Gukurahundism, Constitutionality and Ethnonationalist Language Policy Contestations
An Ideological Critique of Mediated Discourses About Mother Tongue Instruction in Zimbabwe
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19224852 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Khulekani Ndlovu (0000-0002-5107-9041, Department of Journalism and Media Technology Namibia University of Science and Technology Windhoek Namibia), Busani Maseko (0000-0002-9550-7968, School of Languages and Literatures Rhodes University Makhanda South Africa, corresponding author), Liqhwa Siziba (0000-0002-4088-159X, Independent Researcher Johannesburg South Africa) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1473-8481 • E-ISSN: 1754-9469 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/sena.70055 |
| OpenAlex | W7163158974 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 42 |
This paper examines mediated discourses on the state of implementation of language in education policy using a critical incident as a reference. Employing Thompson's modes of ideology, we perform an ideological critique of purposively sampled cross‐media discourses spawned by the failed attempt of a Zimbabwean government deputy minister to enforce L1 instruction in early childhood classes in his predominantly Ndebele‐speaking Bubi constituency. We conceptualize this incident as a microcosm of the persistence of a Gukurahundi ethnonationalist ideology, whose attempt to instal Shona hegemony precludes the implementation of constitutionally decreed multilingualism and the associated language in education policy. The analysis reveals that the discourse on tribalism was deployed as a diversionary and dissimulative narrative that eschewed an interrogation of structural failures and politically expedient neglect of constitutional and policy imperatives. Additionally, the reification of ethno‐nationalist ideology renders it impossible to realize equitable multilingualism in postcolonial Zimbabwe. Importantly, the ideological critique demonstrates that cultural engineering, in addition to constitutional and policy guarantees, is needed for the successful realization of mother tongue instruction in Zimbabwe
Barbarism · Critical discourse analysis · Hegemony · Ideology · Language policy · Medium of instruction · Multilingualism · Narrative · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Multilingual Education and Policy · Political theory and Gramsci
Discourse
Inequalities of multilingualism
The Use of Mother Tongue in Instruction
Mother Tongue Instruction
Family language policy in post-genocide Matabeleland
Teachers’ language ideologies, conflicting language policy and practices in Zimbabwean education system
The politics of the English language in Zimbabwe
The Language of the Gukurahundi Genocide in Zimbabwe
Subversive Verses
Ordinary People and the Media
Cultural politics and cultural violence during Gukurahundi in Matabeleland
Media(ted) Discourse and Society
The effect of the Russian language immersion on academic achievement of students whose mother tongue is Azerbaijani
Revealing the politics in “soft”, everyday uses of social media
Language choice, education and community identity
The Conundrums of Language Policy and Politics in South Africa and Zimbabwe
Ethnic Politics and Aesthetic Criticism
Gramsci, Doke and the Marginalisation of the Ndebele Language in Zimbabwe
(Re)membering the nation’s “forgotten” past
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Gukurahundi - a moment of madness
Gukurahundi Continues
Discourse and critique
The Noisy Silence of Gukurahundi
Compelled to Perform in the 'Oppressor's' Language? Ndebele Performing Artists and Zimbabwe's Shona-Centric Habitus
Mai VaDhikondo
Making Sense of Cultural Nationalism and the Politics of Commemoration under the Third Chimurenga in Zimbabwe
What's in a (pseudo)name? Ethical conundrums for the principles of anonymisation in social media research
Mass Communication and Modern Culture
The Problematics of Language-in-Education Policies in Post-Independence in Zimbabwe
Becoming Zimbabwe or Becoming Zimbabwean
Speaking for the dead
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |