View source for South African English

{{About|English dialects of South Africa|English people in South Africa|British diaspora in Africa}}
{{Short description|Variety of the English language}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use South African English|date=August 2019}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=May 2007}}
{{Lead too short|date=March 2020}}
}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = South African English
| region           = [[South Africa]]
| ethnicity        = [[South Africans]]
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
| fam3             = [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]
| fam4             = [[North Sea Germanic]]
| fam5             = [[Anglo-Frisian languages|Anglo-Frisian]]
| fam6             = [[Anglic languages|Anglic]]
| fam7             = [[English language|English]]
| ancestor         = [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]
| ancestor2        = [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]]
| ancestor3        = [[Old English]]
| ancestor4        = [[Middle English]]
| ancestor5        = [[Early Modern English]]
| ancestor6        = 19th century [[British English]]
| script           = [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[English alphabet]])<br />[[Unified English Braille]]
| nation           = South Africa
| agency           = [[English Academy of Southern Africa]]
| isoexception     = dialect
| glotto           = sout3331
| ietf             = en-ZA
| notice           = IPA
}}
{{Culture of South Africa}}
[[File:South Africa 2011 English speakers proportion map.svg|thumb|Geographical distribution of English in South Africa: proportion of the population that speaks English at home
{{div col|colwidth=10em|content=
{{legend|#EDF8E9|0–20%}}
{{legend|#BAE4B3|20–40%}}
{{legend|#74C476|40–60%}}
{{legend|#31A354|60–80%}}
{{legend|#006D2C|80–100%}}
}}]]
[[File:South Africa 2011 English speakers density map.svg|thumb|Geographical distribution of English in South Africa: density of English home-language speakers. The four high-density clusters correspond to the locations of [[Pretoria]] and [[Johannesburg]], [[Durban]], [[Gqeberha]] and [[Cape Town]] (clockwise).
{{div col|colwidth=10em|content=
{{legend|#ffffcc|&lt;1 /km²}}
{{legend|#ffeda0|1–3 /km²}}
{{legend|#fed976|3–10 /km²}}
{{legend|#feb24c|10–30 /km²}}
{{legend|#fd8d3c|30–100 /km²}}
{{legend|#fc4e2a|100–300 /km²}}
{{legend|#e31a1c|300–1000 /km²}}
{{legend|#bc0026|1000–3000 /km²}}
{{legend|#800026|&gt;3000 /km²}}
}}]]
{{English language}}

'''[[South]] African English''' ('''SAfE''', '''SAfEn''', '''SAE''', '''en-ZA'''){{efn|name=enZA}} is the [[List of dialects of English|set of English language dialects]] native to South Africans.

== History ==
[[British Empire|British]] settlers first arrived in the South African region in 1795, when they established a military holding operation at the [[Cape Colony]]. The goal of this first endeavour was to gain control of a key Cape sea route, not to establish a permanent [[settler colony]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Language in South Africa |date=2002 |publisher=University Press |isbn=9780521791052 |editor-last=Mesthrie |editor-first=Rajend |location=Cambridge |oclc=56218975}}</ref> Full control of the colony was wrested from the [[Batavian Republic]] following the [[Battle of Blaauwberg]] in 1806. The first major influx of English speakers arrived in [[1820 Settlers|1820]]. About 5,000 British settlers, mostly rural or working class, settled in the [[Eastern Cape]].<ref name=":0" /> Though the British were a minority colonist group (the Dutch had been in the region since 1652 when traders from the [[Dutch East India Company]] developed an [[Dutch Cape Colony|outpost]]), the Cape Colony governor, [[Lord Charles Somerset]], declared English an official language in 1822.<ref name=":0" /> To spread the influence of English in the colony, officials began to recruit British schoolmasters and Scottish clergy to occupy positions in the education and church systems.<ref name=":0" /> Another group of English speakers arrived from Britain in the 1840s and 1850s, along with the [[Colony of Natal|Natal settlers]]. These individuals were largely "standard speakers" like retired military personnel and aristocrats.<ref name=":0" /> A third wave of English settlers arrived between 1875 and 1904, and brought with them a diverse variety of [[English dialects]]. These last two waves did not have as large an influence on South African English (SAE), for "the seeds of development were already sown in 1820".<ref name=":0" /> However, the Natal wave brought nostalgia for British customs and helped to define the idea of a "standard" variety that resembled Southern British English.<ref name=":0" />

