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International Conference on Bi- and Multilingual Universities
Helsinki, Finland, 1-3 September 2005
Multilingual Universities
- Observations and Conclusions
Chris Brink
Rector, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
On Language Policy
“Students of language policy fall naturally into two
main groups: the optimists who believe management is
possible, and the pessimists who assume that language
is out of control… The record seems to favour the
pessimists...”
Bernard Spolsky (2004)
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Background: Language Study Tour 2004
• The University of Ottawa, Canada
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Bilingual French/English
• The University of Helsinki, Finland
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Finnish/Swedish (...& English)
• Åbo Akademi, Finland
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Swedish as minority language
• The University of Barcelona, Spain
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Catalan/Spanish
• The University of Fribourg, Switzerland
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French/German (…& English)
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
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Dutch, after splitting the University in two during the 1960s
• The “Historically Afrikaans” Universities in South Africa
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Stellenbosch, Pretoria, Potchefstroom, Free State, Rand Afrikaans
Various minglings of Afrikaans/English (… & African Languages taught)
Various modes of delivery
Conclusions from the tour
• There’s a strong drift to English
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Globalisation & Anglicisation in mutual feedback loop
• Ambivalence towards English (E.g. European Union)
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Pro
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“Lingua franca”
“Internationalisation” (Foreign students)
(Developing world) Passport to jobs/opportunities
Contra
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“Killer English” – invasive species
Linguistic imperialism / Linguistic colonisation
Against sociodiversity
• Multilingualism comes at a cost
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Time, energy, money
Will the state pay? If not, who should?
• Often some cultural mandate at work for multilingualism
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Location and history as powerful influences
Conclusions from the tour (2)
• Two models
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Protectionist (E.g. Leeuven, Åbo Akademi)
Multiculturalist (E.g. Ottawa, Fribourg, Helsinki)
• Different factors at play
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Size of the language (in number of mother-tongue speakers)
Literacy levels in that language? Already used as medium of instruction?
“Higher functions” developed? (Literature, science, technology, research…)
If small, is it a majority language in a nation-state? (Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian
…) Is it a minority language?
Is it an immigrant language, or an indigenous language?
Does it cross national borders?
Is it a majority language elsewhere?
Is it related to its neighbour languages? (E.g. Catalan/Spanish, or
Norwegian/Swedish/Danish)
Does it have moral high ground? Or historical legacy issues?
Do students come to University with basic multilingual competency already
in place, or do they have to acquire it?
Conclusions from the tour (3)
• No “one size fits all” model for multilingual universities
• Nevertheless some similarities regarding implementation in HE
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The “English veto” problem
The cost factor: time, energy, money
Provision of language programs
Provision of study material
Translation services
The needs of international students
Recruitment of multilinguistically competent staff
South African realities
• 11 Official Languages
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Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English,
isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu.
All of them minority languages in terms of mother-tongue speakers
According to the Constitution, enjoying “parity of esteem”
9 Provinces, each choose 2 or more official languages
• Realities for Afrikaans
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6 million mother-tongue speakers
Closest relation: Dutch
Indigenous, but not African
Historical legacy:
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Afrikaner nationalism grew strongy after the Boer War
Afrikaans became identified as the language of apartheid
Stellenbosch associated both with the rise of Afrikaans and with the conceptualisation
of apartheid
1976 Soweto uprising arose from Afrikaans being made compulsory as a language of
instruction in certain subjects.
South African realities (2)
• Realities for Stellenbosch
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Historical legacy issues remain a strong factor
Most African Black students do not speak Afrikaans, nor do they wish to
To promote multiculturalism, we should recruit African Black students
They prefer to be taught in English
But then there is the danger of language displacement
• Problem
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How do we create and sustain a safe space for Afrikaans and the other 9
indigenous languages in the presence of English as an “equal partner”?
Some Ideas
• Macrolevel: Sociodiversity compared to Biodiversity
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Biodiversity is accepted as a global good
Is Sociodiversity not likewise a global good?
The multiculturalist approach is an attempt to support and sustain sociodiversity
Multilingualism is one aspect of multiculturalism
• The challenge for multilingualism is Sustainability
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Proposal: “Mother-tongue + 2”
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How can we create a sustainable safe space for small languages?
Especially in the presence of large international languages?
International language (to be globally competitive)
National Language (to be an active citizen)
Mother tongue (for sustainable sociodiversity)
Baie dankie
Thank you
Enkosi kakhulu
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