The Impact of Kwazulu-Natal Provincial Language Policy on Sesotho Speakers at Nquthu
Issue: Vol.5 No.11 Issue Article 17 pp. 1831-1840
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202451117 | Published online 11th September, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Following the approval of the National Policy Framework and the enactment of Sections 6, 9, and 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act No. 108 of 1996), each province in the country was required to create its language policy following the National Language Policy Framework. This was done to give all people residing in that province access to information as informed by Act No. 2 of 2000 as well as The Pan South African Language Board on Act No. 59 of 1995. Following those provisions, the province’s language policy solely encourages the use of the official languages spoken in Kwazulu-Natal, which are Afrikaans, English, isiXhosa, and isiZulu, while marginalizing Sesotho as one of the official languages spoken at Nquthu. The central aim of the study was to investigate the impact of this policy on Basotho speakers at Nquthu, Kwazulu-Natal–South Africa. The study used qualitative document analysis to interpret, explain, and explore issues related to the use of the current language policy at KZN on the Basotho people. The study collected documents from schools and the internet premised on language rights as its theoretical base. The findings of the study indicate that there is no support that Leneha-Tumisi Secondary School is receiving from the district as a result the Basotho residing at Nquthu are faced with the situation of opting for isiZulu as a home language for their children instead of Sesotho. It is recommended that all stakeholders play their part in supporting Basotho at Nquthu.
Keywords: Constitution, Language Policy, Language Rights, Basotho, Kwazulu-Natal(KZN)
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Aaron Mpho Masowa has taught in various schools as a teacher since 2013 (Filadelfia Special School, The Beacon High School, Thabo-Thokoza Secondary School, Qhowaneng Primary School, and Motshepuwa Primary School and serve as a Sesotho lecturer in various institutions (Central University of Technology, University of the Free State and currently working as a lecturer and researcher at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in the Department of African Languages. He wrote various Sesotho books (Jo, bophelo bona! Lenyora, Ha re ithuteng, Hoja ka tseba, Dikakata tsa bophelo le Ho se tsebe ke lebote. He has published number of poems, book chapter and articles. He teaches language and literature and strongly involve in community engagement where he develops the upcoming authors. His main areas of current research interest include language policy and implementation, literature in African languages, Morphology and Syntax.
Masowa, Aaron Mpho. “The Impact of Kwazulu-Natal Provincial Language Policy on Sesotho Speakers at Nquthu,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.11 (2024): 1831-1840. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202451117
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).