ABSTRACT
Radio is the supreme medium of communication in Zambia, and the only one reaching a majority of the population. Other media are important and they illuminate certain factors about the language situation in Zambia today. In particular, along with radio, they show the relative importance of Zambian languages in the media, and the place of English. Results from the Audience Survey in Zambia show that many listeners tended to switch on their radio sets at certain times of the day as a matter of habit and listened to the programmes in whatever language was being used at that time; and these change daily. Consequently sales of newspapers in Zambian languages are limited, especially in the urban areas where the ability to read English appears to matter more. There are many people with talent who can write, present and produce lively and entertaining programmes in Zambian languages. But few people with these talents in the English language actually go into broadcasting.
