Significance of libraries as a developmental and preservation institution for indigenous languages in South Africa

Abstract

There is a perpetual hypothesis whose intent is to divorce the development of South African indigenous languages from the libraries. This then romanticises the sophisticated notion that South African indigenous languages cannot be advanced within the arena and systems of libraries. This article is aimed at elucidating the significant role of South African libraries in preserving and developing indigenous languages. Simultaneously, the article underlines some of the pertinent language and library challenges in South Africa. Qualitative research methodology and Multi-Interdisciplinary Theory (MIT) are employed to operate in a synergetic correlation. It becomes apparent that more scholarly discourse ought to be undertaken in a bid to sensitise the verity that South African libraries have the mandate to develop local languages. In respect of the problematised conundrum, recommendations and concluding remarks are presented with the intention to create an inclination for further scholarly debate.