expressing the reality of the possibility that 86 % of black South African's who may go to university are unlikely to understand and or possess the linguistic knowledge or comprehension of the Afrikaans language thus unlikely to be able to receive an education equal in opportunity, rights and a learning environment to other students receiving a tertiary education in their preferred mother tongue languages. This majority statistically would encompass isiXhosa or isiZulu as their main mother tongue languages. It is important to keep in mind that the other African languages do feature prominently as mother tongue languages of South African people statisticly more than Afrikaans as well and thus would also need to be incorporated in due time as mediums of instruction as well University of Stellenbosch. A question to consider is to this reasoning is whether this means that the future method in deciding which languages to incorporate as mediums of instruction should be purely based upon how much of the majority speak the language?

In addition, from a practical point of view one needs to consider the practicalities of keeping Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. Will it further accommodate and enhance learning of the majority of prospective and current students in South Africa or will it prevent more allocation of finances, educational resources, time, staff and space to be given to the mother-tongue languages of the majority of South Africans namely isiXhosa and isiZulu. If this were to prohibit the above, the consequences could potentially prohibit the enhancement, expansion, growth and implementation of these languages in the university, ultimately leading to a prolonged stagnation of the current linguistic state of the education system of University of Stellenbosch or in best cases delay linguistic and racial diversity, transformation and change . This decision affects the opportunities and learning environment for the majority of prospective and current South African students to study nationwide. Much is at stake here.

On the other hand, I emphatically suggest one should never undermine, neglect or refuse to address the personal and cultural impact a decision to remove Afrikaans as a medium of instruction may have for mother- tongue Afrikaans speaking people. Language is closely linked to cultural identity and relays significant importance and worth for many speakers whether Afrikaans speaking or not. To remove Afrikaans entirely as a medium of instruction, violation of the Constitutional Human Right which states that “'everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice.” However if one were  to provide translators at University of Stellenbosch for Afrikaans and Afrikaans speakers, one would technically still be receiving the same verbal content of their education in their choice of language thus partially violating the Constitutional Human Right mentioned above. However, one must consider the previous and current lack of written education material, literature and resources in languages other than English, which may be argued that it justifies the  violation of the Constitutional Human Right in terms to many languages other than English historically and today.

Unfortunately, practically and financially, if the University of Stellenbosch is to reach its goals of racial and social integration for the majority of prospective South African students, Afrikaans may currently not be a practical, affordable and accommodating option to be used as a dominant medium or other medium of instruction for the majority of prospective South African students. Statistically its use as a medium does not benefit the majority of prospective South African students.

I feel this leads us to the question of whether it is fair or right to advantage the majority by disadvantaging the minority for the greater upliftment, reconciliation, education and integration for them majority of our country?  Is there another way forward we can lead these transformation goals for the University of Stellenbosch forward whilst still including the Afrikaans languages as part of the University?

Taking into account the reality of the current linguistic statistics and financial state of South Africa and the practicalities of finance, resources, budgeting, time, translators and staff and what is practically possible of the University to manage within these limitations, I would suggest the way forward being the addition of African languages as medium of instructions at university but still to offer keep Afrikaans as a medium, if possible, through alternative options being translators and educational resources and learning material in their mother tongue instead of mainstream lectures .

Idealistically, I would suggest to learners be exposed to as many languages possible as personally I believe it is of imperative importance and value, in regards to broadening one's experience ,m perspective and understanding of people and their culture and specifically for a social and attitude transformation amongst the people of South Africa.
However ,realistically as a university, to incorporate another two more widely spoken mediums of instruction may unfortunately have to be at the detriment to another language, unless the government or the public intervenes and funds more finances to the university to be able to keep Afrikaans as a medium of instruction at the university.


This deeply saddens me as a lover of languages and realising the significant worth, relevance, meaning and deep value a language has to a person’s culture and identity, as well as the freedom to express themselves in their mother tongue. In addition, it is also disadvantaging many in their experience of education, especially those who live in disadvantaged communities and rural communities who only speak Afrikaans and have very limited exposure of English until upon coming to university.  Development educational and language programs and assistance need to be implemented into these areas and to these people in an empowering and dignifying way, whilst still respecting and recognizing Afrikaans as a proficient and important language.

I firmly stand by the statement, ' An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." quote by Ghandi.  The entire removal of a language or the complete removal of the opportunity for someone to receive education in it, in order to implement another language as a medium of instruction is not the best way forward. This can blind one from seeing the richness, depth and insight not only into another language but into someone’s else’s culture and relating to them in their own mother tongue.


I feel it is so important that an attitude towards the Afrikaans language is that of sincere honour, respect. Although historically it has been used by people in an abusive way and seen by many as ‘the oppressors language’ being the apartheid government, it would be highly detrimental to the future reconciliation and transformation of South Africa’s current and future generations attitudes, if we left this stigma upon the language and did not provide opportunities for its deep richness and beauty to be seen and experienced by those who were previously oppressed by it.

