The Act commenced on 27 May 1925, but deemed to have had effect since the creation of the Union in 1910, having the effect of making Afrikaans an official language of the Union of South Africa since that date.
The South Africa Act of 1909—the constitution of the Union—declared the English and Dutch languages to be the state's official languages.
Part 8, section 137, of the South Africa Act read:
Both the English and Dutch languages shall be official languages of the Union, and shall be treated on a footing of equality, and possess and enjoy equal freedom, rights, and privileges; all records, journals, and proceedings of Parliament shall be kept in both languages, and all Bills, Acts, and notices of general public importance or interest issued by the Government of the Union shall be in both languages.
Provisionedit
Doubts soon arose about the status of the Afrikaans language and whether its status as a Dutch daughter language implied it to be on equal footing.
The single substantive provision of the Official Languages Act reads:
The word "Dutch" in section one hundred and thirty-seven of the South Africa Act, 1909, and wheresoever else that word occurs in the said Act, is hereby declared to include Afrikaans.
Repealedit
The South Africa Act and the Official Languages Act were repealed by the Constitution of 1961, which reversed the position of Afrikaans and Dutch. Subsequently, English and Afrikaans were the official languages, and Afrikaans was deemed to include Dutch.
Reagan, T. (1988). The "Language Struggle" in South Africa: Emergence and Development in Educational Policy. Storrs: TWEC. OCLC 17790045.
Sen, D. (1940). "Chapter IX: Safeguards in the Dominions". The Problem of Minorities. Calcutta: Calcutta University Press. OCLC 917020385.
Steyn, J. (June 2007). "Ons vier 'n negentigste verjaarsdag". Literator (in Afrikaans). 38 (1): a1365. doi:10.4102/lit.v38i1.1365. ISSN 2219-8237.
External linksedit
"Official Language of the Union Act, 1925" at Wikisource
November 17, 2023
official, languages, union, 1925, dutch, officiële, talen, unie, 1925, parliament, south, africa, that, included, afrikaans, variety, dutch, language, parliament, south, africacitationact, 1925territorial, extentunion, south, africaenacted, byparliament, south. The Official Languages of the Union Act 1925 Dutch Wet op de Officiele Talen van de Unie 1925 was an Act of the Parliament of South Africa that included Afrikaans as a variety of the Dutch language Official Languages of the Union Act 1925Parliament of South AfricaCitationAct No 8 of 1925Territorial extentUnion of South AfricaEnacted byParliament of South AfricaRoyal assent22 May 1925Commenced27 May 1925 1925 05 27 Effective31 May 1910Repealed31 May 1961 1961 05 31 Repealed bySouth Africa Constitution Act 1961Related legislationSouth Africa Act 1909SummaryAfrikaans is recognised to have been an official language since 31 May 1910Status RepealedThe Act commenced on 27 May 1925 but deemed to have had effect since the creation of the Union in 1910 having the effect of making Afrikaans an official language of the Union of South Africa since that date Contents 1 Background 1 1 Ambiguity 1 2 Provision 2 Repeal 3 Bibliography 4 External linksBackground editAmbiguity edit The South Africa Act of 1909 the constitution of the Union declared the English and Dutch languages to be the state s official languages Part 8 section 137 of the South Africa Act read Both the English and Dutch languages shall be official languages of the Union and shall be treated on a footing of equality and possess and enjoy equal freedom rights and privileges all records journals and proceedings of Parliament shall be kept in both languages and all Bills Acts and notices of general public importance or interest issued by the Government of the Union shall be in both languages Provision edit Doubts soon arose about the status of the Afrikaans language and whether its status as a Dutch daughter language implied it to be on equal footing The single substantive provision of the Official Languages Act reads The word Dutch in section one hundred and thirty seven of the South Africa Act 1909 and wheresoever else that word occurs in the said Act is hereby declared to include Afrikaans Repeal editThe South Africa Act and the Official Languages Act were repealed by the Constitution of 1961 which reversed the position of Afrikaans and Dutch Subsequently English and Afrikaans were the official languages and Afrikaans was deemed to include Dutch The Constitution of 1983 removed any mention of Dutch altogether Bibliography editNewton A P ed 1936 Chapter XXXII Cultural Development Cambridge History of the British Empire Vol 8 London CUP OCLC 222649801 Reagan T 1988 The Language Struggle in South Africa Emergence and Development in Educational Policy Storrs TWEC OCLC 17790045 Sen D 1940 Chapter IX Safeguards in the Dominions The Problem of Minorities Calcutta Calcutta University Press OCLC 917020385 Steyn J June 2007 Ons vier n negentigste verjaarsdag Literator in Afrikaans 38 1 a1365 doi 10 4102 lit v38i1 1365 ISSN 2219 8237 External links edit Official Language of the Union Act 1925 at Wikisource nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Official Languages of the Union Act 1925 amp oldid 1001928452, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
