Multilingualism and the Media

The aim of the conference is to get role-players and interested parties, from academia as well as from the media, to consider:

• how multilingualism can enable the media to improve its role in a democratic South Africa
• how the media can be used to develop multilingualism.

"The media" as used here refers to electronic as well as print media, including newspapers and magazines, the internet, radio and television.

1. The basic premises of such a conference are the following:
   
   • Reaching one's full potential as a human being in one's preferred language(s) is a basic human right in terms of the Constitution and all relevant laws.
   • In terms of legislation and its own corporate code the public service broadcaster is obliged to satisfy the language and cultural needs of its listeners and viewers.
   • South Africa possesses the technological infrastructure, the expertise and the experience for the practical realisation of the above-mentioned right.
   • The electronic and print media have an essential real role to play in the establishment of a multilingual society
   • The major stumbling blocks are misperceptions concerning the functions of languages in the development of communities, and, as is the case elsewhere in the world, the politicisation of language
   • There is a need for handling these subjects according to an agenda whose focus is practical implementation in contrast to mere theoretical analyses.

2. The agenda of the planned conference will include topics like the following:
   
   • Facts, fiction and perceptions concerning multilingualism in a globalised world, inter alia as far as the cost of multilingualism versus the cost of monolingualism is concerned, specifically with regard to the media.
   • Multilingualism and democracy in a developing society: the role of the media (inter alia historically and sociologically).
   • The user-friendly and communicatively effective use of languages by the electronic and print media.
   • Technology and multilingualism: What is possible in practice?
   • Language professions and the media.
   • Language confusion and multilingualism.
   • The practice of commercialisation and the mandate of the public service broadcaster (radio and TV) with reference to practical problems like quantity versus quality / niche transmissions.
   • Contributions of commercial broadcasters to the promotion of multilingualism.
   • Print media in the indigenous languages / multilingual media: possibilities and challenges.
   • Multilingualism and the internet.
   • The promotion of media literacy and the building of reading, viewing and listening publics.
   • "Standard languages", regional dialects and community languages in local and global perspective.
   • The media as role models in a multilingual society.
   • Language and the media as educators, information providers and discussion forums.
   • "Questions of language are questions of power" (Noam Chomsky): the media as language users and socio-political role-players.

3. Participation by the following categories of people, amongst others, is envisaged:
   
   • Representatives of the print and electronic media (editors, journalists, managers).
   • Representatives of government agencies concerned with the media (ICASA, Department of Communication, the SABC Board, etc).
   • Internet service providers.
   • Representatives of public language agencies like PANSALB and the National Language Service.
   • Representatives of the publishing industry.
   • Language and media lobby groups and other civil organisations.
   • Academics (communicationists, linguists, sociologists, historians, etc).

4. The conference will be presented by the Multilingualism Action Group (i-MAG) and Tabema, with the support of (amongst others) Het Jan Marais Nationale Fonds, the Taalsekretariaat and Naspers. Other media role-players and interested parties will also be approached for financing.

5. The use of interpreting services, with a view to a multilingual conference, is envisaged.

6. The conference will take place in the Reitz Hall, of the Engineering Department at Stellenbosch University.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT A PAPER, PLEASE SEND AN ABSTRACT TO THE ADDRESS BELOW (or click here).

For further information, contact Prof JB (Koos) du Toit or Liesl van Kerwel on tel 021- 808 2418, fax 021-808 3556, or by email at lek@sun.ac.za.

Note
For further information on i-MAG and Tabema, visit www.imag.org.za.

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