| Topic: |
Sociology > Education |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
04 Feb 2005 04:28:01 PM |
| Object: |
Mikro Primary School Standoff |
Hello,
I am interested in reactions from both English and Afrikaans-speaking
South Africans about the decision by the governing board of the Mikro
Primary School in Kuilsriver to go to court to prevent English-speaking
pupils from enrolling in the school. More broadly, I would like to hear
your views on the future of Afrikaans-only schools (including the
historically Afrikaans universities) in the post-apartheid South
Africa.
Thank you for sharing your opinion.
.
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| User: "Moira de Swardt" |
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| Title: Re: Mikro Primary School Standoff |
05 Feb 2005 12:26:07 AM |
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<bruno@ele.ita.br> wrote in message
I am interested in reactions from both English and
Afrikaans-speaking
South Africans about the decision by the governing board of the
Mikro
Primary School in Kuilsriver to go to court to prevent
English-speaking
pupils from enrolling in the school. More broadly, I would like to
hear
your views on the future of Afrikaans-only schools (including the
historically Afrikaans universities) in the post-apartheid South
Africa.
Views on Afrikaans universities:
I theoretically studied at RAU briefly (one year, which I failed,
but I had a very good social life) in the seventies. Even back then
I couldn't really see a future for "Afrikaans" in any higher
education facilities. Lectures, admittedly, were in Afrikaans.
Students spoke mainly Afrikaans. But all the text books and extra
reading was in English (or German for those students who could
access that language). Lecturers were quite happy to have comments
and questions from students in English, and to respond to same in
English. Assignments (the few that I did) were done in English and
marked in English. Exams were done in English.
I have met a few of the current students of the new Johannesburg
University who now seem to speak even more, and certainly better,
English than our crowd did. I attribute some of that to television
and the internet.
What the future holds for the other ten official languages of our
country is probably a slow demise. It doesn't truly make sense for
a country to hold on to languages used only by a minority (even if
it is a largish minority). The constitution will almost certainly be
slower to respond to this reality than corporate interests will.
Culturally, some of these languages will not survive the next two or
three centuries, although isiZulu and siSwati and isiSotho (of the
Lesotho variety) stand a better chance than most of the others, the
first because of the number of first language speakers and the
general acceptance of it as a language worth knowing by so many
second (or more) language speakers, while the latter two will
survive because of the sovereign countries in which they form a real
homogenous language grouping even though, for example, siSwati is
not an official language in Swaziland.
As to the school: It is patently obvious that because of the real
power of English as the primary language of communication in South
Africa it is dangerous to allow English children into Afrikaans
schools.
Moira, the Faerie Godmother
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| User: "Booner" |
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| Title: Re: Mikro Primary School Standoff |
05 Feb 2005 03:30:44 AM |
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Moira, the Faerie Godmother
Don't you think it's at all possible for languages to coexist in a
country. Sure English will serve as the official language, that's
because it's understood by most south africans. Surely not because it
is the most common mother-tongue in our country. Your arrogance saddens
me...
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| User: "Moira de Swardt" |
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| Title: Re: Mikro Primary School Standoff |
05 Feb 2005 03:57:19 PM |
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"Booner" <Eansmit@tiscali.co.za> wrote in message
Don't you think it's at all possible for languages to coexist in a
country. Sure English will serve as the official language, that's
because it's understood by most south africans. Surely not because
it
is the most common mother-tongue in our country. Your arrogance
saddens
me...
Yes, I do think it is possible for languages to co-exist. But a
huge mistake was made when eleven official languages were selected.
It is obviously impractical to have everything produced in all
eleven, so what happens is that only English is used. Where forms
already exist in Afrikaans, they are still used. New ones are not
translated. Eventually only English will be used, except in
isolated areas. This is already the case in Swaziland where there
is no problem because there are only two languages in general use,
siSwati and English. However only English is an official language.
In South Africa the problem is compounded by a wide variety of
factors other than the complexity of eleven languages. The first
problem is that apart from a few of the languages the spread of
people using them is quite wide. While Kwa Zulu Natal has a nice
concentration of isiZulu speakers and it is possible to isolate that
province for special translations, the rest of the country has a
broad spectrum of mother tongue isiZulu speakers so where would one
target that. The smaller languages like Venda and Pedi are even
bigger problems, so they are likely to die fairly early in the
greater scheme of things. Afrikaans has not been taken seriously
since 1994 and in that time I've only seen three or four new
theatrical works being produced in that language, although one was
an opera which was commendable. I very seldom read Afrikaans, so
I'm not sure what monumental works have been produced in Afrikaans
since 1994, and there were precious few before that. A few novels
don't *really* count.
English is not a broad spectrum mother tongue language in South
Africa, as you pointed out, but nearly all South Africans use it as
a second or third or fourth language. Most South Africans under
the age of 25 have a pretty good command of English at that, too.
I don't think my attitude is *particularly* arrogant. I think there
is a degree of practicality involved. isiXhosa and Afrikaans will
largely unused languages in a century or so. English will have
evolved, but good stuff written in English even five hundred or more
years ago will still be spoken by at least some communities and
definitely studied at universities, as are Latin and Koine Greek
texts. Literate Americans will still be able to read it. :-)
Moira, the Faerie Godmother
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| User: "Booner" |
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| Title: Re: Mikro Primary School Standoff |
09 Feb 2005 01:59:47 PM |
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Moira, the Faerie Godmother
No,no,no! A language just doesn't dissapear because it is not the
official language of a country. (ask the Basque people) For an evolved
language to disapear, you need total dissemination of the culture.
Afrikaans being the historically strongest culture in SA, a hundred
years might be very short...
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| User: "Annette" |
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| Title: Re: Mikro Primary School Standoff |
05 Feb 2005 01:13:10 AM |
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As ek jou in Afrikaans antwoord, sal jy kan verstaan?
--
Groetnis
Annette
<bruno@ele.ita.br> wrote in message
news:1107556081.397676.24600@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
Hello,
I am interested in reactions from both English and Afrikaans-speaking
South Africans about the decision by the governing board of the Mikro
Primary School in Kuilsriver to go to court to prevent English-speaking
pupils from enrolling in the school. More broadly, I would like to hear
your views on the future of Afrikaans-only schools (including the
historically Afrikaans universities) in the post-apartheid South
Africa.
Thank you for sharing your opinion.
.
|
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| User: "Moira de Swardt" |
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| Title: Re: Mikro Primary School Standoff |
05 Feb 2005 03:13:36 AM |
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"Annette" <annette@ctnet.co.za> wrote in message
As ek jou in Afrikaans antwoord, sal jy kan verstaan?
Some of us would.
Bruno lived in South Africa for a while, if I remember correctly,
and has posted to soc.culture.south-africa before even though he is
not a regular poster.
Moira, the Faerie Godmother
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| User: "Peter H.M. Brooks" |
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| Title: Re: Mikro Primary School Standoff |
05 Feb 2005 01:34:42 AM |
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Annette wrote:
As ek jou in Afrikaans antwoord, sal jy kan verstaan?
If you think it possible that it won't be, wouldn't it be rather more
sensible to ask the above question in English?
--
O how I cried when Alice died
The day we were to have wed!
We never had our Roasted Duck
And now she's a Loaf of Bread!
At nights I weep an cannot sleep,
Moonlight to me recalls
I never saw her Waterfront
Nor she my Waterfalls
- W.H. Auden verses for 'The Dog Beneath the Skin'
* TagZilla 0.057 * http://tagzilla.mozdev.org
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