This policy is informed by the pronouncement of the South African Constitution which enshrines cultural diversity including the recognition of all indigenous languages of the country. Without this policy as a guiding document on language practice at the DBSA, there is a risk that communication activities in the Bank could violate constitutional clauses.

The DBSA recognises all the eleven official languages of South Africa. However, it may not always be possible, because of costs or human resource expertise, for the Bank to use all of them in business correspondence. Although English is the official working language of the Bank, in the interests of promoting multilingualism, other languages may also be used in some cases.

The circumstances or instances in which those languages can be used, is described further in this policy. The policy also outlines language use guidelines so as to ensure that written or oral communication is respectful of diversity and does not offend or discriminate against any staff member or DBSA client.