A handbook on Legal Languages and the quest for linguistic equality in South Africa and beyond

A handbook on Legal Languages and the quest for linguistic equality in South Africa and beyond is an interdisciplinary publication located in the discipline of forensic linguistics/ language and law. This handbook includes varying comparative African and global case studies on the use of language(s) in courtroom discourse and higher education institutions: Kenya; Morocco; Nigeria; Australia; Belgium Canada and India. These African and global case studies form the backdrop for the critique of the monolingual English language of record policy for South African courts, the core of this handbook, discussed in relation to case law and the beleaguered legal interpretation profession. This handbook argues that linguistic transformation and decolonisation of South Africa’s legal and higher education systems needs to be undertaken where legal practitioners are linguistically equipped to litigate in a bilingual/ multilingual courtroom that enables access to justice for the majority of African language speaking litigants, enforcing their constitutional language rights.

Dr Zakeera Docrat is an Andrew W Mellon Foundation post-doctoral research fellow in forensic linguistics (language and law) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), based in the Department of African Language Studies. Dr Docrat was Rhodes University's first post-doctoral research fellow in forensic linguistics (language and law), under the auspices of the NRF SARChI Chair in the Intellectualisation of African Languages, Multilingualism and Education. Dr Docrat holds the following degrees: BA, BA Honours (cum laude), LLB, MA (cum laude) and a PhD. She has presented at international and national conferences including: The International Association of Forensic Linguists (IAFL) conferences in Portugal and Australia; and at the World Congress of African Linguists (WOCAL) conference in Morocco. She has published widely in accredited national and international journals and books. She has penned opinion pieces in several press forums. As an expert, she has been interviewed on national media. She is a member of the International Association of Forensic Linguists (IAFL), the African Languages Association of Southern Africa (ALASA) and Vice-Chairperson of the Indigenous Languages Action Forum (ILAF). She developed and co-lectured the first course module in African Forensic Linguistics at Rhodes University's (RU) School of Languages and Literatures. Dr Docrat was one of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans in 2018 (Justice and Law category) and received numerous awards, including most outstanding Master's Thesis (African Languages Association of South Africa) and the Women in Science Award - Albertina Sisulu Doctoral Fellowship (Department of Science and Technology), recognising her outstanding academic and research ability.

Prof Russell H. Kaschula is a registered advocate of the High Court of South Africa. He has a PhD in African literature. His research interests are multidisciplinary in that they cover both linguistic and literary issues. He is particularly interested in matters pertaining to applied language studies, sociolinguistics, education, second language acquisition, multilingualism and forensic linguistics. He also has a special interest in intercultural studies, as well as literature. He has presented conference papers and has published widely in these fields, both nationally and internationally. His forthcoming book, published by Routledge, is titled Languages, Identities and Intercultural Communication in South Africa and Beyond. He has taught at five South African universities and at an institution in the United States of America. He is also a creative writer and has published several award-winning novels. He has held leadership positions at a number of institutions, including the University of Cape Town and Rhodes University where he was Professor of African Language Studies. He was previously Head of the School of Languages & Literatures, administering six different language sections. He held the seconded position of NRF SARChI Chair in the Intellectualisation of African Languages, Multilingualism and Education until 2020. In 2008, he was awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Distinguished Senior Teaching Medal; and in 2017, he was awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Distinguished Senior Research Medal at Rhodes University (RU). In 2019, he was the recipient of the Mellon Global South Senior Fellow, AUC, Egypt. In January 2021, he was appointed as a professor in the Department of African Language Studies at the University of the Western Cape.

Prof Monwabisi K. Ralarala is Dean of Arts and Humanities at the University of the Western Cape. Previous positions include: Director: Fundani Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED) (Cape Peninsula University of Technology [CPUT]); Director: Language Centre (University of Fort Hare); Director of Research and Policy Development (Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities); and Lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch's (SU) Department of African Languages. Apart from being a Canon Collins Educational and Legal Assistance Trust Alumnus, he received the Neville Alexander Award for the Promotion of Multilingualism in 2017. He holds two PhDs (Stellenbosch University and University of the Free State respectively) on persuasion in African languages; and language practice (emphasis: forensic linguistics). His diverse research interests follow three lines: language rights and multilingualism in higher education; forensic linguistics; and translation studies. He has held visiting scholarships, nationally and internationally, for teaching and research. He has also published articles and book chapters, mainly in forensic linguistics and translation studies. His co-edited books are: African language and language practice research in the 21st century: Interdisciplinary themes and perspectives (2017, CASAS); New frontiers in forensic linguistics: Themes and perspectives in language and law in Africa and beyond (2019, African Sun Media) and Knowledge beyond colour lines: Towards repurposing knowledge generation in Higher Education in South Africa and beyond (2021, UWC Press). He is founder and Chief Series Editor of Studies in forensic linguistics: Language and the law in South Africa and beyond.