FYI. A pointer to this article on the IAfrica.com site was seen on the Kwintessential blog http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/crossculturalnews/index.html on 2 June. Note also mention of San and Khoi. DZO
'Afrikaans not under threat' - Jordan http://iafrica.com/news/sa/764478.htm Fri, 02 Jun 2006 The development and advancement of African languages would not be at the expense of Afrikaans, Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan said on Friday. "I want to emphasise that Afrikaans... is being actively promoted and protected by the government, the hysteria of certain academics notwithstanding," he told MPs during debate on his department's budget vote. Afrikaans was probably the third most spoken tongue in the country, and it was wrong to refer to it as a minority language. "It makes no sense these days to speak of it as being under threat," the minister said. "Much of the discourse around this 'threat' to Afrikaans is occasioned by concerns other than language." History has taught that the use of a language or languages to oppress other human beings could never again be an option for South Africa. "The only sensible course for us is the equitable promotion and use of all official languages, the parity of esteem of all our languages, (to ensure that) each language is embraced, nurtured and encouraged to grow and develop. "Even though Afrikaans in the past has been used as a tool for domination and oppression of the African people, that language remains one of the official languages of SA. Nothing and no-one will change that." Afrikaans' status as an official language was not under threat, Jordan said. Democratic Alliance MP Desiree van der Walt told Jordan the African National Congress the government should stop associating Afrikaans with the "language of the oppressor". "Afrikaans must not be discriminated against any more," she said in her mother tongue. Language was not supposed to be a dividing factor. Van der Walt repeated the DA's position that at least two Afrikaans universities should be retained in the country. But Jordan said people concerned about the retention of Afrikaans as an academic language should rather be pressing for its incorporation as a language of teaching in other tertiary institutions. "Why insist on an exclusively Afrikaans institution?" Turning to the Khoi and San languages, Jordan said the decision not to give them official status was "maybe something that needs to be looked at or reviewed". His department was to spend close to R70-million in the 2006/07 financial year on language programmes and "activities to promote linguistic diversity", the minister added. Sapa ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Home is just a click away. Make Yahoo! your home page now. http://us.click.yahoo.com/DHchtC/3FxNAA/yQLSAA/TpIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
