AfriForum says State must make end to malevolent attitude to Afrikaans or face legal consequences
AfriForum has warned the Departments of Basic Education, Higher Education and Training, as well as Arts and Culture specifically, but also Government in general to make an end to its openly malevolent attitude to Afrikaans and to ensure that the proposed Languages Act will be balanced. This warning follows in response to reports that the proposed Languages Act has now been amended to force state departments and national entities to use a minimum of three South African languages, of which two should not be either Afrikaans or English.
"In effect when faced with a choice between Afrikaans and English as the third language option, English will be chosen, as it is the one language that has been used almost exclusively to date by these entities, even though it is the home language of very few South Africans," said Alana Bailey, Deputy CEO of AfriForum.
"Even though departments will have the freedom to use more than three official languages, cost implications make the use of more highly unlikely, unless legislation entrench this principle. This is but yet another example of the conscious onslaught against Afrikaans waged by state officials. Before, Afrikaans and the other nine indigenous South African languages had to cope with the State's benevolent neglect, but it seems as if the gloves have now come off and Afrikaans is specifically being targeted."
Bailey referred to more examples of the state's political ill will towards Afrikaans. Recently Basic Education stated that Afrikaans is not an indigenous language and therefore should not be taught as second language at school level. In addition to this, Afrikaanse schools in several provinces are under departmental pressure to accommodate learners requiring English tuition. The education departments often do not provide the resources to make this additional tuition possible and when school principals complain, they are intimidated.
In AfriForum's presentation to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture made to the Committee on 17 January 2012, AfriForum emphasised that it supports multilingualism and mother-language education most strongly. The promotion of one language however cannot take place at the expense of other language communities, as the Department now seems to be trying to effect. All that will be achieved in this manner, will be the further polarisation of South African communities.
"Afrikaans-speaking South Africans have a constitutional right to high quality service delivery and education in their own language. If the State were to use legislation, regulations and intimidation to deny them of this right, whoever implements these measures will have to be prepared to meet AfriForum in court," Bailey said.
Statement issued by Alana Bailey, Deputy CEO: AfriForum, February 2 2012
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