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The Storage Place of Tradition: The Reading Experiences of Black Adults in African Languages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2022

Thapelo Mashishi
Thapelo Mashishi*
Affiliation:
University of the Witwatersrand
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Extract

As many others have pointed out, the profile of African language publishing in South Africa is highly distorted with almost all book production in this area being focused on the educational market (Maake, 1993; Machet, 1996). In addition, the stigmatisation of African languages through apartheid language policy has meant a low demand for leisure and general reading in African language material. English by contrast has come to be the language of status and the language in which many wish to read.

However, at the same time, the elevation of African languages to official status makes it necessary to develop a body of literature that will help in the growth of these languages. Given the de facto situation on the ground, the task is an overwhelming one, yet it is also crucial - both to overcome the linguistic inequities of the past and to expand the general publishing market in South Africa, currently dominated by the needs of a small white, middle-class, English urban sector.

Type
Reading and Readership in South Africa
Information
African Research and Documentation , Volume 83 , 2000 , pp. 75 - 84
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2000

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References

Works cited

Maake, N. P. 1992. ‘A Survey of Trends in the Development of African Language Literature in South Africa: with specific reference to Southern Sotho literature 1900-1970’, African Languages and Cultures, 5 (2).Google Scholar
Machet, M. P. 1993. ‘Publishing and Book-selling in South Africa with Specific Reference to the Black Market’, South African Journal of Library and Information Science, 61 (4).Google Scholar
Machet, M. P. 1994. ‘Black Children's Ability to Access Western Literate Stories in South Africa’, South African Journal of Library and Information Science, 62 (2).Google Scholar

Interviews (all interviews are in the possession of the author)

Macucwa, P. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Mahlangu, H. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Manamela, M. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Modipa, G. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Mofokeng, A. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Mokoena, M. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Molamu, P. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Moshokoa, H. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Motloung, M. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Mushi, D. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Rachidi, L. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Rakitla, J. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Seboka, M. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Sehlare, M. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar
Thathane, E. 1997. Interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September.Google Scholar

Group Interviews

First Group: Mokoena, M, Molamu, P, Motloung, M, Mushi, D, Rachidi, L interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September 1997.Google Scholar
Second Group: Thathane, E, Mahlangu, H, Moshokoa, H, Seboka, M, Sehlare, M interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September 1997.Google Scholar
Third Group: Macucwa, P, Manamela, M, Mofokeng, A, Modipa, G, Rakitla, J interviewed by Thapelo Mashishi, Johannesburg, September 1997.Google Scholar

References

The original dissertation from which this article was extracted included a more detailed theoretical and methodological discussion. Interested readers are referred to this document which is housed in the Department of African Literature, University of the Witwatersrand.Google Scholar