Multiple messages

[Harold F. Schiffman]

1. from AllAfrica Global Media
http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200511100690.html

Indigenous Languages Should Find Their Right Place Says Mnumzana

Buanews (Tshwane)  November 10, 2005 Posted to the web November 10, 2005

By Mosidi Mohlakela
Bloemfontein

Indigenous languages must find their rightful place in society to promote
multilingualism and celebrate cultural diversity. Speaking at the first
session of the Multilingual Information and Development Project here
yesterday, Sports, Arts and Culture MEC Suzan Mnumzana said this signified
a new era for indigenous languages in the Free State to entrench their
right place in society. The session involved different stakeholders,
including a committee from government departments and academia in
preparation for the province's Language Policy.

The Sports, Arts and Culture department is responsible for the managing of
linguistic resources in the province. "We must move with a faster pace
towards giving concrete effect of our Constitutional mandate of allowing
people to use their own languages without discrimination," Ms Mnumzana
said. Ms Mnumzana asserted that the use and recognition of indigenous
languages would make basic services and work of government accessible to
all.

The department will also work hand in hand with the Pan South African
Language Board, which will play a pivotal role in monitoring and
implementing the Language Policy. The MEC appealed to district and local
municipalities to help promote the use of the indigenous languages within
the provincial framework and to consult with communities in developing
multilingual policies. She said the policy to be drafted should be in line
with Batho Pele principles.

2. From AllAfrica Global Media
http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200511100087.html


Time to Revolutionise Languages in Courts

Financial Gazette (Harare) November 9, 2005

By Vote Muza
Harare

IN all court hearings, be it civil, criminal or private arbitration, the
issue of language plays a central role. Since communication is key to a
successful court hearing, it is important to place the subject of language
use in all forms of litigation under scrutiny. There is an overriding need
at the present moment to investigate the use of English in all formal and
informal courts, and judge whether at the present moment, our legal system
still desires English as the sole medium of communication. Is it not that
English might still be in use just because it's fashionable to do so, and
not because it plays a practical purpose in the search for the truth and
justice?

Before I delve into the main discussion, let me highlight, albeit in
brief, the procedural requirements as regards usage of English. In
criminal courts, when an accused is arraigned for prosecution, he is asked
by the magistrate to state the language that he prefers. If a suspect
cannot converse in English, or prefers an indigenous language for better
expression, the an interpreter shall be required. The role of the
interpreter shall be to translate the oral evidence of the suspect, and or
any other witnesses for the benefit of the court. Whatever will be
translated by the court interpreter shall be placed on record by the
magistrate or judge, whatever the case may be.

The same process applies with equal force in civil matters. Those readers
who are familiar with court hearings may have noted something interesting.
Often, one may find a court presided over by a magistrate who understands
the local vernacular language being assisted by an interpreter to record
the testimony of an accused or witness who also converses in the same
vernacular! How many times has one attended a court session in a remote
area of Zimbabwe to find proceedings being feverishly conducted in
English? In doing so, regard is not taken of the illiteracy or lack of
sophistication of the accused, witnesses, and where civil matters are
concerned, all or any one of the litigants.

Is it not obvious that the strict adherence to the use of English at times
serves no purpose other than to waste valuable time? Rather than make
courts accessible, user-friendly and helpful, the continued use of this
language may unnecessarily obfuscate matters, mystify courts, intimidate
accused persons and witnesses and at the same time repel audiences from
attending court sessions. It is my humble belief that as far as the
language policy in courts is concerned, we are still suffering from a
debilitating colonial hang-over.

We need to urgently drift from the past and acknowledge that our society
as well as our legal system have evolved over the years, and as such a
Zimbabwean identity needs to be adopted. Already, the foundation was laid
when Customary Courts were introduced after independence. Some may argue
that these courts require the use of indigenous languages because of their
inherent nature, but however, my respectful view is that the
substantiveness of the disputes they handle is not materially different
from that of the formal courts.

In propagating the view I hold about language use in courts, I must not be
misunderstood as one calling for an absolute abrogation of the use of the
English language in our courts. Rather, a practical, convenient way of
introducing indigenous languages must be found and that process must not
upset the paramount need to search for and uphold justice. Indeed, if the
possible use of vernacular is going to facilitate in the simplification of
procedures, why not adopt it? I am always mindful of the fact that people,
by their very nature, are less accommodative of any radical
transformations, but be that as it may, I still argue my case and insist
that it is time certain cases are entirely heard in Shona and Ndebele.
Depending on the nature of the case, its complexity, the sophistication of
a litigant or litigants, and where such a process may be desirable in the
interests of justice, I cannot foresee any reason why the use of English
may not be abandoned in preference of indigenous languages. How wonderful
it would be to wake up one day and find a well reasoned Supreme Court
judgment written in Shona or Ndebele.

As noted it is a sheer waste of time to insist on using the services of an
interpreter where most of the parties including judicial officers are
conversant with a vernacular language. For the sake of convenience and
saving valuable time and also for the avoidance of seeking clarification
where an interpreter fails to understand a witness properly, the only
practical remedy should be to order the use of an indigenous language.
Many resources are poured into employing court interpreters but really, is
it compelling that their services be part and parcel of each and every
court action? I think not.

The legal system we employ was imposed by colonialists a century ago, but
that does not mean that we cannot take remedial steps to Africanise it. I
am aware that certain principles that underpin the Roman and Roman Dutch
Law can hardly be expressed or argued in a vernacular language. However,
as I have already argued, that alone cannot discourage us from exploring
and introducing procedures that accommodate African languages. The
introduction of local languages will certainly not alter the substance of
our law, but will merely seek to simplify procedures. The advantages of
ushering in this revolutionary process are too numerous to mention, but
one outstanding reward will be the upliftment of our languages, which form
the heart and soul of our cultures.

