Indigenous Language Use in Knowledge Dissemination in South Africa During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic the use of indigenous languages became very important for ensuring that health messages and information about regulations reached the public. The COVID-19 Command Task Team formed by the South African President became a national structure that had to work with task teams formed in provinces to ensure the dissemination of knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures that government implemented.

During the COVID-19 pandemic the use of indigenous languages became very important for ensuring that health messages and information about regulations reached the public. The COVID-19 Command Task Team formed by the South African President became a national structure that had to work with task teams formed in provinces to ensure the dissemination of knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures that government implemented. Knowledge dissemination takes various formats, namely written, spoken, and sign language. It is very important for ensuring that the message reaches the intended audience, that it is well understood and correctly implemented. This chapter explores how indigenous languages were used to disseminate knowledge during the COVID-19 pandemic, and if knowledge dissemination in various languages was adequate. The Diffusion of Innovations Theory was instrumental for this study. A document analysis method was used to explore the focus area and address the research questions. This chapter is of value, as the urgency of the pandemic meant that South African citizens needed to understand the message delivered by government. Learning the lessons from the COVID-19 experience might assist communicators with successfully communicating health messages in future.