SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND LANGUAGE INTERACTION IN THE MULTILINGUAL SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC SOCIETY

Abstract

The article examines the sociolinguistic specificity of South Africa Republic multilingual and multicultural society. The interaction of languages used by major social groups—Black South Africans, White South Africans, the Coloured community and the Indian population—is analyzed. Special attention is paid to the role of English as a mediating language, as well as to the functioning of indigenous languages and Afrikaans in social and media communication. The research work demonstrates that language interaction in South Africa Republic reflects historical and cultural transformations of the post-apartheid period and contributes to the formation of a shared national linguistic space.