It is not too late to set up a task force of eminent lawyers and
sociologists under the supervision of Parliament to launch an inquiry into
the possibility of transforming the language policy in courts. The
sensitivity or delicacy of this matter requires a sober approach. It
requires a wide consultative process so as to find a mutually agreed
position among all stakeholders who include judges, magistrates, lawyers,
civil society, traditional leaders and any others.

lVote Muza is a legal practitioner with Gutu and Chikowero. He can be
contacted on Gutulaw at mweb.co.zw

3. From the Daily Times (Pakistan) Saturday, November 12, 2005

COMMENT: Language, learning and politics Abbas Rashid

 Given the status of Urdu as a national language, the Urdu-speaking
mohajirs or those coming here from other parts of the country in search of
employment have not felt any compulsion to learn Sindhi. On the other
hand, Sindhis have had to learn Urdu for upward mobility. This imbalance
needs to be redressed As if we did not have enough on our hands right now,
the language issue in Sindh has cropped up again. The controversy started
when the education department issued a notification in September this year
that Sindhi salees (simple) be taught at the college level to Urdu
speaking students just as Urdu (salees) is taught to Sindhi-speaking
students. The notification was issued on the directive of the governor
after he met a delegation of the Sindh Professors and Lecturers
Association. After being referred to the Ministry of Education in
Islamabad, it became effective a month after the academic session had
started.

Inevitably, as with most such decisions, no time had been allowed for
providing for the teachers required to carry out the initiative.
Resistance on these and other less rational grounds led to the decision
that teaching of Sindhi (salees) be made optional at the Intermediate
level. This, now, has become an issue for Sindhi nationalists as well as
others for whom it serves as a reminder of the status accorded to their
mother tongue even in the province of Sindh. At one level, obviously,
playing fast and loose with educational matters is par for the course.
Arbitrary decisions regarding language, curriculum, textbooks and
assessment systems have been the rule rather than the exception. And where
this lack of seriousness about education has landed us is clearly
illustrated by the current state of our education system.

Apart from the question of which languages should be compulsory till what
level is the premium that is placed on the mother tongue. Over the years,
one study after another has illustrated that children learn best in their
mother tongue in the early stages of education. Once their cognitive
faculties are sufficiently developed through its use, they are far better
placed to learn in any language. For any province, nationality or cultural
group the issue of the mother tongue or language of culture is an
important one. But, Sindhi has been something of a special case, more
comparable to Bengali in East Pakistan at the time of independence. It
was, as Dr Tariq Rahman has pointed out, the language of power at least at
the lower echelons and was the medium of instruction in most schools,
though the situation changed rapidly with the large influx of
Urdu-speaking mohajirs in the province, post-partition.

It was not, then, mere coincidence that language in East Pakistan and
Sindh became even more of a political issue as a result of the policies
followed by successive governments in Pakistan. The mistaken view that
exalting Urdus status and ignoring regional languages would lead to
quicker and better integration unity through uniformity exacted a heavy
political price. The downgrading of regional languages and a suspicion of
cultural pluralism has served neither the cause of language nor that of
building a composite culture. To the extent that the latter project has
moved ahead, more usually it has been despite official policy rather than
because of it.

Clearly, the option to study any of the provincial languages must remain
open at all levels but language policy in the context of schooling must be
carefully thought through at the primary level not just with regard to
Sindh but also the rest of the country. It is at this stage that the
childs cognitive skills are honed through the use of the mother tongue. It
is also a stage in which he or she can comfortably learn more than one
language. This is obviously not a simple matter. Most provinces today are
linguistically diverse. But a multi-cultural state has its imperatives and
this just happens to be one of them.  Possibly, the primary cycle or the
elementary stage could be sequenced to give salience to the mother tongue,
Urdu and English in that order. An inordinate emphasis on Urdu or English
from Katchi or Class One is no guarantee that the child will become
proficient in either. The proof of that is certainly before us. Through no
fault of their own a preponderant number of children even after 10 or more
years of schooling find it difficult to express themselves in practically
any language. Neither are teachers properly trained for the job nor are
materials creatively produced to help children learn and develop their
skills in any given language.

What is intriguing, however, is also the relative lack of passion
demonstrated at the wider political or popular level on the issue of what
exactly children are learning as opposed to the language in which they are
supposed to learn. While quality in education remains elusive for the most
part in much of the rest of the country as well, the situation in Sindh is
particularly dismal in terms of the number of non-functional schools and
qualified teachers. In any case, putting in place a rational language
policy with respect to the education system must take cognisance of the
political baggage and economic interests associated with the broader
issue. Given the status of Urdu as a national language and its role as
lingua franca, the Urdu-speaking mohajirs or those coming here from other
parts of the country in search of employment have not felt any compulsion
to learn Sindhi. On the other hand given the inevitable flow from the
rural areas to the urban centres, Sindhis have had to learn Urdu for
upward mobility.

This imbalance needs to be redressed. If Sindh is to have an integrated
middle class which can take the province forward, Sindhi speakers must see
some evidence of their language being accorded due status that goes beyond
mere official directives and notifications.

Abbas Rashid is a freelance journalist and political analyst whose career
has included editorial positions in various Pakistani newspapers

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2005%5C11%5C12%5Cstory_12-11-2005_pg3_2