Multilingualism and the values of heritage in South Africa

EVERY year on September 24, South Africans gather around braais, in cultural centres, at stadiums, and on digital platforms to mark Heritage Day.

- ZAMEKA SIJADU GIBSON NCUBE

Once rooted in remembering King Shaka, this public holiday has become a national moment for celebrating the country’s rich diversity of cultures, traditions, and practices.

However, beyond the braais, colourful dress and vibrant music and cultural productions, we, as university lecturers in languages, want to use Heritage Day to pause and reflect on what sustains South Africa as a diverse rainbow nation.

One of the most powerful expressions of this diversity is multilingualism. With twelve official languages and many more spoken in homes and communities, South Africa is a living example of linguistic plurality. For some, this is simply a practical reality: switching between isiZulu and English at school, or between Afrikaans and Setswana in the marketplace. But, at a deeper level, multilingualism embodies in palpable ways the very values that underpin the celebration of culture and heritage.

Multilingualism is first and foremost about inclusivity and social cohesion. Recognising and using multiple languages in public life affirms that every cultural group has a rightful place in the nation. When isiXhosa and Afrikaans appear alongside English in parliament, when isiZulu and Sepedi are heard on public radio or on television programme, this signals that the linguistic heritage of the country is not the property of a single voice or cultural group. Inclusivity matters, especially in a society like South Africa that is still healing from a history in which some languages and their speakers were deliberately marginalised.