// Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2006, 24(2); p. 151–163.This paper provides a sociolinguistic (rather than an applied linguistic or political)
appraisal of policy-related language developments in South Africa, with a main focus on recent
trends in applied linguistic writing on the subject. The paper first briefly summarises the trends
leading to the constitutional ideals and their modifications. Thereafter it highlights the dilemmas
surrounding implementation, and criticisms of implementation by applied linguists. The paper
argues that greater bottom-up sociolinguistic awareness and less faith in bureaucratic top-down
policies are needed to understand developments (and, more often, lack of developments) around
language.
