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Colloquium on the New Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions in South Africa organised by the UCT/UFS/UKZN
28 September 2022 09:00
-29 September 2022 12:00
University of Cape Town
Draft programme
Since the promulgation of the new Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions in 2020, universities have been grappling with a number of questions. Historically, the situation of indigenous languages in South Africa has always been sensitive, but critical. The cry has been about their underdevelopment for sophisticated use, and the efforts to promote their use in all formal settings, i.e., research, business, politics, etc., have been hampered by the perceived lack of requisite technical terms. Therefore, the big question has been around their currency in the international arena. Language pundits have been challenged to prove how these developments will help solve the aforesaid. The project of intellectualisation of indigenous languages was born out of that quest; universities had to ask themselves hard and critical questions around their own language policies and the attendant implementation plans. Granted, some universities do have language policies, and some do not; however, this new framework compels all universities to self-introspect.
The University of Cape Town, in collaboration with the University of the Free State and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, presents a very unique opportunity for all relevant stakeholders to share ideas about what needs to be done in the respective contexts to improve the status of indigenous languages. Jointly, the three universities will host a two-day virtual colloquium on multilingualism. The topics are wide ranging, including the implications of the new Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions, and how basic education, by extension, is affected by this new policy framework; how the Constitution and the Bill of Rights can be interpreted by the private sector, including banks and insurance companies, to find better expression in the lives of ordinary citizens; and lastly, how PanSALB can be assisted in delivering on its national mandate, i.e., the development and promotion of indigenous languages.
Objectives are to
• examine the language used in the new Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions;
• discuss the implications of the new Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions;
• interrogate the role of basic education in inculcating a culture of reading and writing at an early age;
• examine the role of the private sector in promoting indigenous languages; and
• elucidate the role of the Pan South African Language Board.
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