Close ended Questions

Students were instructed to complete the following questionnaires and give their fair responses on the issues of languages use in South Africa.

1. All languages are equally important in South Africa.

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree    

One hundred students took part in the study and ninety four questionnaires were returned while the other six was not returned. Most students, 60% of them ticked agree. This suggests that the majority of people in South Africa see that all languages of South Africa have the same and equal importance to the people who use them. This, therefore, highlights that all official languages must have the same recognition and same status so that they function alongside social needs of the people who speak them, all must have economic value.

2. Indigenous African languages can enhance economic

development in South Africa.

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree

   

Most respondents, 80% of them strongly agree. This suggests that, since the majority of students at the University of Zululand are isiZulu speakers, they believe in their language and that it can offer them information. Most of them can see the light and fully understand if their subjects are available in their first language.

3. The excess use of English demotivates speakers of indigenous

African languages to use their languages with pride.

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree    

Most respondents, 72% of them strongly agree on this issue. This is with a belief that the excess use of English in all spheres of life as the language of education, administration, court and business has reduced the status of other official languages of South Africa especially indigenous African languages. Besides status, they do not understand English which is used excessively and sometimes exclusively used.

4. The only language with economic advancement in South Africa

is English.

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree

   

Most respondents, 56% of them agree. This is as a result of everything being made available in English and neglects other languages particulary indigenous African languages. Indigenous African languages are the major languages which experience this linguistic neglect while English dominates all spheres of government and economic advancement.

5. The hegemony of English in South Africa has reduced the

status of indigenous African languages.

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree    

Most respondents, 70% of them strongly agree. This view is in line with the idea that English has a major effect on influencing other people to believe that English has the best culture and best lifestyle compared to other official languages in South Africa. People end up having a negative

influence on learning and speaking other languages and accept English as ‘the’ language for economic advancement.

6. Indigenous African languages have economic value to the rural

communities only.

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree    

Half of the respondents (50%) who took part in the research strongly agree that African languages only have economic value in rural communities. This shows that students have different views about the economic value of any language spoken and used in South Africa. Half of them believe that isiZulu has an economic value to the rural areas where people show respect for their language and culture through practicing their traditional dances in traditional ceremonies, which does not happen in urban areas, through paying respect to the deceased family by attending funerals in large numbers, which in isiZulu culture shows respect and affiliation and support to the family which has lost their loved one, and this practice is given recognition mainly in rural areas. IsiZulu has cultural value in rural areas as in showing respect to traditional leaders such as ‘izinduna’ and ‘amaKhosi’ while in urban people converse with their councilors mainly in English. Half of the respondents believe that isiZulu and any other indigenous African language has no cultural and economic value at all since they are not used as languages of learning and teaching in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions of higher learning in South Africa.

7. IsiZulu has rich vocabulary to teach subjects like economics at

South African universities.

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree    

Of the respondents, 90% strongly agreed and this is evident to the manner in which they helped me find isiZulu equivalencies of economic terms in the open-ended question types. They find it easy to give words which could be used in isiZulu to teach economics as a subject to the majority students of Southern Africa who seriously struggle to understand these concepts when presented in a foreign language.

8. IsiZulu is a right language to compete with the status of

English in economic life of South African citizens.

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree    

Many respondents (95%) believe that isiZulu has sufficient vocabulary to compete with the status of English economically, since it (isiZulu) has rich vocabulary to even teach economics as a subject to the majority students at different previously disadvantaged universities. This could also be true in other indigenous African languages if they are developed and catered for to the extent of having books and knowledgeable lecturers in those subjects.

9. Economic concepts / theories can be easily interpreted and

made available in isiZulu if isiZulu is used as a language of learning and teaching (LoLT).

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree    

Most respondents, 65% of them ticked strongly agree. Their perception is that isiZulu has rich vocabulary to teach economic concepts and be used as a language for teaching and learning at tertiary level.

10. All linguistic cultures are represented in the South African

constitution and enjoy the same parity of esteem.

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree    

Most respondents ticked strongly disagree. This is a result that some languages are downplayed while others are given market value, full recognition and high status compared to others (indigenous African languages).

11. Studying indigenous African languages is not important since

they are not languages of power in the whole of Africa and the globe.

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree

   

Most respondents 70% of them disagree with the above statement. Their belief is that indigenous African languages like isiZulu, have rich vocabulary to teach even in a subject like economics. Therefore studying indigenous African languages could yield better results if corpus

language planning is implemented in such that they are fully recognised as important languages of South Africa.

12. Indigenous African languages are only important at homes to

those who live in rural areas.

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree

   

More than half of the respondents (55%) ticked strongly disagree. Their attitude is on the belief that a language like isiZulu is a language with the majority of speakership in South Africa. Therefore it could be made a language of teaching and learning (LoLT) if positive attitudes are implemented towards developing it to the level of English and Afrikaans in South Africa. The idea that indigenous African languages have their significance in the communities which in rural areas must be changed and their speakers must be made to feel that their languages are part of economic life.

13. Do you think African culture is fully recognised, represented

and accommodated in former Model C schools?

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree    

In fact all respondents (100%) who took part in this study strongly disagree. The attitude behind this is the manner in which former Model C schools differ from the so called previously disadvantaged schools in terms of language use inside and outside the classroom. Private schools and former Model C schools do not in their school teaching hours cater for the teaching of any indigenous African language, if they do, it would be after the school learning and teaching hours allocated by the

government so that those who wish to know something about these languages could stay behind while the rest of the learners have gone home. By so doing, they do not promote any development and accommodation of indigenous African languages. Such practices demotivate any fruitful efforts which are made to develop indigenous African languages of South Africa.

14. African languages can be used as Languages of Teaching and

Learning (LoLT) in South African schools.

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree    

More than half of the respondents (57%) ticked agree. This highlights that there is a strong linguistic ‘purism’ that indigenous African languages could be best used as languages of learning and teaching (LoLT) and if such idea is implemented into practice, educational battles could be won easily since every student and learner would learn and acquire knowledge and information in a language they understand fully. The following is a set of open-ended questions which were used while conducting a study.