Language and language policy have played a vital role in the transformation of post-apartheid South Africa. Since South Africa's democratic transition in April 1994, government has taken on the challenge of moving from two official languages to eleven in an attempt to empower previously disadvantaged linguistic communities. Our Constitution, probably one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, not only specifies the use of eleven official languages at national level, but also recognises South African Sign Language and the “heritage” languages of South Africa (French, German, Portuguese, Urdu, Gujurati, Tamil, etc.)
Translation and interpreting are obvious tools in facilitating multilingualism, and it is clear that government has recognised this. The National Language Policy Framework (February 2003) makes three major stipulations: firstly, all national government structures and public institutions must adopt one or more working languages (for intra and interdepartmental purposes). Translation and/or interpreting are the obvious tools to facilitate implementation of this policy: “Every effort must be made to utilise language facilitation facilities such as translation and/ or interpreting where practically possible.” Secondly, all official government publications must appear in all eleven languages, failing which, in six languages on a rotational basis. Thirdly, official correspondence and oral communication with members of the public must occur in the language of the citizen’s choice, and where this is not possible, “every effort must be made to utilise language facilitation facilities such as interpreting (consecutive, simultaneous, telephone & whispered interpreting) where practically possible.”
And indeed, there is ample evidence to show that translation and interpreting practice in the languages of South Africa have increased dramatically over the past few years. The growth in the use of interpreting services of all kinds and at all levels in South Africa in particular has been exponential over the past few years. While interpreting in court, in hospitals and at community level have long been a daily occurrence in South Africa, though generally performed on an ad-hoc basis by untrained interpreters (Moeketsi & Wallmach 2005), conference-level simultaneous interpreting in African languages, Afrikaans and South African Sign Language is now being used for conferences, in national parliament and in the regional legislatures of at least five provinces, for meetings of the Pan South African Language Board, for annual general meetings where the floor language is a language other than English, at Metropolitan Councils, even at Senate and Council meetings in the case of some universities (Wallmach 2000). Not to mention foreign language conferences and seminars, which have been interpreted for over thirty years!