How do African language radio stations deal with the dominance of English online? Broadcast Act of 1999 * The programming provided by the South African broadcasting system must— (a) be varied and comprehensive, providing a balance of information, education and entertainment meeting the broadcasting needs of the entire South African population in terms of age, race, gender, interests and backgrounds; (b) be varied and offer a range of South African content and analysis from a South African perspective; (c) must be drawn from local, regional, national and international sources; (d) provide a reasonable, balanced opportunity for the public to receive a variety of points of view on matters of public concern; (e) A range of programming in the Republic's official languages must be extended to all South Africans as circumstances permit.

Online Space  There is no real legislation in regard to online language activity.  English seems to be the dominant language used online.  Radio Stations seem to go with the flow.  2 huge radio stations for example Khozi FM and Lesedi & Gagasi Khozi FM all use english on their websites.

Why English?  I spoke to Xoli Matomela, Executive Producer at VOW FM on why she thinks this is so and this is what she had to say….  English Bias perhaps?  Tools favour English  According to the Global Online Audience there are 21 languages which are prominent online and there is no single African language listed. Could this be the reason why there is little presence of African languages online hence radio stations would rather stick to the popular ones, with English being the most common in South Africa.Online Audience English

Vernacular Difficult Some are of the school of thought that the way we been educated makes us think more in English and African languages seem difficult. Tiiso explains… African languages seem to be choked by English.

But On the Flip Side Growing number of users who interact on the social platforms in African Languages. And this begs the question why English is still dominant? Ms Matomela had this to say…

Conclusion There are no real regulations African languages give way to English online because: Attract new audience English is a ‘universal’ language Sponsorships and adverts No software to use for better interaction in vernacular Broadcasting act must also make rules as part of their mandate to promote cultural diversity Encourage the use of vernacular Big African language stations to lead.

Thank You!!!