The Decolonisation of African Languages: Insights from Southern Africa

Abstract

In this article, we draw inspiration from the learners’ movement witnessed at the University of Cape Town in 2015, which raised concerns similar to those raised at the Malaysia Conference in 2011 and at University College London in 2014. These concerns focused on the quest for non-Eurocentric paradigms in education. This article evaluates the progress made thus far to decolonise the use of African languages to fight linguicide. Thus, the article seeks to identify, describe, and evaluate what has been done in Southern African countries to answer the decolonial call and its challenges through discussing the prevailing problems of decolonising language policies. Using the decolonisation lens and document analysis, we use South Africa and Zimbabwe as case studies to check the urgency of the effort and then propose tentative actions that go beyond the rhetoric and writings of the decolonisation agenda.

Keywords:

• African languages
• decolonisation
• Southern Africa
• linguicide
• epistemicide
• basic education