The Language Situation in Botswana

• Autores: Lydia Nyati-Ramahobo
• Localización: Current issues in language planning, ISSN 1466-4208, Vol. 1, Nº. 2, 2000, págs. 243-300
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This monograph provides an overview of the language situation in Botswana. It describes the language profile of the country, including the number of languages and dialects spoken, the number of speakers of each language and the various roles each language plays in society. The paper provides a historical development of language-in-education policies. The objectives of learning, methods of assessment and language use in the media also are examined. The third part of the monograph describes language planning and implementation efforts and the agencies involved in the planning process and the development of legislation. There is tension between policy formulation and implementation, and an imbalance in social justice. Majority communities are treated as minority communities based on the language(s) they speak. While pressure from the civil society has led government to make progressive policy decisions, there is no intrinsic motivation for their implementation. Non-governmental organisations are encouraged by these positive policy decisions but their efforts are frustrated by covertly negative attitudes to change from the leadership. There is a need for commitment from the leadership to support the preservation of all languages spoken in Botswana. Currently an assimilationist model permeates the social, economic, political and cultural aspects of life in Botswana.