![]() English and Afrikaans were naturally found to be dominant in commerce and industry while Northern Sotho was used among friends and colleagues in informal situations. The first step towards determining the feasibility of developing and using Northern Sotho as a language of commerce and industry was to determine the current situation in this regard. However, it should be noted that the questionnaire was not designed to reveal explicit allegiances hence responses in this regard are somewhat open to interpretation. A distinct majority (64,7%) of respondents who filled in questionnaires was not favourably disposed but a significant minority (35,3%) was positive. A negligible percentage of respondents expressed negative sentiments in this regard (cf. The question here is: How does one determine feasibility? Before this issue could be addressed another important and sensitive matter had to be considered: to determine whether native speakers of Northern Sotho and the other South African languages are favourably disposed towards the prospective development and use of Northern Sotho as a language of commerce and industry. Feasibility of developing Northern Sotho lexicography and terminology for the purposes of commerce and industry.Dispositions of mother-tongue speakers of Northern Sotho and other languages towards the prospective development and use of Northern Sotho as a language of commerce and industry.Existence of language policies for workers in commerce and industry.Socio-economic background of respondents.The exclusive hegemonic use of English or Afrikaans as a communication barrier to non-native speakers of these languages in commerce and industry.The identified themes are consolidated as follows: Data from the second phase were captured and encoded in transcripts that were later decoded and reduced to themes, categories and sub-categories. The categories were reduced to thematic constructs. The data from the first phase were captured and decoded in categories set out in frequency tables. A wealth of data was produced by these means. The investigation is characterised by a two-pronged approach to data collection: a questionnaire survey and focus group interviews. The Xhosa students are normally placed in the English-medium classes for subjects like Geography and Science.The main objectives of this study are to investigate the feasibility of using Northern Sotho as a language of commerce and industry and to determine the extent to which the environment favours the use of Northern Sotho as a language of marketing, advertising, business and acquiring entrepreneurial skills. This means that pupils are either placed in the English-medium classes or in the Afrikaans-medium classes, but staff shortages have meant that teachers frequently have to teach both groups in one class. Most Xhosa pupils choose to learn Xhosa as First Language and English as Second Language, but a small minority choose English as First Language and Afrikaans as Second Language. Wesbank High, where our research took place, is a dual medium (Afrikaans and English) school, which also offers Xhosa as a First Language from Grade 8. It was not uncommon for people to attempt to get reclassified in order to access a better quality of life.ĥ. Even in these peripheral areas, a strict hierarchy was maintained, with better areas being zoned for those classified Coloured and Indian and the worst areas going to those classified Black. The best areas were reserved for White occupants, with other groups being restricted to peripheral areas. ![]() The South African Group Areas Act of 1950 forced people of different ethnic origin to live in areas demarcated for their specific group. The figures in brackets reveal the percentages of mother-tongue speakers of each language according to the 2001 Census.Ĥ. ![]() These categories are: Black to refer to indigenous South Africans, White to refer to those of European descent, Coloured to refer to those of mixed descent, and Indian, to refer to those descended from the Indian subcontinent.ģ. For the purpose of this paper, I shall use the racial categories of pre-democracy South Africa, as these categories continue to be used by the current dispensation. In 1994, the first democratically elected government came to power in South Africa after 300 years of colonial rule and 40 years of separate development dominated by White South Africans.Ģ. ![]()
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