Subtitling, literacy and education in South Africa: putting

Abstract

According to the National Research Foundation in South Africa, “the successful acquisition of language and literacy in a multilingual, multicultural and increasingly globalised and technologically driven environment is becoming more critical to educational and workplace success in South Africa" (NRF, 2001). The current crisis in education in the country could well be ascribed to the fact that South Africa has a literacy rate of less than 50%. According to Project Literacy, 16% of the population are totally illiterate (unable even to read their own names), and a further 40% are functionally illiterate.