The linguistic rights of ethnic minorities and language policy in South Africa.

M. Tech. Language PracticeEleven languages were accorded official status at the start of the democratic dispensation in South Africa in 1994, nine of which are Black South African languages. These languages do not appear to be treated equally in most settings, and the linguistic rights of ethnic minorities, especially, seem to be neglected, although the constitution protects them. This study set out to find out how ethnic minorities feel about the state of language practice in South Africa, with regard to their linguistic rights. Ethnic minorities in this country comprise of Tsonga, Swati, Venda, and Ndebele groups. The main aims of this study were to: investigate whether ethnic minorities perceive their languages as treated equally, in relation to other official languages in South Africa; assess whether a multilingual society can exist without ethnic minorities being 'neglected' or sidelined; and, survey views on the effectiveness of language policy and implementation in South Africa in different domains of life