This was in contrast to all the respondents (in the focus group interviews) who seemed to be unaware of the existence of such policies at their places of work. The results of the questionnaire survey revealed that 42 of the 201 respondents are familiar with the language policy or language practice of the company at their place of work. The researcher also conducted a survey to establish the extent to which language policy documents exist in commerce and industry. A model has been discussed and recommended. The fourth step was to look for a model of language acquisition that would suit the communication needs of anyone who wished to acquire a command of Northern Sotho for use in commerce and industry. This could be the contingent of 17,8% referred to above since 50,2% reported that they never use Northern Sotho for purposes relating to commerce and industry. It transpired that 68% of them had no command of the language while some reported that they were still learning it. The third step was to determine whether the respondents were proficient in Northern Sotho. In most instances they had no option but to use English to interact with potential employers because it was the only language in common use in commercial and industrial settings. Most respondents reported that a lack of proficiency in English prevented them from performing well in their jobs in commerce and industry and some reported that it had been a significant impediment to their efforts to secure employment. The second step was to determine the effects that could be expected on the current hegemonic use of English or Afrikaans as languages of commerce and industry. Only 3% of the respondents to the questionnaire survey indicated that they used Northern Sotho for transactional purposes in commercial and industrial settings, while 46,8% reported using a smattering of Northern Sotho in a variety of situations. English and Afrikaans were naturally found to be dominant in commerce and industry while Northern Sotho was used among friends and colleagues in informal situations. The first step towards determining the feasibility of developing and using Northern Sotho as a language of commerce and industry was to determine the current situation in this regard. However, it should be noted that the questionnaire was not designed to reveal explicit allegiances hence responses in this regard are somewhat open to interpretation. A distinct majority (64,7%) of respondents who filled in questionnaires was not favourably disposed but a significant minority (35,3%) was positive. A negligible percentage of respondents expressed negative sentiments in this regard (cf. The question here is: How does one determine feasibility? Before this issue could be addressed another important and sensitive matter had to be considered: to determine whether native speakers of Northern Sotho and the other South African languages are favourably disposed towards the prospective development and use of Northern Sotho as a language of commerce and industry. Feasibility of developing Northern Sotho lexicography and terminology for the purposes of commerce and industry.Dispositions of mother-tongue speakers of Northern Sotho and other languages towards the prospective development and use of Northern Sotho as a language of commerce and industry. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |