ZAKEERA DOCRAT and RUSSELL H. KASCHULA
THE only nominee for the position of South Africa’s Deputy Chief Justice, Justice Mandisa Maya, has once again put the spotlight on indigenous languages and the justice system. She is the Judge President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
South Africa’s post-apartheid legal profession, through legislation and policy, adopted an English-only approach. English was further elevated when the heads of the courts adopted it as the only official language of record in 2017. But the country has 11 official languages, and the majority of citizens speak an African language as mother tongue.
Only 9.6% of the population speak English as a mother tongue.
The other official languages are Afrikaans, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Setswana, Sepedi, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga and isiZulu. They all have equal status.
The decision to use English only is a missed opportunity for promoting multilingualism. Giving African languages intellectual status would ensure that legal practitioners became proficient in
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