A new language policy, old language practices: status planning for African languages in a multilingual South Africa

As a result of the demise of apartheid and the subsequent birth of democracy in 1994, South Africa has adopted a multilingual language policy and has given official recognition to eleven languages including English and Afrikaans and nine African languages. One major goal of the new language policy is to promote the status of the African languages. This article examines this policy in the light of current language practices in some of the country's institutions, especially the medium of television, education, and the government and administration. It argues, that contrary to the constitutional principle of language equity, which stipulates that ‘all official languages must enjoy parity of esteem and must be treated equitably’, language practices in virtually all of the country's institutions point to a different reality: the languages are unofficially ranked hierarchically and constitute a three-tier, triglossic, system, one in which English is at the top, Afrikaans is in the middle, and the African languages are at the bottom. The article discusses some of the factors which have contributed to the creation of this system; and calls for a rethink of the new language policy with a view to adopting a more pragmatic, decentralized, market- orientated approach to status planning if the country is to succeed in its efforts to promote the African languages.