Although due to realistic practicalities of the short term procedures needed currently to be implemented regarding the use of Afrikaans as a medium, I strongly suggest the University of Stellenbosch needs to thoroughly and intentionally plan linguistic accommodation and help for Afrikaans speaking learners. Instead as stated before, alternative options should be made available in the most respectful, honourable and dignifying way to these learners.

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20898045 General Linguistics 178: Blog 2: 'It is okay to speak more than one language, if that language is English."

20898045 Ella Horne

Tuesday 14th March 2017

General Linguistics 178: Week 2 : Language and Diversity:

Weekly Blog: 2 : 'It is okay to speak more than one language, if that language is English.”

There is much controversial debate surrounding this statement in society today.  With English being the predominant language of international commerce and politics, there are many advantages and benefits of being able to speak and comprehend the English language. However to interpret this statement to say that English is exclusively the only language that is acceptable to possess if monolingual would deprive the monolingual of insight, appreciation and understanding into another person's or group of people's culture and also diminish the opportunities to  honour and value another person's culture and identity. This is substantiated by the fact that language and culture have incredible close ties. These two stances and their implications will be discussed and explained in greater detail in this blog.
The extent to which English is used as a medium can be clearly recognised in the world today. English is used as the predominant medium for the majority of global economic dealings, technological and business sectors, international media coverage, global news and communication (not including regionally based news stations), international airports, capitals and travel, international job opportunities and possibly in some areas locally as well for people, much of UN and global policy and conference legislation, a vast extent of literature, much of the film making industry stemming from Hollywood being predominantly American English , advertising, many education systems and the list can go on. However the use of other mother tongue translations are increasing in the above.
In our previous General Linguistics lectures, a white Afrikaans speaking student said that she agreed with the statement and her reasoning was that if you can speak English you are more able to comprehend information on the internet and have a higher chance of attaining a job opportunity internationally and locally in South Africa. Another white Afrikaans speaking student  also agreed saying that he felt either speaking Afrikaans or speaking English with an Afrikaans accent would put him at a disadvantage in a job interview in comparison to another mother tongue English speaking applicant, due to certain stereotypes he felt his language and accent has been labelled with.
I observed from an outsider’s perspective, the international, local and personal effects of this perception  through relating with students from South Korea at my previous high school. The majority of the South Korean students I met, had been sent from South Korea to South Africa to learn English. The reason given being the influence and effects of the predominance of the English language exclusively being used as the main global medium in gaining access to the global society and economy. This has however lead to their immediate families being torn apart causing emotional upheaval for the families relationships and  further adding to the diminishing recognition of their  language, culture and  the sense of value of their mother tongue on a local and global level.
An advantage of the English language being used as the main international language mediums  is that it provides a common language medium for speaker's of two foreign countries, who may both have different mother tongues but can both speak English and therefore can use the English language as a common medium by which to understand each other.  This is especially beneficial in global gatherings, whereby for simplicity, time and effort , one may argue that when  facilitating a discussion between many different mother tongue speakers from different places that it could be almost impossible for one person to contain the capacity to repeat and translate all the different speaker's present mother tongue's into the different languages being spoken by each speaker in the discussion and vice versa for every situation with whichever language they are faced with. Translators could be chosen as an option,, however this would incur considerable cost and time, and if resources are lacking , using English language as a direct medium could be time, effort and cost effective and provide a sense of reliability in what the speaker is saying as translators can be subject to misinterpretation or mistake. This situation could hypothetically also be applied to the context of a South African education system with the country possessing eleven different national languages, and for one teacher to learn and be able to teach on an academic standard in all these eleven different languages could prove a practically impossible and to provide translators/ translator machines for each language for each subject and lesson, could be costly. Many schools in South Africa may not have the financial resources or staff capability and capacity for this.
However this reasoning does not detract from the more personal perspectives upon this situation. An example would be one drawn from the experience one of the student's in my General Linguistics lecture. Her mother tongue is Tswana,and she had expressed that at her university English is used as the dominant medium to educate the learners. She expressed that those whose mother tongue was English had an advantage over those who also have to learn in whose mother tongue is not English. The student agreed with the stance that mother tongue English speakers have an advantage in learning over non- English speaking mother tongue speakers. She felt that this act of the exclusion of her language being a medium for her to be educated through. I gathered from what she said that this did not bestow the same  perception of worth, equality and value upon her mother tongue language as the English Language had and is given within the university and globally.
This points to the other angle of the topic's statement which could interpret the statement to imply h an attitude of superiority and a biased perception of English being a medium which can exclusively be sufficient to be the only language needed to learn.  This further implies an exclusivity to other languages other than English as not being okay to be the only language spoken by a person. This angle poses a stance of discrimination to other languages.
How does this statement holds true?
If this statement is taken in the sense that one can get by in global society and economy if they speak the dominant medium used which is English, then this statement would hold true, as this is what the current global structure's system or framework caters for with the usage of English language being the dominant medium used.
How does this statement could be problematic?
If one were to take this statement from an angle other languages not being of the same capability, equality, standard or importance to English, this would be exclusive and discriminatory to other languages and due to a persons language being woven into their identity and culture, this not only dishonours, devalues, excludes and discriminates the importance and value of a language compared to English but also of the person's who speak that language, and their identity and culture as well.
In conclusion, this statement does in one aspect describe the reality of aspects of the global society and economy framework and structure today in regarding the need to comprehend and speak the language medium English to get by. However, one must also recognise that this statement too has its negative implications in that it can knowingly or unknowingly discriminate against and degrade other languages significance and importance and therefore the speaker's of the language due to the close linkages a language carries with the culture and identity of a person.
In light of this , how does one bring about a reform and change to end the discrimination this reality of the dominance of English as a global medium brings but also still I propose a way forward where through a transformational process , one incorporates the study of different languages and cultures morose into the global sectors of the world education over time and let it be a gradual shift of different mother tongue mediums being used world wide more regularly hopefully by a generation which has more linguistic knowledge and capability to speak more languages than previous years. The question remains,which languages shall these be? And is this discriminatory to allow certain languages to progress and be integrated as global mediums more than others simply because of majority of people speaking those languages?

