"Tribalism is a social phenomenon polarising South Africa along ethnic lines and undermining democratic efforts for social cohesion in the newly reconfigured inclusive territorial zones. Community radio is expected to play a social cohesion role of uniting cohabiting disparate ethnic groups within t
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hese spaces by promoting multilingualism. This paper examines the role of community radio policies in promoting social cohesion within the interethnic communities of Collins Chabane Municipality in Limpopo Province, using Malamulele FM and Vuwani FM as case studies. The study is situated within the broadcasting policy perspective and adopted an analytic approach to document studies which combined elements of content analysis and thematic analysis to analyse the policies of Malamulele FM and Vuwani FM that contain detailed language policy provisions. We found that language functions ideologically in these community radio policies and regulatory models to perpetuate tribalism. The article proposes a realignment of community radio language policies and regulation towards the objective of social cohesion and an inclusive South African society by promoting multilingualism in its broadcasting, and away from its current majoritarianism model." (Abstract)
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"This Handbook is an in-depth appraisal of the field of minority languages and communities today. It presents a wide-ranging, coherent picture of the main topics, with key contributions from international specialists in sociolinguistics, policy studies, sociology, anthropology and law. Individual ch
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apters are grouped together in themes, covering regional, non-territorial and migratory language settings across the world. It is the essential reference work for specialist researchers, scholars in ancillary disciplines, research and coursework students, public agencies and anyone interested in language diversity, multilingualism and migration." (Publisher description)
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"It is estimated that between 6,000 and 7,000 languages are currently spoken worldwide, of which approximately half, if not more, will disappear by the end of this century [...] Language plays a central role not only for the preservation of identity and culture, but also in matters of non-discrimina
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tion and access to a variety of rights [...] As a small number of dominant languages gain an increasing hold, the pressure on communities speaking minority and indigenous languages will grow [...] African states should revise their laws and policies, in line with current understanding of language rights, to ensure minority and indigenous language rights are respected ..." (Key findings)
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"This book deals with the often-neglected link between indigenous languages, media and democracy in Africa. It recognizes that the media plays an amplifying role that is vital to modern-day expression, public participation and democracy but that without the agency to harness media potential, many Af
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ricans will be excluded from public discourse." (Publisher description)
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"This brief manifesto aims to help citizens and organisations of all types to realise the great importance of linguistic diversity and to become committed to defending it. It aims to be a tool for the necessary consensus to ‘correct language imbalance and to ensure respect and full development for
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all languages, to establish the principles of language peace in the whole planet, in a fair and equitable manner, as a key factor for living together.’ At Linguapax we are convinced that respect for linguistic diversity must be fostered through families, communities and schools so that we are educated in this culture, promoting peace." (Page 4)
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"Radio has been called ‘Africa’s medium’. Its wide accessibility is a result of a number of factors, including the liberalisation policies of the ‘third wave’ of democracy and its ability to transcend the barriers of cost, geographical boundaries, the colonial linguistic heritage and low l
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iteracy levels. This sets it apart from other media platforms in facilitating political debate, shaping identities and assisting listeners as they negotiate the challenges of everyday life on the continent. Radio in Africa breaks new ground by bringing together essays on the multiple roles of radio in the lives of listeners in Anglophone, Lusophone and Francophone Africa. Some essays turn to the history of radio and its part in the culture and politics of countries such as Angola and South Africa. Others – such as the essay on Mali, gender and religion – show how radio throws up new tensions yet endorses social innovation and the making of new publics. A number of essays look to radio’s current role in creating listening communities that radically shift the nature of the public sphere. Essays on the genre of the talk show in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa point to radio’s role in creating a robust public sphere. Radio’s central role in the emergence of informed publics in fragile national spaces is covered in essays on the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia. The book also highlights radio’s links to the new media, its role in resistance to oppressive regimes such as Zimbabwe, and points in several cases – for example in the essay on Uganda – to the importance of African languages in building modern communities that embrace both local and global knowledge." (Publisher description)
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"Topics covered include the ongoing linguistic processes, controversies, and implications of language modernization; the functions of South Asian languages within the legal system, media, cinema, and religion; language conflicts and politics, and Sanskrit and its long traditions of study and teachin
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g. Language in South Asia is an accessible interdisciplinary book for students and scholars in sociolinguistics, multilingualism, language planning and South Asian studies." (Publisher description)
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"This book aims to provide a descriptive and analytical account of subsidy policies for periodical publications in Western Europe in 2006. It sets out the position of the policymakers who design and implement such policies, of sector industrial federations and of academics specialised in media polic
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ies and economics, as presented at the First International Symposium Press Subsidies in Europe: Development, Pluralism and Transparency, held in Barcelona on 19 and 20 June, 2006, and promoted and organised by the Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya via the Communication Secretariat, the Catalan Institute for the Cultural Industries and Patronat Català Pro Europa) and by the Institute of Communication of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona." (Back cover)
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"Oft setzen wichtige Veränderungen in so genannten Randbereichen, also außerhalb der Mainstream-Medien, ein und werden schon deshalb nicht genügend wahrgenommen. Eine Schlussfolgerung, die ich aus meiner Arbeit ziehe, ist, dass der von ›Rändern‹ ausgehenden Dynamik, gerade auch in der Entwic
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klung multilingualer Formate, erhöhte Aufmerksamkeit gebührt. Solche Dyna miken sind nicht zuletzt außerhalb der westlichen Welt zu beobachten, die in Theoriebildung und Methoden der Kommunikationsforschung noch zu oft als verbindlicher Maßstab herangezogen wird. Aus Sicht der Zentren kann beispielsweise, was auf dem informellen Sektor passiert, ebenso unterschätzt werden wie der (sprachenpolitische) Impakt, den internationale Dienste wie BBC, Voice of America oder Radio France Internationale in verschiedenen ›lokalen‹ Kontexten rund um die Welt besitzen. Meine Arbeit versteht sich als Aufforderung, sich gerade solcher blinder Flecken vermehrt wissenschaftlich anzunehmen. Aus den in diesem Buch bearbeiteten Beispielen wird erkennbar, dass eine gewisse Tendenz zu einer größeren Sichtbarkeit gesellschaftlicher Mehrsprachigkeit in Medien besteht. Die Entwicklung multilingualer Formate ist zwar für den Moment v. a. in solchen Situationen zu beobachten, wo bewusste Sprachenpolitik im Medienbereich betrieben wird. Sie kommt aber auch in wenig reglementierten Medienbereichen zum Vorschein und kann von dort langsam in den Mainstream vordringen." (Schlussfolgerungen und Ausblick, Seite 279-280)
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"The five case studies on the cost-effectiveness of publishing educational materials in national and local African languages, published in this volume, were commissioned in 1996 on behalf of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) by its Working Group on Books and Learning
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Materials. The UK’s Overseas Development Agency (ODA), which is the lead agency of the ADEA Working Group on Books and Learning Materials, organized two workshops on the topic of publishing books and other educational materials in African national languages, and commissioned these five case studies of the costs and benefits of educational materials in African languages." (Introduction, page 1)
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