Droga ku wielojęzyczności RPA

After the rule of apartheid ended in 1994, the new government of the Republic of South Africa made a substantial change in language policy by giving an official status to eleven languages spoken in the country. Besides English and Afrikaans, nine more indigenous African Bantu languages were officially recognised. Such an extensive multilingual policy is unique in the world and although very progressive, presents a serious challenge to the system of education. The article touches upon the linguistic situation in the Republic of South Africa, the distribution and popularity of various languages and the topic of how the new policy has been implemented in the sector of education.