VIC WEBB is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Pretoria and Director of CentRePoL. He  has taught linguistics at a number of South African universities, including the University of Natal, the Rand Afrikaans University and the University of Port Elizabeth. He obtained a D Litt et Phil at the University of South Africa (1976) and currently teaches the politics of language and sociolinguistics at the University of Pretoria. 

Victor N Webb - Director

His fields of specialisation are: politics of language, language and development, multilingualism, language planning, language policy and language in education.

Vic Webb has worked at several universities outside of South Africa, including the University of Pennsylvania (USA - 1980/81), the Universität - Gesamthochschule - Duisburg (Germany - 1992) and the Katholieke Universiteit van Leuven (Belgium - 1995). In 1999 he was a visiting scholar at the European Centre for Minority Issues in Flensburg, Germany.

He was president of the Linguistics Society of Southern Africa from 1993 to 1998, and the international chairperson of the Languages in Contact and Conflict in Africa programme (LiCCA) from 1993 to 1996, which was directed at descriptions of the language politics of African countries. In 1995/6 he was a member of the main committee of LANGTAG, a government appointed body instructed to describe the framework within which a comprehensive national language plan can be developed.

He initiated and completed a number of research projects, such as The language behaviour of pupils in ten Gauteng schools in Mathematics and Science classes (with Dr Helma Pasch - 1998), The language political character of the Greater Pretoria Region (1997), Multilingualism as a developmental resource(1997-2000), Languages in Contact and Conflict in Africa (1991-1997), The linguistics bases of first-language teaching (1989), The position of Afrikaans among Std 9 pupils in Pretoria (1988), Computer applications in linguistics (1985-1987),Vernacular Afrikaans in Pretoria (1983-1986) and Sociolinguistics patterns in the Afrikaans of the Port Elizabeth Region (1979-1982).

He has edited a number of books, has written about 85 scientific articles and presented several papers at linguistics conferences in the USA, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Canada, and, of course, in southern Africa.

Recent publications include:

Webb, V N. 2002. Language in South Africa. The contribution of language to the transformation, reconstruction and development of South Africa. Amsterdam/New York: John Benjamins. 367pp.

Webb, V N. 2002. English as a second language in South Africa's tertiary institutions: A case study at the University of Pretoria. World Englishes, Vol 21 (1), pp. 49-61.

Webb, V N. 2002 Language policy in post-apartheid South Africa. In: James W. Tollefson & Amy B.M. Tsui (Eds.). Medium of Instruction Policies: Which Agenda? Whose Agenda.Lawrence Elbaum Associates.

Webb, V N (Main Ed.) & Kembo-Sure (Co-ed.). 2000. African Voices. An introduction to the languages and linguistics of Africa. Cape Town: Oxford University Press. 280pp.

Papers

• Webb, VN. 2009. Handout: mediating development: the role of LOTE in higher education in South Africa.
• Webb, VN. 2009. Multilingualism in South Africa: The challenge to below.
• Webb, VN., Lafon, M., Pare, P., Ramagoshi, R. 2007. African languages as MOI in primary schools in South Africa.
• Webb, VN. 2006. Voorwaardes vir die behoud van afrikaans as wetenskapstaal: ‘n taalbeplanningsperspektief.
• Webb, VN. 2006. English in higher education in South Africa: inclusion or exclusion
• Webb, VN. Constructing an inclusive speech community from two mutually excluding ones: The third Afrikaans language movement.
• Webb, VN. 2005. Language Development in South Africa – Past and Present.
• Webb, VN. 2005. LOTE as languages of science in multingual South Africa. A case study at the University of Pretoria.
• Webb, VN. Language management in South Africa: what is going wrong?
• Webb, VN. Multilingualism from below. Really? In South Africa?
• Webb, VN. 2005. On a normative approach to language planning in South Africa
• Webb, VN., Ramagoshi, R. Using Northern Sotho as medium of instruction vocational training.
• Webb, VN. 2005. Presentation to the UP Senate Committee on language policy at UP on the Helsinki conference on bi- and multilingual universities
• Webb, VN. 2005. Language management in SA: A cultural perspective·   
• Webb, V N. 2005. Report on conference: bi- and multilingual universities – challenges and future prospects.

 Webb, V N. 2002. Language in South Africa. The role of language in national transformation, reconstruction and development. Amsterdam/New York: John Benjamins.Webb, V N. Problems with language proficiency assessment in vocational training.Paper presented at the Canadian Association for Applied Linguistics Conference. Toronto: 25-28 May 2002. Webb, V N. 2000. Multilingualism as a developmental resource. National Research Foundation - report. Webb, V N. 1998. The role of African languages in democratic South Africa. 72 pp. Pretoria: University of Pretoria, CentRePoL.

• Webb, V N. ESL as LoL/T: Economic Genocide. Paper presented at the conference of the English Academy. Pretoria: University of Pretoria. April 2002.
• Webb, V N. Language policy development in South Africa. Paper presented at the World Congress on Language Policies. Barcelona: Linguapax Institute. 16-20 Apr 2002.
• Webb, V N. With the collaboration of J Read. The challenge of cultural heterogeneity to educational development. Paper presented at the LAO III Conference. Pretoria: University of Pretoria. 28-29 Sep 2001.
• Webb, V N. With co-operation of T Brunfaut & J Read. Language proficiency assessment in vocational training. Paper presented at the International Literacy Conference: Literacy and language in global and local settings: new directions for research and teaching. Cape Town: University of Cape Town. 13-17 Nov 2001.
• Webb, V N. Constitutional principles and challenges for language policy and language planning in tertiary education. Paper presented at a conference on Language Policy for Tertiary Education. Potchefstroom Universiteit vir Christelik Onderwys. Van der Bijlpark: Vaaldriehoekse kampus. 24 Aug 2000.
• Ambrose, M, J Read & V Webb (Compilers). 1998. Workshop papers: The role of the African Languages in democratic South Africa. Pretoria: University of Pretoria, CentRePoL. 5-6 Mar 1998. 

 

Welcome

Welcoming Address. Prof J Sinclair (Executive Director of Personnel, University of Pretoria)
Opening Adress. Dr M Nonhlanhla (Director: National Language Service; Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, SA government)
Introduction. Prof V Webb (Director of CentRePoL, University of Pretoria)

Keynote Adresses

Language as a Resource: an African Perspective. Prof A Bamgbose (University of Ibadan, Nigeria & University of Leipzig, Germany)
Multilingualism, Modernisation, and Post-Literacy: some central issues in the promotion of indigenous African languages in a democratic society. Prof E Wolff (University of Leipzig, Germany)
The Contribution of PANSALB in the Promotion of the African Languages in South Africa. Dr C Marivate (Chief Executive Officer, Pan South African Language Board)
About the Keynote Speakers.

Working group reports

Working group 1: The African Languages as Languages of Learning and Teaching.
Working group 2: The African Languages as Subjects of Study (first and second language).
Working group 3: Standardisation and Terminographic Development.
Working group 4: The African Languages and Development Projects (educational, economic and political).
Working group 5: The Marginalised African Languages (Ndebele, Swazi, Tsonga and Venda).
Working group 6: Translation and Interpreting into the African Languages.

Final Resolutions

Resolutions concerning the Role of the African Languages in democratic South Africa.

Participants

List of Participants.