Mainstreaming language

Language Rights

Mainstreaming of Language Rights into other OSISA programmes

Language Rights issues will be integrated into the existing OSISA programmes, as well as into any new programmes that may emerge. The other OSISA programme areas are:

Economic Justice
Education
Gender and Communication
HIV and AIDS
Human Rights and Democracy Building
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
Media.

Economic Justice Programme

OSISA Language Rights work will contribute to economic justice through:

assessment of public expenditure management issues on language development;
translation for local communities of key policy documents including Nepad and Poverty Reduction Strategy Plans (PRSPs).

Education Programme

OSISA will be involved in four main language issues relating to education:

language in education policy issues;
language research and the production of scholarly publications;
production of language materials for various levels;
harmonisation of the orthographies of the indigenous languages of Southern Africa.

Language in Education Policy Issues

OSISA will seek to influence policy in the following aspects of language in education practice:

determining the language(s) of instruction at all levels of the education system to enhance the right to quality education for all;
influencing the choice of languages taught (or to be taught) at various levels of the system.

Language Research and the Production of Scholarly Publications

OSISA will commission and/ or undertake research on various crucial and relevant aspects of language in the OSISA countries. These will include:

research into language policies of the region;
research into language use;
description of indigenous African languages that have not been reduced to writing for historical or political reasons;
contribution to scientific (scholarly) journals on the indigenous African languages of the OSISA countries.

Production of Language Materials for Various Levels

OSISA will seek to influence the following, through the provision of linguistic support:

the development of relevant and appropriate indigenous African languages materials for schools;
the development of indigenous African languages materials for out-of school youth;
the development of indigenous African languages materials for adult literacy;
the development of technical terminologies in indigenous African languages;
the production of glossaries, monolingual dictionaries in indigenous African languages, multilingual dictionaries in three or more indigenous African languages, bilingual dictionaries in African language-English-African language/ African language-Portuguese-African language

Harmonisation of the Orthographies of the Indigenous Languages of Southern Africa

One of the problems facing indigenous African languages is the lack of adequate and suitable published materials in all disciplines and at all levels. A related problem is that the little material that exists tends to be in diverse orthographies even in genetically related languages. In some instances, the same language spoken in two or more countries uses different orthographies. This is a hinderance to development.

OSISA will continue to encourage and support the harmonisation of the languages of Southern Africa, especially those that are spoken across national boundaries. This will include the Khoe and San Languages spoken in Botswana, Namibia and Angola.

HIV and AIDS Programme

One of the major problems that has hampered HIV and AIDS campaigns has been the stigma associated with the pandemic. As a result, language that should be used in talking about HIV and AIDS is taboo in many indigenous African languages.

Since the most appropriate language in which people should be told about the pandemic is the mother tongue, it is imperative that HIV and AIDS practitioners familiarise themselves with language that is both socially acceptable and effective.

The Language Rights Fellowship will contribute to the HIV and AIDS Programme in the following ways:

promotion of training in indigenous languages;
distribution of information in various indigenous African languages.

Promotion of Training in Indigenous Languages for Practitioners in the HIV and AIDS sector

This will entail:

identification of taboo words and euphemisms affecting the efficacy of HIV and AIDS awareness campaigns;
understanding of equivalents or near equivalents between scientific terminology and popular 'jargons' in indigenous African languages used in referring to various aspects of the pandemic;
understanding of traditional myths and facts about HIV and AIDS;
encouraging and supporting HIV and AIDS awareness campaigns through plays, music and poems in indigenous African languages.

Distribution of Information in Various Indigenous African Languages

To ensure that the masses have access to basic information on HIV and AIDS, OSISA will advocate for and promote:

the translation of leaflets, pamphlets and monographs on various aspects of the pandemic from English and Portuguese into indigenous African languages of Southern Africa, and from one indigenous African language to another;
adequate distribution of the publications on HIV and AIDS amongst the communities for whom they are intended.

Human Rights and Democracy Building Programme

The Language Rights Fellowship can contribute to the Human Rights and Democracy Building programme in a number of ways. Language rights are human rights. The Fellowship's involvement in this programme will thus include the following:

raising awareness of civil society on human rights issues in the languages they understand and appreciate most, i.e., indigenous African languages;
promoting access to justice by advocating for the provision of interpretation and translation facilities for accused persons;
advocating for access to information in the indigenous African languages on public service and accountability;
advocating and, to some extent, supporting the translation of key legislation and policy documents from English and Portuguese into the indigenous African languages;
advocating and, to some extent, supporting the translation of constitutions from English and Portuguese into the indigenous African languages;
advocating for proper and systematic training of court interpreters and translators.

ICT Programme

OSISA will provide linguistic support to the following projects that fall under the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) programme:

content development in indigenous African languages;
implementing web-based translations;
connectivity and networking for language practitioners.

Media Programme

OSISA will promote the use of indigenous languages in community media and encourage the development of indigenous language newspapers by providing sociolinguistic and other 'technical' support.

Indigenous Languages Capacity Building Support for Community Media

OSISA will:

encourage and support the use of local languages on community media broadcasts which may not be among the officially recognised languages of the country;
undertake or commission a survey of the language varieties spoken in the catchment area of the community media or of the planned community media;
conduct or commission a mini investigation of listeners' views and attitudes towards the use of local language(s) on community media vis-� -vis the use of officially recognised indigenous African languages and/ or the ex-colonial language (English or Portuguese).

Support for Private Indigenous Language Newspapers