When the [[Union of South Africa]] was formed in 1910, English and Dutch were the official state languages, although [[Afrikaans]] effectively replaced Dutch in 1925.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Mesthrie|first=R.|pages=539–542|language=en|doi=10.1016/b0-08-044854-2/01664-3|title = Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics|year = 2006|isbn = 9780080448541|chapter = South Africa: Language Situation}}</ref> After 1994, these two languages along with nine other [[Southern Bantu languages]] achieved equal official status.<ref name=":1" />

SAE is an extraterritorial (ET) variety of English, or a language variety that has been transported outside its mainland home. More specifically, SAE is a Southern hemisphere ET originating from later English colonisation in the 18th and 19th centuries (Zimbabwean, Australian, and New Zealand English are also Southern hemisphere ET varieties).<ref name=":0" /> SAE resembles British English more closely than it does [[American English]] due to the close ties that South African colonies maintained with the mainland in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, the influence of American pop culture around the world made American English more familiar in South Africa, with some American lexical items becoming alternatives to comparable British terms.<ref name=":0" />

== White South African English ==
Several white South African English varieties have emerged, accompanied by varying levels of perceived [[Prestige (sociolinguistics)|social prestige]]. Roger Lass describes white South African English as a system of three sub-varieties spoken primarily by [[White South Africans]], called "The Great [[Trichotomy theorem|Trichotomy]]" (a term first used to categorise [[Australian English]] varieties and subsequently applied to South African English).<ref name=":0" /> In this classification, the "Cultivated" variety closely approximates England's standard [[Received Pronunciation]] and is associated with the upper class; the "General" variety is a social indicator of the middle class and is the common tongue; and the "Broad" variety is most associated with the working class, low socioeconomic status, and little education.<ref name=":0" /> These three sub-varieties, Cultivated, General, and Broad, have also sometimes been called "Conservative SAE", "Respectable SAE", and "Extreme SAE", respectively.<ref name=":0" /> Broad White SAE closely approximates the second-language variety of ([[Afrikaans]]-speaking) [[Afrikaners]] called Afrikaans English. This variety has been stigmatised by middle- and upper-class SAE speakers (primarily those of British origin) and is considered a vernacular form of SAE.<ref name=":0" />

=== Phonology ===
{{IPA notice|section}}
{{Main|White South African English phonology}}

==== Vowels ====
* [[Allophonic]] variation in the {{sc2|KIT}} vowel (from Wells' 1982 [[lexical set]]s). In some contexts, such as after {{IPAslink|h}}, the KIT vowel is pronounced {{IPAblink|ɪ}}; before [[tautosyllabic]] {{IPAslink|l}} it is pronounced {{IPAblink|ɤ}}; and in other contexts it is pronounced {{IPAblink|ə}}.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Bekker |first=Ian |date=1 January 2012 |title=The story of South African English: A brief linguistic overview |url=https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/latic/article/view/2722 |via=eJournals |journal=International Journal of Language, Translation and Intercultural Communication |volume=1 |pages=139–150 |doi=10.12681/ijltic.16 |issn=2241-7214 |doi-access=free}}</ref> This feature is not present in Conservative SAE, and may have resulted from a vocalic [[chain shift]] in White SAE.<ref name=":0" /> 
* Pronunciation of the {{sc2|FLEECE}} vowel with the long monophthongal {{IPAblink|iː}}. In contrast, other Southern Hemisphere Englishes like [[Australian English]] and [[New Zealand English]] have diphthongised {{sc2|FLEECE}} ({{IPA|[ɪi ~ əi]}}).<ref name=":3" />
* Back {{sc2|PALM}}, with lip rounding in the broader dialects ({{IPAblink|ɑː}} or {{IPAblink|ɒː}}). This differs from Australian English and New Zealand English, which have central {{IPAblink|aː}} instead.<ref name=":3" />
* The [[trap-bath split]], as in New Zealand English and partially also Australian English.<ref name=":0" /> 
* {{sc2|LOT}} is short, open, weakly rounded, and centralised, around {{IPA|[ɒ̽]}}.<ref name=":0" /> 
* {{sc2|FOOT}} is short, half-closed back and centralised, around {{IPAblink|ʊ}}.<ref name=":0" /> 
* {{sc2|NURSE}} tends to resemble the Received Pronunciation non-rhotic {{IPAblink|ɜː}} among Conservative SAE speakers, while the vowel is front, half-close, centralised {{IPAblink|øː}} in other varieties.<ref name=":0" />

