EDITORIAL | Afrikaans is a cultural celebration of SA’s diversity

The Constitutional Court handed down judgment last week on the University of SA’s (Unisa) 2016 decision to adopt a new language policy and discontinue Afrikaans as a language of learning. The apex court ruled the move to halt Afrikaans classes was in contravention of the constitution, rendering Unisa’s decision invalid. This came after a five-year legal battle between Unisa and AfriForum, which described the court ruling as a “victory for Afrikaans, Afrikaans-speaking students and language rights in SA”. 

The ConCourt judges were in agreement with the Supreme Court of Appeal, which last June reviewed and set aside Unisa’s policy to adopt a revised language policy.

At first glance, the judgment may appear to some to be unfair - why should the language of apartheid still be used as a language of tuition, 27 years after the dawn of democracy? English is not only the language most spoken and understood by all South Africans but also a world language. It seems logical and practical for this to be the preferred option. Apart from that argument, SA has 11 official languages, so why, so many years after the end of apartheid, are so few of these used in formal channels of communication?

The judges took pains to cite several sources going back to the beginnings of the language, before it was corrupted by the National Party government and its apartheid apparatus. 

AfriForum launched its court application partly based on arguments that Unisa’s language policy was inconsistent with section 29 (2) of the constitution, which states that everyone has a right to receive education in the official language of their choice in public educational institutions. The matter has become a debate in which many could easily argue for or against AfriForum’s position. Its complexity is evident in how SA’s lower and higher courts have taken opposing views on the issue.

The high court, for instance, ruled against AfriForum when it launched an application to review and set aside Unisa’s language policy. AfriForum then turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which agreed with the organisation, prompting Unisa to appeal to the ConCourt for a final decision.

The SCA argued that when a student already enjoyed the benefit of being taught in an official language of their choice, the state had a duty not to diminish that right without appropriate justification. 

The ConCourt said that, while it was open to Unisa providing evidence to justify the phasing out of Afrikaans in the future, for the moment there was no clear or convincing evidence supporting reasons to limit the right to receive education. It argued it was a misconception that Afrikaans was “the language of whites” and the “language of the oppressor”, if one considered the roots of the language long before it was hijacked by apartheid rulers and how many South Africans from different races speak it today.

The latest ConCourt ruling should be seen in a wider context. This judgment is specific to Unisa and not specifically pro-Afrikaans. The court found, among other things, that Unisa did not follow the correct processes in adopting its language policy. Unisa is also inherently different from other tertiary institutions because it is a long-distance learning university.

In 2017, the ConCourt upheld the legality of the University of the Free State’s decision to go from dual medium Afrikaans and English to an English medium education institution. In that case, the judges found the university had provided evidence showing its dual medium language policy had sown divisions and intensified racial tension on campus.

Two years later, the ConCourt had to hear a similar matter involving the University of Stellenbosch. Again, it agreed with the university that its language policy - which changed the primary language of instruction from Afrikaans to English - was in line with the constitution.

This context underlines that the latest ruling by the ConCourt should not be abused to create division in our society. The judges took pains to cite several sources going back to the beginnings of the language, before it was corrupted by the National Party government and its apartheid apparatus. 

Part of the judgment reads: “Afrikaans is a veritable potpourri of different languages, melded into what has been referred to in this court as ‘one of the cultural treasures of South African national life, widely spoken and deeply implanted, the vehicle of outstanding literature, the bearer of a rich scientific and legal vocabulary and possibly the most creole or ‘rainbow’ of all South African tongues’. A great injustice is being done to Afrikaans through the contorted hegemonic white history that has been inculcated by Afrikaner Christian national education, propaganda and the media and shamefully overlooks its equally important black history.”

The ConCourt ruling on Unisa should be used to take us forward as a nation, celebrating its unity in diversity instead of being used to support the arguments of those still yearning for a return to white Afrikaans supremacy.