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

1
International Conference on Bi- and Multilingual
Universities Helsinki, Finland, 1-3 September
2005 Multilingual Universities - Observations
and Conclusions Chris BrinkRector,
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
2
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)

3
Background Language Study Tour 2004

• The University of Ottawa, Canada
• Bilingual French/English
• The University of Helsinki, Finland
• Finnish/Swedish (... English)
• Åbo Akademi, Finland
• Swedish as minority language
• The University of Barcelona, Spain
• Catalan/Spanish
• The University of Fribourg, Switzerland
• French/German ( English)
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
• Dutch, after splitting the University in two
  during the 1960s
• The Historically Afrikaans Universities in
  South Africa
• Stellenbosch, Pretoria, Potchefstroom, Free
  State, Rand Afrikaans
• Various minglings of Afrikaans/English (
  African Languages taught)
• Various modes of delivery

4
Conclusions from the tour

• Theres a strong drift to English
• Globalisation Anglicisation in mutual feedback
  loop
• Ambivalence towards English (E.g. European Union)
  
• Pro
• Lingua franca
• Internationalisation (Foreign students)
• (Developing world) Passport to jobs/opportunities
• Contra
• Killer English invasive species
• Linguistic imperialism / Linguistic colonisation
• Against sociodiversity
• Multilingualism comes at a cost
• Time, energy, money
• Will the state pay? If not, who should?
• Often some cultural mandate at work for
  multilingualism
• Location and history as powerful influences

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Conclusions from the tour (2)

• Two models
• Protectionist (E.g. Leeuven, Åbo Akademi)
• Multiculturalist (E.g. Ottawa, Fribourg,
  Helsinki)
• Different factors at play
• 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?

6
Conclusions from the tour (3)

• No one size fits all model for multilingual
  universities
• Nevertheless some similarities regarding
  implementation in HE
• 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

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South African realities

• 11 Official Languages
• 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
• 6 million mother-tongue speakers
• Closest relation Dutch
• Indigenous, but not African
• Historical legacy
• 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.

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South African realities (2)

• Realities for Stellenbosch
• 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
• 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?

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Some Ideas

• Macrolevel Sociodiversity compared to
  Biodiversity
• 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
• How can we create a sustainable safe space for
  small languages?
• Especially in the presence of large international
  languages?
• Proposal Mother-tongue 2
• International language (to be globally
  competitive)
• National Language (to be an active citizen)
• Mother tongue (for sustainable sociodiversity)
  

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Baie dankie Thank you Enkosi kakhulu
11
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