Redress and Transformation

Abstract

To what extent has South Africa achieved redress and transformation as envisioned in its post-apartheid constitution? What racial and class inequities related to language remain, and how can they be remedied? Addressing these questions, this chapter examines the role of English versus Afrikaans and indigenous languages, particularly in education. It discusses the Black population’s identifying Afrikaans with apartheid oppression while viewing English as the language of resistance and upward mobility. It looks at three decisions of the Constitutional Court, one of which laid the groundwork for addressing the right to “receive education in the official language of one’s choice.” The other two decisions upheld university policies that eliminated or minimized instruction in Afrikaans in favor of English. The chapter questions whether the Court’s most recent “multilingual turn” looking beyond the past, in the case against Stellenbosch University, can effectively reshape public discourse and language policies across education.