The African Languages Research Institute: A Milestone in the Development of the Zimbabwean Languages

Abstract

This article is an assessment of the work the African Languages Research Institute (ALRI) has done towards developing the indigenous languages of Zimbabwe. It looks at what the research team at ALRI has achieved, first in initiating serious research on the Zimbabwean lan-guages and the progress it has made towards achieving its goal, developing and raising the status of these languages. It also considers what ALRI has planned for the future of the different catego-ries or levels into which the various Zimbabwean languages have been classified. Part of the as-sessment focuses on measures ALRI has put in place to ensure the initiated research programme is sustainable and will continue in future. The article furthermore discusses the importance of the research work being done at ALRI, especially with regard to language development as a means towards self-realisation and -actualisation, national advancement and the sustenance of the lan-guages involved. ALRI's agenda is also analysed to see how well it agrees with popular thinking in Zimbabwe concerning the development and promotion of all of the indigenous languages.

Keywords: alri, capacity building, institutionalisation, language har-monisation, language standardisation, monolingual lexicography, zim-babwean languages