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20898045 General Linguistics 178 : Blog 1: "You can tell a lot about someone by the way they speak"

Week 1: Language, Identity, Bias and Privilege

Monday 6th March 2017



Topic 1: You can tell a lot about someone by the way they speak...



  This statement could be considered true in that you can tell a lot about someone by the way they speak, but this does not necessarily substantiate that all that you tell about this someone is true. In this statement , you may be able to tell a lot about someone, but this does not necessarily mean you mean you can assume certain characteristics or generalisations about who they are, their history, culture, social-economic status or education .

Often, through hearing a person's accent, their use of language, grammar and vocabulary, a person may assume or judge with a stereotypical view, certain qualities, characteristics, a person's lifestyle, standard of living, work ethic and values etc.. of that person. One can often stereotype a person with a certain view or perspective simply due to their capability and  use of a language, their vocabulary, accent and spelling/grammar. One's specific exposure to the media, society, their family/ childhood upbringing, values and environment all shape one's subconscious and parts of their concious in the way they may or may not stereotype person's according to the way in which they speak.



Stereotypical views usually have a specific origination and may have some historical evidence or elements of truth to them. For example, the majority of the black South African population were oppressed and discriminated against in financial, societal, social, economic and legal aspects opportunities by the racist policies implemented during the apartheid era. This was due to the ruling government's apartheid regime preceding the 1994 democratic election in South Africa. Consequentially these oppressive, racist and restrictive policies in the economic sector and education sector lead to many black South Africans living in either low standards of living or extreme poverty  and low level income. In addition to this, the people whom the government classified as ' black' according to the apartheid’s classification system, were prohibited from receiving integrated education with white people and education opportunities equal to white people .This lead to an ever widening gap of inequality in economic status and circumstance between  black South Africans and some of the privileged white persons.

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This injustice and discrimination continued  for many years under the apartheid regime and became viewed and considered a 'norm' in South African society and the effects of this injustice are still seen in South African society today. This consequentially would have been a factor leading to a racist stereotypical view  of  black South Africans, who have a black South African accent that many people still live and hold to that view to this present day. This stereotypical view may include the assumption that all black South Africans with a black South African accent have a low standard of living due to a low income level due to unequal employment opportunities under the apartheid regime. This view may also include that majority of black South Africans may not have had equal education opportunities, therefore considered in some societal views, less ' intelligent' or educated than those privileged advantaged racial groups who were given better education opportunities by the apartheid government and through this education opportunity have been taught and  influenced to speak with a grammatically correct standardised English. This could lead to form a stereotypical and racist view that implies that the level of intelligence of a person who speaks non-standard English with a a black South African accent would be less than one who speaks standard English with a white South African accent.



Unfortunately due to the oppressive discriminatory apartheid regime, the inequality and poverty became the circumstance of many of the majority of black South African's and solidified the breeding grounds of the stereotypical views of many other racial groups upon black South Africans which was formed under the apartheid regime. Some of these stereotypical views still carry through to present day. Therefore one may say the basis of some stereotypical views are not completely unfounded or based on fallacy or false historical evidence or untruths. It is rather a stereotype about black South Africans which has partly originated from a  reality which has been and now is unfairly applied or assumed in a generalised way to or of a person, simply due to the way in which they speak, in this situation those who speak with a black South African accent.



One can imply much about a person from the way the speak due to the historical cultural and economic implications their accent or the way they speak might present due to historical evidence and majority statistics, however it is a deception to assume these generalised  stereotypical implications fall upon all people of a specific grouping, although they may be true to some individual s in that grouping. Someone may have the same accent or way of speech to another of the same racial  grouping with the circumstances the generalised stereotypical view has of that way of speech, but would have had different circumstances or opportunities in finances, education, and employment. In this way, the stereotyped view of the circumstances or level of intelligence etc. of persons with that specific way of speech is challenged and no longer applicable to all people who speak in the way the stereotypical view  assumes it to be.



In conclusion, one can see the basis of historical and cultural evidence and majority statisical  viewpoints which are implied by the way one may speak, however one must also recognise that this cannot be applicable as a generalised view to all person's who speak this way as their historical and social cirucmstance may differ to that of the person first encountered and would be stereotypical.

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