Media and Society

Okay, the nature of this post is investigative. Having been exposed to the danger facing African (Indigenous) languages (9 of them, I have been thinking of the ways in which they can be redeemed.Then in one of the discussions we had in my seminar sometime, it has been noted that 'MEDIA' is one of the powerful tools in which this can be done. Tracing the history of media, it has been noted that really it has been used as a tool to put English and Afrikaans where they are at the moment. 1994 came and I am convinced that the government had some plans to elevate other the 9 indigenous languages as well to share the same status. I am not really interested in what happened after that but my concern is that the situation is not that much different. This developed a desire to do some research now on the role the spciety can play in influencing the use of these languages in Media. Have your say, I have the questions I would love you to answer below here. What you can do is just copy paste them to the MS Word, answer and email them to me on: kanityi.s@gmail.com or answer them as a comment below here. The Department of African Languages Rhodes University, Grahamstown Honours Research Project Media and Society: This research seeks to see ways in which the society can influence the use of African (indigenous) languages in South African media. Questionnaire: Please note that you do not have to provide your name in this questionnaire. Please also be informed that the information provided in this questionnaire will NOT be shared with a third party without your discretion and that the documents will be destroyed after use. Please feel free to add any additional paper should you need more space with relevant numbering. 1. Age: 2. Gender: please tick – Male Female 3. Nationality:…………………………………………. 4. Occupation: Scholar Learner employed Pensioner 5. If employed where:………………………………. If student or learner where ………………………………… 6. Which media do you consume most? Radio Television Newspaper 7. What programmes do you listen to from radio? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8. In what language are these programmes offered in? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9. Would you say African languages are dying given the present time we live in? Why? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10. Would you say African languages are use mostly in media? And why? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11. Do you see any reason why African Languages should be used in media, reason why? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 12. If you were/are a student, would you want to study in any African languages? Why? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13. Do you think the media industry is flexible enough towards being influenced by the society on what language to use? Why? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 14. How would you describe the youth attitude towards using their languages? Why? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 15. What would you say is the future of African language use in media? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 16. Should you been given an opportunity to improve the use of these languages in media, what would you do? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17. Do you have any comments regarding African languages? .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18. Would you love to participate in our focus group as a follow up and for more information on this subject? Please tick – Yes No Maybe Thank you for your time you have taken out to fill in this questionnaire, should you like to see the final product do not hesitate to let me know. Interviewer: Simphiwe Kanityi, Rhodes Honours Student 2010 Email: kanityi.s@gmail.com