==== Consonants ====
* In Conservative and Respectable SAE, {{IPAslink|h}} is the voiceless glottal fricative {{IPAblink|h}}. In Extreme SAE, {{IPA|/h/}} has a more breathy-voiced pronunciation, {{IPAblink|ɦ}}, likely as a result of a Dutch/Afrikaans substrate. {{IPA|/h/}} is sometimes deleted in Extreme SAE where it is preserved in Conservative and Respectable SAE. For instance, when it occurs initially in stressed syllables in words like "house", it is deleted in Extreme SAE.<ref name=":0" />
* Conservative SAE is completely [[Rhoticity in English|non-rhotic]] like Received Pronunciation, while Respectable SAE has sporadic moments of rhoticity. These rhotic moments generally occur in {{IPA|/r/}}-final words. More frequent rhoticity is a marker of Extreme SAE.<ref name=":0" /> 
* Unaspirated voiceless [[plosives]] (like {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/t/}}, and {{IPA|/k/}}) in stressed word-initial environments.<ref name=":3" />
* [[Yod-coalescence|Yod-assimilation]]: ''tune'' and ''dune'' tend to be realised as {{IPA|[t͡ʃʉːn]}} and {{IPA|[d͡ʒʉːn]}}, instead of the [[Received Pronunciation]] {{IPA|[tjuːn]}} and {{IPA|[djuːn]}}.<ref name=":3" />

== Black South African English ==
Black South African English, or BSAE, is spoken by individuals whose first language is an [[indigenous African]] tongue.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Language in South Africa|last1=De Klerk|first1=Vivian|last2=Gough|first2=David|year=2002|isbn=9780511486692|pages=356–378|language=en|doi=10.1017/cbo9780511486692.019}}</ref> BSAE is considered a "new" English because it has emerged through the education system among second-language speakers in places where English is not the majority language.<ref name=":4" /> At least two sociolinguistic variants have been definitively studied on a [[post-creole continuum]] for the second-language Black South African English spoken by most [[Bantu peoples in South Africa|Black South Africans]]: a high-end, prestigious "[[acrolect]]" and a more middle-ranging, mainstream "[[mesolect]]". The "basilect" variety is less similar to the colonial language (natively-spoken English), while the "mesolect" is somewhat more so.<ref name=":0" /> Historically, BSAE has been considered a "non-standard" variety of English, inappropriate for formal contexts and influenced by indigenous African languages.<ref name=":4" />

According to the Central Statistical Services, {{as of|1994|lc=yes}} about seven million black people spoke English in South Africa.<ref name=":4" /> BSAE originated in the South African school system when the 1953 [[Bantu Education Act, 1953|Bantu Education Act]] mandated the use of native African languages in the classroom. When this law was established, most of the native English-speaking teachers were removed from schools. This limited the exposure that black students received to standard varieties of English. As a result, the English spoken in black schools developed distinctive patterns of pronunciation and syntax, leading to the formation of BSAE.<ref name=":4" /> Some of these characteristic features can be linked to the mother tongues of the early BSAE speakers. The policy of mother tongue promotion in schools ultimately failed, and in 1979, the [[Department of Bantu Education]] allowed schools to choose their own language of instruction. English was largely the language of choice because it was viewed as a key tool of social and economic advancement.<ref name=":4" /> BSAE has contrasting pronunciation and organisation of vowels and consonants compared to the ones in standard English. For instance, "it lacks the tense/lax contrast and central vowels in the mesolectal variety."<ref name=":12"/>

=== Classification ===
The difference between Black and White South Africans is based on their ethnic backgrounds, with them, as BSAE, being originally the first indigenous people that made a <nowiki>''new'' English South Africa and developing speaking their tongue version of English and deciding not to speak South Africa'</nowiki>s native language of English, which is mostly exclusive for them due to it not being the majority language. In SAE it is primarily used for publicising the differences between British and other forms of tongue speaking for native speakers in various communities of South Africa.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mesthrie |first1=Rajend |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cqaGb_SEQHUC&dq=South+african+english&pg=PA104 |title=Language in South Africa |last2=Rajend |first2=Mesthrie |date=2002-10-17 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-79105-2 |pages=104 |language=en}}</ref>

