The Historical and Contemporary Sociolinguistic Status Of
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THE HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLINGUISTIC STATUS OF SELECTED MINORITY LANGUAGES IN CIVIL COURTS OF ZIMBABWE by PATSON KUFAKUNESU submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the subject LANGUAGE, LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF D E MUTASA CO – SUPERVISOR: PROF M KADENGE JULY 2017 DECLARATION Student Number: 5576-597-1 I, Patson Kufakunesu, hereby declare that The Historical and Contemporary Sociolinguistic Status of Selected Minority Languages in Civil Courts of Zimbabwe is my own work and it has not previously been submitted for assessment to another university or for another qualification. Signature Date: 4 August 2017 i ABSTRACT This study examines the historical and contemporary sociolinguistic status of three minority languages, namely Shangani, Kalanga and Tonga in Chiredzi, Plumtree and Binga respectively within the civil courts of Zimbabwe. This research problematizes the issue of language choice and usage in civil courtroom discourse by native speakers of the languages under study. The background to this research endeavor is the historical dominance of English, Shona and Ndebele in public institutions as media of communication even in areas where minority languages are dominant, a situation that has resulted in minority languages having a restricted functional space in public life. Respondents in this research included native speakers of the languages under study who have attended civil courtroom sessions either as accused persons or complainants, members of rural communities including community leaders, court interpreters stationed at Binga, Chiredzi and Plumtree magistrates‟ courts and members of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC). Data was also collected from minority language advocacy groups including Tonga Language and Cultural Committee (TOLACCO), Shangani Promotion Trust (SPAT) and Kalanga Language and Culture Development (KLCDA) using semi-structured interviews. In addition, participant observation of civil courtroom proceedings involving native speakers of Kalanga, Tonga and Shangani was done. Documentary analysis of colonial and postcolonial language policies in Zimbabwe was also done. Data was analyzed using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Ecology of Language theories. The findings for this research revealed that historically, language policy making in Zimbabwe has impacted negatively on the functional roles of Shangani, Tonga and Kalanga in civil courtroom communication because of the lack of implementation clauses in national constitutions. Furthermore, language attitudes that were analyzed in conjunction with a number of factors including age, demographics, naming of provinces, awareness of constitutional provisions on language and language-in-education policies were found to be key determinant factors influencing the sociolinguistic status of Kalanga, Tonga and Shangani in civil courtroom discourse. Court interpreting and initiatives by language advocacy groups also impacted on the sociolinguistic status of the languages under study in civil courtroom interaction. ii KEY TERMS Linguistic rights, language planning, language policy, status planning and courtroom discourse, minority language, official language, court interpreting, court interpreter, multilingualism, indigenous language. iii DEDICATION To my late father Agositino Chuma Kufakunesu whose passion for education has been a source of inspiration throughout my academic career. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to express my appreciation and deep gratitude to my Promoter Prof. D.E. Mutasa and Joint Promoter Prof. M. Kadenge for their dedication, patience and academic guidance from the beginning until the completion of this study. They never got tired of providing direction and all the necessary support I requested from them during the writing of this thesis. I feel indebted to you gentlemen. I also would want to appreciate the University of South Africa‟s Financial Aid Bureau for funding this study. Without their financial aid, financial constraints could have stalled the project at some stage. Special thanks also goes to my wife Annah Kufakunesu for singlehandedly taking care of family matters when I concentrated on my study especially during the data gathering process. Many thanks also to my daughters Panashe Aloisia, Chidochashe Claire, Kupakwashe Redemta and son Musasiyashe Daniel for their tolerance as we scaled down on family outings during my research. To my mother Aloisia Kufakunesu, thank you for your prayers and guidance which have taken me this far. Gratitude also goes to participants in this research including members of rural communities of Chiredzi, Binga and Plumtree districts as well as court interpreters stationed in these respective districts. I also would want to appreciate members of TOLACCO, SPAT and KLCDA who participated in this study. Special thanks also goes to the Chief Magistrate and the Judicial Service Commission for allowing me to observe civil courtroom proceedings as well as The Ministry of Rural Government and District adminitrators for Chiredzi, Plumtree and Binga for giving me the permission to gather data in rural communities. I also feel indebted to my friends, Admire Phiri and Shadreck Chakalani, as well as my brother-in-lawJephita Manyise whose knowledge of Kalanga, Tonga and Shangani languages was invaluable in gathering data from native speakers of the respective languages. To my friends and colleagues, Kudzai Gotosa and Lovemore Mutonga: we have been together for a while now.Thank you for being wonderful and supportive throughout this journey. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................. i ABSTRACT………………..……………………………………………………………………..ii KEY TERMS...…………………………………………………………………………………..iii DEDICATION……..…………………………………………………………………………….iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ v CHAPTER 1 .................................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ...................................................................................... 1 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM .................................................................................... 4 1.3 AIM OF THE STUDY .......................................................................................................... 6 1.3.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ................................................................................... 6 1.3.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................ 6 1.4 JUSTIFICATION .................................................................................................................. 7 1.5 BRIEF LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................... 9 1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................ 13 1.7 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................... 14 1.8 SCOPE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................... 15 1.9 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ........................................................................................ 16 1.10 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 16 1.11 DEFINITION OF TERMS ................................................................................................ 16 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................ 18 EXTENDED LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................... 18 2.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 18 2.1.1 CATEGORIES OF LANGUAGE PLANNING ........................................................... 19 2.1.2 STATUS PLANNING .................................................................................................. 19 2.1.3 ACQUISITION PLANNING ....................................................................................... 21 2.1.4 CORPUS PLANNING ................................................................................................. 22 2.2.1 RESEARCH STUDIES DONE IN EUROPE .............................................................. 24 2.2.2 RESEARCH STUDIES DONE IN ASIA .................................................................... 34 2.2.3 RESEARCH STUDIES DONE IN AMERICA ........................................................... 43 vi 2.2.4 RESEARCH STUDIES DONE IN AFRICA ............................................................... 44 2.2.5 RESEARCH STUDIES DONE IN ZIMBABWE ........................................................ 57 2.3 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 65 CHAPTER 3 ...............................................................................................................................