Abstract
D.Litt. et Phil.
Multilingualism is a reality in most African countries. It is also a reality that most African countries, if not all have once been under colonial dominance with colonial languages adding on to the language ecologies of the said countries. With the dawn of independence in the 20th century, most African countries inherited colonial language policies, which were characterised by the hegemony of the colonial languages and followed the top-down language planning approach. Zimbabwe, the country under study, boasts of 16 languages in its linguistic ecology but inherited English as the High (H) language in relation to indigenous Zimbabwean languages.
In terms of local languages, the approach to language planning has been fashioned along monolingualism as a way of perpetuating the ideology of national unity, an ideology, which is not shared by the majority of ethnic groups in Zimbabwe. This ideology divided Zimbabwe into two linguistic blocks dominated by Shona and Ndebele languages. This led to the further denigration of other languages, particularly the so-called minority languages whose existence has been ignored for a long time. Under this premise, there is need for a change in the language planning approach from top-down to bottom-up if minority languages are to survive into the future. This approach has been used by the Tonga speakers and has successfully resulted in the revitalisation of their language. The study therefore examines the motivations for the revitalisation of Tonga, the factors that have led to the Tonga success story, as well as the extent of Tonga development. Data for the research was gathered through interviews, questionnaires and material culture. The research site was Binga District in North-western Zimbabwe. Social actors who were, and are still, involved in the revitalisation of Tonga were used as informants. These included Binga District chiefs, parents, teachers, learners, non-governmental organisations, churches and educational institutions.
A multi-dimensional approach was adopted in the analysis and evaluation of the data gathered for the research. This includes Fishman’s (1991) Reversing Language Shift, UNESCO’S (2003) Nine Factors and Milligan’s (2010) Systems Model of Language Planning,
The revitalisation of Tonga was driven by various motivational factors, which range from the linguistic, economic to the political. The Tonga people believed that the...