Government information and Government information and services for socio-economic services for socio-economic development in local SA languages development in local SA languages using ICTusing ICT

Britta Zawada, Riah Mabule, Kim Wallmach, Nathi NgcoboBritta Zawada, Riah Mabule, Kim Wallmach, Nathi Ngcobo

Department of Linguistics, UnisaDepartment of Linguistics, Unisa

The research reported on in this advisory report was commissioned by PNC on ISAD in September 2006

The research was undertaken by a team of the Department of Linguistics at the University of South Africa (Unisa)

The main problem investigated by this report is the lack of access by the people of South Africa to (national) government services and information in local languages using modern ICTs

The specific aims of this project are• to outline the status quo as it relates to the

provision of national government information and services in local languages using ICT mediums

• to scan the environment, highlighting gaps and challenges, and

• to provide recommendations on how South Africa can address the challenges of providing government information in all South African languages

The methodology for the research reported here, in line with the brief, intention and aims of the PNC on ISAD, focused on four main aspects in the scanning of the environment:

• a literature survey• international case studies• focus-group workshops, and • structured interviews

First focus-group: government representatives

• The content of government information and services at national level

• The target audience of this information• The status of the information • The status quo in terms of information provision

in the local languages in your department

5. The information priorities in your department

6. The most suitable mode and medium for transferring information in your context

7. The challenges in your department in terms of information provision in the local languages

8. A wish list of your requirements that would enable you, in an ideal world, to provide government information and services to the people using all South African using ICT platforms

Second focus-group: Language ICT & HLT

stakeholders

• What is your organization doing that is/can contribute to giving access to information in SA languages using ICTs to all SA’s people (past, present and future projects)?

• What are your experiences (both success stories and challenges and problems)?

• What can be done to realize this dream (both by you and by government)?

The main generic challenges in the domain of access to information in local languages using ICT were identified as:

• the lack of access to ICT by those who are most in need of development, and often life-saving, information

• the low rate of proficiency in English as the de facto language of government, and

• the low literacy rates in South Africa as most government information is available in written form only

Specific challenges:

1) Capacity

2) Attitude, will and motivation

3) Collaboration

4) Funding

5) Legislation

6) Professionalisation

7) Language development

8) Community Centres

9)Special needs

10) Dedicated SARS call centre for 2010

Interviews

• 177 verbal one-on-one structured interviews with low-income / unemployed rural respondents

• Northern Sotho, Xhosa and Afrikaans• Limpopo, Eastern Cape and Northern

Cape

Findings• Most of these interviewees had no access to

any form of ICT at home or in their immediate vicinity (radio and cell)

• Preferences: most interviewees would prefer to

communicate with government in their respective primary languages even though, in reality, their recent experiences of government communication were all in English

most interviewees would prefer face-to-face spoken communication, even though they often had to contend with written communication even though they are illiterate and are very far from local post offices

most interviewees that had been served by government in English felt that they did not fully understand the English used by the government official (dialectal variations)

many interviewees regarded government with suspicion because they felt that they were unsure of the integrity of the English information

there is a high correlation between the government service being offered in the primary language of the respondent, and their sense of satisfaction with the government service

International case studies

India, Brazil, Malaysia and the EU- Infrastructure and policies

Language Resource Centres Free multipurpose communication

kiosks and community centres Education and training

In conclusion:

South Africa has excellent language policies and the infrastructure for ICTs as distribution medium:

BUT

Policies are not being implemented:

Will and motivation: low ethnolinguistic vitality

Contradictory policies Funding

Result:

Written, formal English is the de facto lingua franca in general use in South Africa, particularly in communication with government

This means…

• that those most in need of government information and services for their socio-economic development

are least likely to be able to communicate in English, and

are least likely to have access to any kind of ICT-supported information or services due to poverty and education

• Non-implementation of the NLPF

• Overlap in mandate of DAC and PanSALB

• National HLT Centre

• Lack of human capacity

• Lack of coordinated and sustained funding

Recommendations:1) Implementation of NLPF supported by

funding for all government departments in the medium-term expenditure framework to establish properly staffed and resourced language units in national departments

2) That a National Professional Council of Language Practitioners is established as soon as possible (DAC)

3) Independent steering committee : audit DAC and PanSALB activities and

projects establish National Centre for HLT list language practitioners and linguists,

particularly in the African languages and in computational linguistics as scarce skills in JIPSA and Asgisa

launch programme on ethnolinguistic vitality, especially in finance and business and other high-profile domains

4) Multi-purpose communication community centres and kiosks

5) Large cadre of CDWs6) Mobile roving services7) More support for ICT distribution

initiatives 8) Bilingual forms9) Further research

• 8th Language and Development Conference

Thank you!