Resonating Voices: The Transformative Power of Xitsonga Radio Stations in Language Preservation and Societal Discourse

Abstract

This chapter traces the development of radio broadcasting in Xitsonga. Four case studies of Xitsonga radio stations are considered: the public service station, Munghana Lonene FM, and the community stations, Malamulele FM, Giyani Community Radio, and Vision FM. Methodologically, we use purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews with station presenters and listeners. Theoretically, the study relies on Social Responsibility, which argues that media is responsible for informing, educating, and entertaining the masses to help build an informed citizenry. The study finds that broadcasting in Xitsonga has developed as the country opened to alternative community radio stations in post-democratic South Africa, and these stations are indeed fulfilling the social responsibility mandate. Further, as the world has moved toward digitisation, Xitsonga listeners have benefited from content co-creation. They have not remained passive consumers, a status that was the conventional orthodoxy before the advent of digital tools.