JoeCarlson

DiversityinSouthAfrica
SouthAfricaisanationwithanincrediblyrichculturalbackground.ThepeopleofSouth
Africacantraceinhabitantsoftheirnationbacktotheveryrootsofcivilization.Fromthattime,
SouthAfricahasgonethroughmanywavesofcultures,andtodaystillhasmanyactivecultures
inthenation.DuringSouthAfricasrichhistory,therehavebeentimesofgreatcultural
enrichment,butalsotimesofequallyoppressiveculturaldegradation.Asthecountrycontinues
tomovefartherfromitsdarkpastandintoitspresentroleasaleaderinAfrica,itwillbeseen
justhowmuchvalueSouthAfricaplacesonitsculturaldiversity.
SouthAfricaiscurrentlyacountryofgreatdiversityanddifferenceofcultures.Just
lookingattheofficiallanguagesofSouthAfricagivesyouanideaofjusthowmuchcultural
diversityexistsinthenation.Forinstance,whileEnglishisthemostcommonlyunderstood
languageinthecountry,itisthemothertongueofonly9.6%ofSouthAfricans(SouthAfricas
People,2015).ThemostcommonmothertongueinthenationisisiZulu,whichisspokenby
22.7%ofSouthAfricans(SouthAfricasPeople,2015).Whatgivesthebestindicator,however,
ofculturaldiversity,isthatthereare11officiallanguagesinSouthAfrica,includingAfrikaans
andEnglish(SouthAfricasPeople,2015).ThefactthatSouthAfricarecognizessomany
languageswouldprobablyleadonetobelievethatthegovernmentbelievesthatculturaldiversity
isanimportantaspectofthecountryasawhole.Thismaycomeasasurprisetosomeafterthe
atrocitiesofApartheid.Thegovernment,however,hasmadeevenmoreofanefforttopreserve
culturethanjustrecognizingafewlanguages.

In2012,SouthAfricaenactedalawthatrecognized11languagesasofficiallanguagesin
thecountry.Inaddition,thisactessentiallyputstheframeworkinforgovernmentendorsed
protectionofculture.SouthAfricaisanationthathasagreatnumberofdifferentculturesthat
interactwithinitsborders.Forinstance,manyofthenativepopulationaredescendentsofthe
KhosianpeoplesthatinhabitedSouthAfricaupto10,000yearsago.Morerecently,theDutch
andotherwesternEuropeansettlersfoundtheirwaytoSouthAfrica,andthesepeoples
descendentsarestilltheretoday,knownastheBoerorAfrikaaners.Itisclearjustfromsomeof
theofficialSouthAfricanwebsitesthattheyareapeoplethattakegreatprideinbeingacultural
meltingpotthathaspeopleofallcolorsandbackgroundsinteractingpeacefully.Whatmakes
thisevenmoreimpressiveistherelativelyrecentrepealoftheApartheidpolicy,whichwasvery
negativetowardsnativeblackSouthAfricans.Despitethis,thepeopleareunifiedinhavinga
culturallyrichnationthatdoesnotwanttoexterminateanyoftheculturesthatexistinthe
country.
SouthAfricaisanationofincrediblediversityandculture.Historically,thecountrygoes
allofthewaybacktothebeginningofrecordedhistoryandbeyond,andthatcultureisevidentin
thepeopletoday.Inaddition,culturechangeshavehappenedinSouthAfricaoverthelastcouple
ofcenturiesduetocolonistsfromEuropebringingfamiliesdowntoSouthAfricaandmakingit
theirhome.Inthelastcentury,itwasevidentthatthegovernmentinpowerwantedtoeliminate
someoftheculturalheritageofSouthAfricabyenactingApartheid.However,oncethis
abhorrentlawwasrepealed,SouthAfricahastrulymadestridestobecomeacountrythat
respectsallcultureswithinitsborders.Forexample,thereare11officiallanguagesinthe

country.SouthAfricahasclearlybecomeacountrythatwantsnothingmorethantorespectan
enjoytheculturalrichnessofthepeoplewithinitsborders.

Sources
MediaandthePreservationofCultureinAfrica.(2010,March26).RetrievedApril16,2015,
http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/csq/article/mediaandpreservationcultureafric
a

SouthAfrica.info.(n.d.).RetrievedApril16,2015,from
http://www.southafrica.info/travel/cultural/worldheritagesites.htm#.VTAhFxM9aGM

SouthAfrica'sDiverseCultureArtisticandLinguisticHeritage|SouthAfricanHistoryOnline.
(n.d.).RetrievedApril16,2015,from
http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/southafricasdiversecultureartisticandlinguisticheritage

SouthAfrica'speople.(n.d.).RetrievedApril16,2015,fromhttp://www.gov.za/node/66