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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | An Investigation into Language Attitudes of Secondary-School Students in Zimbabwe |
Authors: | Mparutsa, Cynthia Thondhlana, Juliet Crawhall, N. |
Year: | 1990 |
Periodical: | Zambezia |
Volume: | 17 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 85-100 |
Language: | English |
Notes: | biblio. refs. |
Geographic terms: | Zimbabwe Southern Africa |
Subjects: | language usage sociolinguistics Education and Oral Traditions language Language and languages attitudes students Secondary schools |
External link: | https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/AJA03790622_315 |
Abstract: | This article explores some of the contradictions in the attitudes towards Shona and English of schoolchildren in Zimbabwe that were discovered in the data collected for a study of language attitudes among secondary school pupils in 1989. A questionnaire was given to 100 upper secondary school pupils. The questionnaire was divided into two parts, one dealing with language use, the other with language attitudes. The results suggest that at least two primary contradictions exist in the language attitudes of the respondents: a contradiction between use and attitudes, and a contradiction between attitudes towards indigenous language development and personal advancement. These contradictions are recognized ideological issues in Zimbabwe. The liberation war put considerable emphasis on pride in indigenous culture and language. Yet, since independence, English has remained the 'de facto' language of power and economic advancement. School curricula reflect this contradiction in a number of ways. Appendices contain the questionnaire questions and responses. Bibliogr., notes. |