Black languages need to be promoted

2002-07-30 22:19

Pretoria - Black languages need to be promoted vigorously to compete with Afrikaans as the language of science, education deputy minister Mosibudi Mangena said on Tuesday.

"Afrikaans had time under the previous dispensation to develop itself into a language of science, law and commerce but other languages were suppressed," he told students at the University of Pretoria.

"Indigenous languages have to be promoted in a more aggressive way than it has happened in the past. They should be equally recognised and have the same prestige."

Mangena was referring to Education Minister Kader Asmal's statement over the weekend that Afrikaans universities should offer lectures in English so that quality education could be accessible to other language groups.

Mangena said: "Our intentions are not to anglicise Afrikaans academic institutions or discriminate in whatever form against the medium. The core of this exercise is to address the issue of accessibility.

"It is everyone's responsibility, especially Afrikaans speakers to ensure their language survives and change does not erode it away."

The deputy minister was at the university to brief students about the merger of tertiary institutions, the resultant curriculum content and financial implications for the process.

The university is to be merged with Mamelodi Vista University.

Mangena said the government subsidy would increase once the merger had been finalised.

"The two universities will meet and talk about their plans and what they will mean in financial terms. Surely the government will have to make a financial contribution."

Earlier in his address, Mangena had to stop while a group of students insisted he speak in Afrikaans.

"We don't want to be spoken to in English, we don't understand that language," shouted one student.

The students were eventually led out of the hall by security guards as they started hauling and chanting Afrikaans slogans while Mangena was on the podium.

- SAPA