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9 - An Analysis of the Language Legislation Effects in the Banking Sector

Towards the Realisation of Multilingualism in South Africa

from Part II - Multilingualism and Intellectualisation of African Languages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

By
Menzi Zamokwakhe Thango  and
Wisdom Ntando Moyo
Edited by
Russell H. Kaschula  and
H. Ekkehard Wolff
Russell H. Kaschula
Affiliation:
Rhodes University, South Africa
H. Ekkehard Wolff
Affiliation:
Universität Leipzig
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Summary

This chapter analyses the South African language policies in relation to the use of African languages in South African banks. The study argues that the legislative efforts to achieve multilingualism within the banking sector fall very short of their goal. While the language policies are good on paper, the practicality of attaining their goal is far from being achieved. South Africa is a multilingual country with eleven official languages, including the sign language. However, the current language practices in the South African banks do not resonate with the multilingualism envisaged in the Constitution of 1996 and national language policies. This is evident in banks where only English is used as the sole language of communication and record, a predicament that elevates it to being the ‘language of business’. The irony, however, is that the majority of customers in banks are speakers of indigenous African languages.

Keywords

Language planning and policybanksindigenous African languagesmultilingualism
Type
Chapter
Information
The Transformative Power of Language
From Postcolonial to Knowledge Societies in Africa
 , pp. 193 - 206
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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References

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