This paper demonstrates how the language policy in Malawi has entrenched the hegemony of English over Chichewa and other indigenous languages, especially as it pertains to the official domains of national life. Although both English and Chichewa are official languages, the language policy has created an asymmetrical coexistence between these two languages by favoring English over the latter. The paper presents the current role of English, vis-a Á-vis Chichewa, based on its functions, range, and depth. The paper further shows that the exclusive use of English in the legislature, the judiciary, and mass media, among other domains, alienates the majority of Malawians who have no facility in this language and consequently limits their political rights in many respects. It is important, therefore, to institute a language plan that can guide the country in sustaining democracy, promoting the vitality, versatility, and stability of indigenous languages, and the rights of their speakers to participate in the national community more effectively.

This paper examines the linguistic pragmatic rules that govern obituary notices in Malawian newspapers and how these notices are grounded in the cultural milieu of Malawian society. The guiding principle of this analysis is the notion that discourse should always be contextualized in particular circumstances of social life. A total of 63 obituary notices, sampled from two popular newspapers, were analyzed for both communicative and linguistic/sociolinguistic aspects. Using Gasparov's (1977) typology of discourses, the paper notes that Malawian obituary notices negotiate both public and private domains. The obituary is a predominantly private affair, which, however, uses a public forum for its consummation. Unlike obituary notices in other countries, the Malawian obituary notices are primarily addressed to the deceased rather than the reading public. The notices also incorporate features from African oral traditions, Christian traditions, and Western traditions, reflecting the multiple sources of the modern Malawian's experiences.

This paper examines recent attempts by the Malawi government to introduce local languages into the primary school system and other secondary domains of national life, breaking more than 30 years of Chichewa/English monopoly. In a country where the language policy has essentially established the hegemony of English over indigenous languages, the fundamental question that this policy must consider should revolve around the role that these languages can play in the development of Malawi(ans) from a traditionally oral to an increasingly literate culture, ever more connected to the international community through the English language. For many Malawians, economic success is predicated on one's ability to speak, read and write English. There are, therefore, enormous attitudinal, political, economic and social problems that the policy has to contend with.

This paper explores language shift cases in three Malawian languages using Fishman's Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS) in order to gain some insight into the extent to which these languages should be regarded as threatened and therefore in need of reversal support. The paper shows that Chingoni, in its current state of attrition, is a GIDS 8 language. While not much can be done to revive it, there is need for folklorists and linguists to document the language and its culture before it completely disappears. With respect to Chilomwe, the paper places this language at GIDS 7. Without any serious intergenerational transmission taking place, Chilomwe needs a full array of reversal support if the language is to survive. Finally, the paper shows that in spite of some studies showing that Chiyao is undergoing some language shift, at GIDS 6 it is in fact the strongest of the three languages examined and current reversal efforts can only strengthen its position.

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