Die transformasie van Afrikaans - die afgelope dekade se mediadebat in oënskou

Abstract

The transformation of Afrikaans - a review of the media debate of the last decade
This article focuses on the language debate concerning the position and status of Afrikaans. This debate has mainly been conducted in Afrikaans newspapers during the past ten years. The apparent trends of the debate are interpreted against the background of transformation as a key concept. Apart from a brief theoretical investigation of the theory of social change, this article explores the applicability of these theoretical parameters on the transformation process to which Afrikaans has been subjected during the last decade. The article aims to demonstrate that the media debate on Afrikaans which has been conducted by members of the Afrikaans speech community is not unique but illustrates responses typical of all transforming societies regardless of time and space.