Global Expansion of English: The South African Case

The article aims at providing a general overview of the language situation in South Africa and at the same time puts the discussion in the context of the global spread of English. Authors such as Phillipson or Penycook pose warnings concerning the hegemony of English in the post-colonial settings; Skutnabb-Kangas refers to English as the ‘language killer’ being a serious threat to minority languages. South Africa is no exception in this respect. After the first democratic elections, English has become the most widely used language in the realm of government, the judiciary as well as the educational system leaving the remaining ten official languages far behind. Alexander, Webb, Heugh and other prominent scholars in South Africa also warn against the uncontrolled expansion of English in the official contexts. As an alternative, they promote the ideas of the additive bilingualism, the development and intellectualization of the African languages.