The local native language of Black South African "new" English would lean more on the syllable side and would lean less on stress timing; due to this, the speech of the language would be affected by the length of vowel deduction in "new" English.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mesthrie |first1=Rajend |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cqaGb_SEQHUC&dq=How+is+black+south+african+is+different+than+normal+south+african+english&pg=PA356 |title=Language in South Africa |last2=Rajend |first2=Mesthrie |date=2002-10-17 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-79105-2 |pages=361 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Phonology ===
BSAE emerged from the influence of local native languages on the British English variety often taught in South African schools. After dispersing BSAE has been seen as three distinct subvarieties: the basilect, mesolect, and acrolect. Not much has yet been studied on the subvarieties of BSAE, and the distinctions between them are not yet fully defined. However, there are some notable pronunciation differences in the [[mesolect]] and [[acrolect]].<ref name=":12">{{Citation |title=Black South African English: phonology |date=2008-03-18 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783110208429.1.177 |work=Africa, South and Southeast Asia |pages=177–187 |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |doi=10.1515/9783110208429.1.177 |isbn=9783110208429 |access-date=2022-10-18|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The vowels in BSAE can be realised as five key phonemes: /i/, pronounced in words like "FLEECE" or KIT, /u/ in "FOOT" or "GOOSE", /ɛ/ in "TRAP", "DRESS", or "NURSE", /ɔ/ in LOT or FORCE, and /a/ as in CAR. /i/ may occasionally be pronounced [ɪ] in the acrolectal variety, though there is no consistent change among speakers. One difference in the acrolect in comparison to the mesolect is that it often uses [ʌ] in place of [a].<ref name=":12" />

In addition, many vowels that are normally diphthongs in most varieties are monophthongs in BSAE. For example, "FACE" in General White SAE is typically pronounced as /feɪs/, but in BSAE is typically pronounced /fɛs/.<ref name=":12" />

=== Grammar ===
Black South African English analysis has not been researched or utilised enough due to its contrasting methods to Southern British norms.<ref name=":12" /> BSAE has contrasting pronunciation and organisation of vowels and consonants compared to the ones in more commonly used languages such as other varieties of English.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last=Makalela |first=Leketi |date=2013 |title=Black South African English on the Radio |journal=World Englishes |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=93–107|doi=10.1111/weng.12007 }}</ref> Due to English being an official language of South Africa, dialects that have contrary methods in language and pronunciation to English become isolated from the speech in that area. For instance, "it lacks the tense/lax contrast and central vowels in the mesolectal variety."<ref name=":12" />

In Black South African English, the length of vowels is changeable, and vowel length can be understood as stress placement, with some deviation from Standard English. An example of this is in the word "sevénty", which has primary stress on the penultimate, rather than the initial, syllable.<ref name=":12" />

Additionally, BSAE differs from other forms of dialect by "having shorter tone/information units and having lower pitch and decrease intensity as the sentence concludes."<ref name=":12" />

Certain words such as "maybe" are used as conditional words that imply the result of something if a thing or event were to happen. Another distinctive trait of BSAE is the use of the word "that" as a complementiser. BSAE also has a high frequency of the retention of question word order, 0.86 per 1000 words.<ref name=":22" />

Other findings show that the Cultural Linguistic explorations of World Englishes have been evaluating BSAE based on its cognitive sociolinguistic principles. It is a language that is still being studied due to its strong cultural and traditional ties to its mother tongues.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peters |first=Arne |title=Cultural Linguistics and World Englishes |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2021 |isbn=978-981-15-4695-2 |pages=356 |language=English}}</ref>

=== History ===
Historically, BSAE has been considered a "non-standard" variety of English, perceived as inappropriate for formal contexts, and influenced by indigenous African languages.

BSAE, or Black South African English, has its roots in European colonialism of the African continent in the 19th century. As a result of English being pushed by the colonisers of the region, the British, English became widespread in the South African region after it became necessary for indigenous African communities to use for success under the British.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=De Klerk |first=Vivian |date=November 1999 |title=Black South African English: Where to from here? |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-971x.00146 |journal=World Englishes |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=311–324 |doi=10.1111/1467-971x.00146 |issn=0883-2919|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Much like in other colonies of the British, English became a necessity for advancement and economic security in the colony for indigenous Africans.<ref name=":02" />

According to the Central Statistical Services, as of 1994, about seven million black people spoke English in South Africa. BSAE originated in the South African school system when the 1953 [[Bantu Education Act, 1953|Bantu Education Act]] mandated the use of native African languages in the classroom. When this law was established, most of the native English-speaking teachers were removed from schools. This limited the exposure that black students received to standard varieties of English. As a result, the English spoken in black schools developed distinctive patterns of pronunciation and syntax, leading to the formation of BSAE. Some of these characteristic features can be linked to the mother tongues of the early BSAE speakers. The policy of mother tongue promotion in schools ultimately failed, and in 1979, the [[Department of Bantu Education]] allowed schools to choose their own language of instruction. English was largely the language of choice because it was viewed as a key tool of social and economic advancement.

