Language rights in the South African constitution

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa entrenches the right to mother-tongue use in several ways. The importance accorded to language rights is manifest in the fact that a separate and detailed section on language exists in the constituent and formal provisions of the chapter 1. Section 3 declares eleven languages "official South African languages at national level". Further subsections entrench the right to use the official languages vis-à-vis national and provincial administrative bodies. Linguistic rights also form part of the Bill of Rights of chapter 2, and chapter 7 on judicial authority and the administration of justice. The provisions on language are best placed within the larger context of language policy in South Africa. Language rights are therefore subject to restrictions, i.e. where the exercise of a right may be limited to “where practicable“. Using the example of four relevant cases decided by the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the scope of the language provisions can be determined, in particular by examining how these rights are limited. It is argued that the Court has so far interpreted language rights restrictively by rigorously applying the limitations where possible. It is suggested that the Court’s prudent approach must be understood within a socio-economic context in which the position of the colonial languages, and English in particular, makes it largely impossible to realise the equitable use of the African languages to the extent that the Constitutional text promises.