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EQU AL RIGHTS: IS IT SOUTH A RICNS PROBLEM <br />For many years in South Africa, the white Afrik.aan's have used their <br />language Afrlkaan to increase their power politically in a black African environment. <br />This is a direct violation of the Universal Declaration of Human fights, Article 2, which <br />states, "Everyone is entitled to all rights and freedoms without distinction of languag <br />However, it seems that things may be changing. <br />Since South Africa ended apartheid, the government has decided to create a <br />post apartheid constitution, which states that all eleven languages used in South <br />Africa shall be treated equally. When notice of the word reached the business world <br />the country's television broadcasting system was the first to act. Instead of havin <br />Afrikaan spoken on most charnels, it was switched to a small fr action of the channels, <br />because Afrikaners make u only eight percent o f the entire population. <br />p ower in the p ast, their lan g <br />Since Afrikaners had the most way primarily <br />p p <br />used on signs, imported products, books, just about anything that had letters ors it. So <br />when they saver that their language privileges .had been out short, Afrikaners of rett <br />p y <br />mad. When companies like coca -cola and Toy ro osed to either reduce or <br />completely stop usage o f the Afrikaan language on their products., Afrikaners were so <br />outraged that the plans to obey the constitution were aborted. The comp anies decided <br />to use two languages on their products,. English and Afrikaan- This is a step in the <br />right. direction, but it stall doesn "t completely obey the constitutional law. <br />This situation is an example of problems that arise when constitutional la are <br />changed. is the right to equal use of all African languages becoming too comp licated <br />Will it ever be possible to have equal use of all of Africa's languages? All things <br />considered, there probably will be no solution unless all of the people begin to speak <br />a common language. <br />[My primary sources were; The Universal D ecalaration of Human Rights, and the Saint <br />Paul Pioneer Press, Nov. 1 3, 1 994, Vol. 146 No. 20) <br />Stephen Jaeger <br />