"Can I choose?" The future of African languages
Donation protected
My name is Phumla Zita. I am a 33-year-old Xhosa speaking woman, born in South Africa, in the mid-80s? I was born during one of the toughest and darkest times in our country, the time of Apartheid! This system enforced racial discrimination against non-Whites in South Africans.
One of the government laws was called “The Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974” The law made it mandatory for Black schools to use the Afrikaans language as the medium of instruction in Mathematics, Social Sciences and Geography at schools. The government believed that the only reason to teach a black child was to train them to work in either factories or farms. So learning Afrikaans would make communication easier for their Afrikaans or English speaking employer.
“I have not consulted the African people on the language issue and I’m not going to. An African might find that ‘the big boss’ spoke only Afrikaans or English. It would be to his advantage to know both languages". These are the words of Punt Janson who was the Deputy Minister of the Bantu Education at the time.
This policy was deeply unpopular since Afrikaans was regarded as the language of the oppressor by the black people. On June 16 1976,the students organised mass rallies across the country. The police responded with bullets while angry students retaliated by throwing stones at them. The official death toll of school children who died on that day is still not clear; it could have been higher than 200.
The killing of Hector Peterson, aged 12, and in particular the publication of his photograph taken by Sam Nzima, made him an international icon of the uprising. It became the major rallying point of the struggle against apartheid and Bantu Education. 16th of June is a National Youth day, a public holiday day in the country. Its is a reminder of all those school children who died because they refused to be thought in the language "of the oppressor"
44 years later, hundreds of black children and parents are still fighting for an opportunity to be able to learn to read, write and speak their home languages at school.
"Can I choose?" is a film that is mean to start a National and International debate and awareness and maybe the education system can seriously look in to this issue. There are serious questions to be answered
"Why should parents have to pay extra tutors to get help with Afrikaans homework?"
Why are there not enough black teachers in multiracial schools to teach kids African languages?
A second language is deemed an additional language if it is present in a child's environment outside the classroom. Otherwise it is a foreign language. Am I correct to class Afrikaans as a foreign language to these Black Children? Why are our children forced to be learn Afrikaans in 2020?
The film will also focus on the danger that African languages will face in the future as we are looking at the generation who will not be able to read write and speak their home languages.
Your donations will help to make this film possible and help me raise the awareness on this issue. My goal is to touch and reach as many people as I can. That is why I chose the film platform as it is more affective.
Your support will be greatly appreciated.
One of the government laws was called “The Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974” The law made it mandatory for Black schools to use the Afrikaans language as the medium of instruction in Mathematics, Social Sciences and Geography at schools. The government believed that the only reason to teach a black child was to train them to work in either factories or farms. So learning Afrikaans would make communication easier for their Afrikaans or English speaking employer.
“I have not consulted the African people on the language issue and I’m not going to. An African might find that ‘the big boss’ spoke only Afrikaans or English. It would be to his advantage to know both languages". These are the words of Punt Janson who was the Deputy Minister of the Bantu Education at the time.
This policy was deeply unpopular since Afrikaans was regarded as the language of the oppressor by the black people. On June 16 1976,the students organised mass rallies across the country. The police responded with bullets while angry students retaliated by throwing stones at them. The official death toll of school children who died on that day is still not clear; it could have been higher than 200.
The killing of Hector Peterson, aged 12, and in particular the publication of his photograph taken by Sam Nzima, made him an international icon of the uprising. It became the major rallying point of the struggle against apartheid and Bantu Education. 16th of June is a National Youth day, a public holiday day in the country. Its is a reminder of all those school children who died because they refused to be thought in the language "of the oppressor"
44 years later, hundreds of black children and parents are still fighting for an opportunity to be able to learn to read, write and speak their home languages at school.
"Can I choose?" is a film that is mean to start a National and International debate and awareness and maybe the education system can seriously look in to this issue. There are serious questions to be answered
"Why should parents have to pay extra tutors to get help with Afrikaans homework?"
Why are there not enough black teachers in multiracial schools to teach kids African languages?
A second language is deemed an additional language if it is present in a child's environment outside the classroom. Otherwise it is a foreign language. Am I correct to class Afrikaans as a foreign language to these Black Children? Why are our children forced to be learn Afrikaans in 2020?
The film will also focus on the danger that African languages will face in the future as we are looking at the generation who will not be able to read write and speak their home languages.
Your donations will help to make this film possible and help me raise the awareness on this issue. My goal is to touch and reach as many people as I can. That is why I chose the film platform as it is more affective.
Your support will be greatly appreciated.
Organizer and beneficiary
Phumla Zita
Organizer
Emma Auld
Beneficiary
