Philip Nel : A SECOND LOOK
I hope I am not the only Afrikaans speaker who feels uncomfortable with being made the focus of a special debate in Parliament. Although I can understand the political reasons why political parties would like to have such a debate in the run-up to the elections, I do not like being treated as an endangered species or as a “problem” that is in need of attention. “Afrikaners” may constitute a problem, but Afrikaans and Afrikaans speakers are doing well, thank you very much.
Afrikaans literature, music and theatre are among the most vibrant on the continent. The language and its users have been enriched by their liberation from the shackles of apartheid and previous attempts at standardisation and entrenchment. The more Afrikaans celebrates its Africanness, it seems, the more it flourishes. And the more the language is re-appropriated by groups marginalised in the past, the more exciting it becomes. This also applies at Afrikaans universities – the fastest- growing group of South African universities. The student bodies are becoming as diversified as historically white English universities used to be.
In many instances this has led to the parallel use of English as a medium of instruction. It is widely welcomed, though, because it facilitates an interaction between Afrikaans and other cultures that is mutually enriching, and helps young people appreciate the multiculturalism of Africa.
The problem with “Afrikaners” is that it is impossible to come up with one definition of what an Afrikaner is that will satisfy a majority of those implied by the definition. A racial definition won’t do, but neither would one based on culture. What does Koos Kombuis en die Warm Blankes have in common, culturally speaking, with the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, except that they happen to use the same language? Contrary to what many national idealists thought, and still think, one language can carry and maintain many diverse cultures. This is the richness of English and Spanish, but on a smaller scale it is also the richness of Afrikaans. Any attempt at a cultural definition of who “the Afrikaner” is, is therefore bound to fail, and entails a narrowing down of the cultural diversity of Afrikaans speakers.
It may be argued that we may not know who or what the Afrikaner is, but at least we should be aware that there are political problems pertaining to Afrikaans speakers. One of these problems flows from the fact that a sizeable number of Afrikaans speakers, both white and coloured, feel marginalised in the new South Africa, partly because they have lost political power, and partly because they feel that they are singled out for unfair criticism from official bodies such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Because of this, some Afrikaans speakers withdraw from public life, or they leave the country, or they mobilise around issues such as the death penalty, own schools and, for a few, an Afrikaner homeland.
I agree that, to the extent that these responses pose a challenge to public policy making, it is a good thing that the government engages in consultation with those affected, and that Parliament spends time on it. What I cannot understand, however, is why these issues are regarded as Afrikaner problems, justifying a debate about “the Afrikaners” as such.
The issues of marginalisation, alleged unfair treatment by the truth commission, the use of indigenous languages on SABC, mother-tongue education, regional autonomy and the death penalty are all national issues, each worthy of its own debate. These things are not Afrikaner problems, and to see them in such a light will only retard us in looking for suitable solutions to general problems.
While I always welcome debate, I think the government and certain representatives of Afrikaans interests are making a mistake in turning these issues into Afrikaner problems primarily. We need a public debate about all who feel marginalised in the new South Africa, politically, culturally, but especially economically. Similarly, we need an investigation into why so many well- educated South Africans are leaving the country, and how we can best accommodate regional and cultural diversity in the state structure.
The real danger exists that the government may use the debate about “Afrikaner problems” to deflect attention away from the fact that these are general issues, and not those of a single group. The problem of regional autonomy will not go away if you manage to get the volkstaters to tone down their demands, neither will the problem of mother-tongue education if you grant some schools and universities the right to be “Afrikaans” (whatever that may mean). The problem of mother-tongue education is primarily an issue affecting the first five to six years of schooling. If we get that right, the medium of instruction on secondary and tertiary levels can be sorted out more easily.
Ironically, many of the self-appointed custodians of “the Afrikaner” and his (seldom “her”) interests, are playing into the hands of such a deflection strategy by their sometimes obsessive demand for sectional protection. Given the very difficult time Afrikaans had to become recognised as an official language, it is understandable that Afrikaans speakers are concerned about its survival.
I share these concerns, although I think Afrikaans is under much less of a threat than is sometimes made out. Nevertheless, let us grant that the encroachment of English on so many levels of society does pose a threat to the survival of Afrikaans. To turn this concern into a morally just demand, the claim for protection must be universalised. That means, it should be made on behalf of all indigenous languages in South Africa. To their credit, some Afrikaans bodies have accepted this, and are indeed joining forces with other language groups and bodies to demand effective implementation of what the Constitution promises.
Many young Afrikaans speakers, white, coloured and black, have embraced the Africanness implied by the very name of their mother tongue. It is about time, I think, that the custodians of Afrikaans accept that “their” problems are also the problems of the whole of South Africa.
Philip Nel is professor of political science at Stellenbosch University