Linguistic challenges faced by foreign migrant workers and informal traders in Gauteng

Abstract

The research project takes a hard look into the linguistic challenges faced by foreign migrant workers and informal traders in Gauteng province, South Africa. The research makes a panoramic view into the linguistic challenges faced by foreign migrant workers and informal traders. The focus of the research is on the challenges regarding language use in business domains. It dissects into business communication dynamics and the cultural contexts in the developing economies of Southern Africa. The study focused on finding out language challenges for immigrants as a consequence of migration. The research undertakes to discover language policy frameworks operating in industries and informal business environment in Gauteng. It seeks to establish the strategies that could be used to solve the language problems faced by foreign migrants taking into consideration that most of the immigrants in the construction industry and informal sector are semi-literate or illiterate. In other words, the research explores alternatives and the different roles of different organizations in the approach to language challenges when doing business. The study attempts to make some recommendations that can rescue immigrant challenges. These include language training programmes and changing attitudes as they have to learn the indigenous languages used in Gauteng province. The discussion reviews the sociolinguistic aspects in view of the changing demands of the developing economies of Africa where languages are used as vehicles for economic development and technological innovation. It attempts to reflect on why European languages continue to dominate business operations in Africa while African languages remain marginalized.