A case study of civil society organisations' initiatives for the development and promotion of linguistic human rights in Zimbabwe (1980-2004)

摘要

This thesis considers the initiatives of civil society organizations involved in efforts toudrevitalize the endoglossic minority languages in Zimbabwe in the period following theudattainment of political independence in 1980. The study sought to understand howudparticular organs of civil society in Zimbabwe, such as the Catholic Commission forudJustice and Peace in Zimbabwe, Silveira House, Save the Children Fund (UnitedudKingdom), and the African Languages Research Institute, have contributed to theuddevelopment and promotion of linguistic human rights in Zimbabwe. These civil societyudorganizations have worked with grassroots organizations formed by speakers of theudendoglossic minority languages, such as the Tonga Language and Cultural Organizationudand the Zimbabwe Indigenous Languages Promotion Association. This thesis traces theudinitiatives undertaken by these organs of civil society through the formation ofudcollaborative networks involving the various actors who collectively mobilized for theudlinguistic human rights of minority language groups in Zimbabwe.udA qualitative approach to research was adopted for this study. Data was collected throughudqualitative interviews with key informants as well as through documentary materials thatudwere collected from the identified organizations involved in the minority languageudrevitalization project in Zimbabwe. Drawing on analytic frameworks of languageudrevitalization efforts advanced by Fishman (1991, 2001), Crystal (2000), Skutnabb-udKangas (2000) and Adegbija (1997), I argue that the minority language revitalizationudefforts in Zimbabwe targeted two main domains of language use; education and theudmedia. I further identify three main strategies that were adopted in advocating for anudincreased presence of the minority languages in these domains.udThe first strategy involved what Fishman calls the search for “ideological consensus” andud“prior value consensus”. This strategy involved efforts by the language activists toudmobilize the grassroots members of the minority language-speaking community toudassume an ideological orientation whereby the minority languages were viewed as audresource and a right, and to actively participate in developing and promoting theirudlanguages. The second strategy arose from the focus on the state’s language ideology asudconstituting the basis on which the marginalization of their languages was legitimated.udThis second strategy, identified as an ideological or politically-oriented languageudrevitalization strategy, involved instituting measures that challenged the state’s languageudpolicy as the manifestation of an exclusionary and linguicist state language ideology. Theudthird strategy, identified as a language-based and technically-oriented languageudrevitalization strategy involved initiatives geared towards corpus development of theudminority endoglossic languages.udThis thesis concludes that these language revitalization initiatives were successfuludbecause as a result of these initiatives, the Government of Zimbabwe made concessionsudthat gave the minority language groups a bigger stake in their targeted domains: theudMinistry of Information and Publicity set up a radio station broadcasting exclusively inudthe minority languages, and the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture put in placeudnew provisions on the learning and teaching of minority languages which allowed for theudteaching of minority languages up to Grade 7 by 2005, with room for annual progressionudto secondary school level.