SOCIOLOLINGUISTIC SURVEYS - Centre for Language Studies

1 INTRODUCTION
The availability of accurate, reliable information on a country’s language situation can
wield a certain influence on policy decisions and be of enormous value in planning and
carrying out policies. Furthermore, a description of the language situation in a country
yields a useful and important body of data for sociol scientists with varied interests. By
1996, in Malawi, very little had been done since the 1996 Population Census to ascertain
the number of languages, peoples’ attitudes to the use of local languages in education, the
electronic and print media, the judiciary, parliament etc. So little was known with
certainty about these attitudes and what influences them and how much more needs to be
done for it to be useful in policy­making, in education, and in the rural and urban
development programmes.
Realising the crucial role sociolingusitic surveys play in language planning/policy
formulation, four language surveys were conducted between 1996 and 1998. The
sociolinguistic surveys had a special reference to education in that their main objective
was to determine the acceptability, relevance and practicalities of using mother tongues
or vernacular languages as media of instruction in primary schools. The need to have
relevant data on this subject was strengthened when on 28 th March 1996, the Ministry of
Education directed that from then onwards, standards 1 – 4 would use mother tongues or
vernacular languages as media of instruction. A policy statement had been issued before
research and relevant consultations with stakeholders had been done.
As stated earlier, four language surveys were conducted in Malawi between 1996 and
1998. The surveys covered Chiyao (in 1996). Chitumbuka (in 1997), Chilomwe and
Chisena (in 1998). The pioneer survey, the Chiyao survey, was carried out by linguists
and language experts from the Faculty of Humanities at Chancellor College, University
of Malawi; and the Malawi Institute of Education (MIE). The remaining three surveys
were conducted by the University of Malawi’s Centre for Language Studies (CLS).
Financial annd technical support for all surveys came from GTZ/MITTEP.
This report presents findings and recommendations made by the four surveys. The
presentation will be as follows: Section 2 will be a review of literature which will be
followed in subsequent sections by language specific reports on: Chiyao, Chitumbuka,
Chilomwe, and Chisena. Each language specific report carries general and specific
ojectives, the study design and methodology, research findings, recommendations and
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