Položaj srpskog kao stranog jezika u supsaharskoj Africi

Abstract

In the era of globalization and European integration, the language and culture of „small nations” such as Serbian are quite endangered. In the last few decades, there has been greater representation of foreign languages in education. That is positive, but where is the Serbian language positioned in those systems, especially in distant countries and on other continents? In this paper, the literature related to the language and culture of the Serbian people was consulted to a lesser extent. To a greater extent, the socio-political circumstances were reviewed. The views of the person directly responsible for the official status of the Serbian language in Africa were presented. It made a huge contribution in achieving the main objective of the paper in which an empirical analysis based on a semi-structured interview was carried out. Based on the testimony of the interviewee, we will see: (1) in what social and political circumstances and with what means is the Serbian language protected and promoted, (2) how is teaching organized, (3) what are the motives for learning the Serbian language far from the motherland as well as (4) what perspectives are offered after passing the final exam. The main goal is to ease the assimilation of second and third generation Serbian speakers in Johannesburg and Pretoria. In addition, our task is to (1) point out the differences in the curriculum and educational system and (2) present some of the educational methods used by the lecturer in order to preserve the connection with the roots and protect the linguistic and cultural heritage in the time of globalization.