[lg policy] South Africa: WCape govt to fight proposed languages Bill

[Harold Schiffman]

WCape govt to fight proposed languages Bill
Daniel Johnson
21 February 2012

Dr Ivan Meyer say province's constitution guarantees equal status of
three languages Minister Meyer reiterates his determination to fight
proposed National Language Bill

20 Feb 2012

On the eve of International Mother Language Day which is celebrated on
21 February 2012, Dr Ivan Meyer, Minister of Cultural Affairs and
Sport in the Western Cape, today reiterated his determination to fight
any attempts by the national government to marginalise any of the
official languages of the Western Cape.

Speaking at the Western Cape Language Committee's annual language
colloquium Dr Meyer said: "Section 13 of the Western Cape Language Act
of 1998 guarantees the equal status of the three official languages of
the Western Cape.

It is a tragedy that the Western Cape has to be considering taking the
national government to court over a right that is enshrined in the
Constitution. This colloquium is however, not just about language. It
is more importantly about promoting social inclusion".

Dr Meyer added that the Western Cape Language Policy does justice to
the spirit of the Constitution of South Africa. "We do however, still
have lots of work to do to promote the equal status of the three
languages of the Western Cape and the Western Cape Provincial
Parliament must lead by example" says Meyer.

Speaking at the same colloquium, Dr Michael le Cordeur, Chairperson of
the Western Cape Language Committee, expressed his concern at the lack
of a national language policy for South Africa. "The Western Cape has
indeed done ground-breaking work in this regard and we hope that our
submissions to the national portfolio committee will be considered.

Our languages are national assets that need to be enhanced and
protected. Language rights cannot be divorced from human rights, says
le Cordeur. He thanked Dr Meyer for his support and robust response to
aspects of the proposed Language Bill which could impact negatively on
the language rights of the citizens of the Western Cape.

Other speakers at the colloquium included Dr Neville Alexander,
Professor Ana Deumert and Dr Stan Ridge.

Statement issued by Daniel Johnson (Head of Communication), Western
Cape Cultural Affairs and Sport, February 20 2012

http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71654?oid=281405&sn=Detail&pid=71616

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