Mbulungeni Madiba of UCT in conversation with Gerda Odendaal and Marius Swart, Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, Stellenbosch University. The discussion centred on a chapter in Neville Alexander's book Thoughts on the New South Africa, problematising the issue of language in the modern South African university. Mbulungeni Madiba is an associate professor and coordinator of the Multilingualism Education Project at the University of Cape Town. He is also the chairperson of the Pan South African Language Board.
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Video: Thinking ahead: critical questions on language in higher education
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Kommentaar
Mbulungeni Madiba seems to imply that Afrikaans university are gatekeeper to keep people out with the implication that other (read English) universities are open ... if you speak English. What does race have to do with speaking Afrikaans?
An Afrikaans university would work the same as a Dutch, German or Finnish university - students would study subjects with Afrikaans instructions and submit papers in Afrikaans but would also use resources in other languages (mostly English). The university or faculty may decide that a % of work could or should be taught and presented in English too, but it would be an Afrikaans university where the working of the unversity is in Afrikaans - or, use Madiba's implied suggestion, that the working of the university is in English.
Mbulungeni Madiba's position, despite saying he's promoting multiinguistic SA seems will lead to an English dominant SA with some known and expected bounderies for the other languages.
The only answer is defined Afrikaans or isiZulu language or English language unversities. The Afrikaans and isiZulu universities, will by definition use bilingual or multilingual recourses; English will be monolingual. These universities would operate and function those languages but will be open to all citizens.
Does an Afrikaans lecturer seriously only ascribe Afrikaans text books and reading criteria to their students? No, but the lecture and seminar and papers can still be in Afrikaans. An Afrikaans university wouldn't ban books in English - this is a straw man argument.
Defined language universities will be the only way to give prestige and create the resources and lexicon and give status and cultural space for the languages other than English to develop. I don't think Madiba's ideas are either feasible or will sustain education in African languages and will ultimately lead to language death.
As an outsider (I'm a Welsh-speaking Welshman) it seems to me like, the only language people really need to know in SA is English. Everything else to humilated with being of cultural or 'added' value and has to scramble around to justify their existance with rather vague and woolly arguments.
It seems to me if Madiba and black Africans want to see a future for their languages then they should support the Afrikaans speaking community and follow their lead, not undermine them.
I'm sorry but Madiba's arguments don't make me feel positive for the non English language of SA.
I think, frankly Madiba's suggestions are depressing and muddled.