=== Geography ===
{{Further|Geography of South Africa}}
South Africa occupies the southern area of Africa, its coastline stretching more than {{convert|2,850|km|mi|abbr=off|sp=us}} from the desert border within [[Namibia]] on the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] (western) coast southwards around the tip of Africa and then northeast to the border with [[Mozambique]] on the Indian Ocean. The low-lying [[coastal zone]] is narrow for much of that distance, soon giving way to a mountainous [[escarpment]] ([[Great Escarpment, Southern Africa|Great Escarpment]]) that separates the coast from the high inland plateau. In some places, notably the province of [[KwaZulu-Natal]] in the east, a greater distance separates the coast from the escarpment. Although much of the country is classified as [[semi-arid]], it has considerable variation in climate as well as [[topography]]. The total land area is {{convert|1,220,813|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}. It has the 23rd largest [[Exclusive Economic Zone]] of {{convert|1,535,538|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.

The South African Central Plateau only contains two major rivers: The [[Limpopo river|Limpopo]] and The [[Orange River|Orange]] (with its tributary, the [[Vaal River|Vaal]]). These rivers mainly flow across the central places in the east and west off the coast until they reach the [[Atlantic Ocean]] through the [[Namibia]]n border.

== Indian South African English ==
Indian South African English (ISAE) is a sub-variety that developed among the descendants of [[Indian South Africans|Indian immigrants to South Africa]].<ref name=":0" /> The [[Apartheid]] policy, in effect from 1948 to 1991, prevented Indian children from publicly interacting with people of English heritage. This separation caused an Indian variety to develop independently from white South African English, though with phonological and lexical features still fitting under the South African English umbrella.<ref name=":0" /> Indian South African English includes a "[[basilect]]", "[[Post-creole continuum|mesolect]]", and "[[Post-creole continuum|acrolect]]".<ref name=":0" /> These terms describe varieties of a given language on a spectrum of similarity to the colonial version of that language: the "acrolect" being the most similar.<ref name=":0" /> Today, basilect speakers are generally older non-native speakers with little education; acrolect speakers closely resemble colonial native English speakers, with a few phonetic/syntactic exceptions; and mesolect speakers fall somewhere in-between.<ref name=":0" /> A significant factor in the development of ISAE is the linguistic background of the early immigrants. While often referred to locally as "Hindustani," the primary North Indian language brought by indentured labourers (predominantly from [[Bihar]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]] via [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] between 1860 and 1911) was identified by linguist Rajend Mesthrie as ''South African Bhojpuri (SABh)'', a koiné formed from Bhojpuri and Awadhi languages.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Mesthrie |first=Rajend |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ikdPmwEACAAJ |title=A History of the Bhojpuri (or "Hindi") Language in South Africa |date=1985 |publisher=University of Cape Town |language=en}}</ref> As this language declined throughout the 20th century and speakers shifted to English, SABh likely served as a substrate, influencing the phonology, lexicon, and syntax of the emerging Indian South African English variety, alongside influences from other Indian languages like Tamil, Telugu, and Gujarati spoken by other immigrant groups<ref name=":5" /> In recent decades, the dialect has come much closer to the standard language through the model taught in schools. The result is a variety of English which mixes features of [[Indian English|Indian]], South African, [[Received Pronunciation|Standard British]], creole, and foreign language learning Englishes in a unique and fascinating way.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crystal |first=David |title=The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language |publisher=University Press |year=1995 |isbn=0521401798 |location=Cambridge |pages=356}}</ref>

ISAE resembles [[Indian English]] in some respects, possibly because the varieties contain speakers with shared mother tongues or because early English teachers were brought to South Africa from India, or both.<ref name=":0" /> Four prominent education-related lexical features shared by ISAE and Indian English are: ''tuition(s),'' which means "extra lessons outside school that one pays for" (i.e. "tutoring" in other varieties of English); ''further studies'', which means "higher education"; ''alphabets'', which means "the alphabet, letters of the alphabet"; and ''by-heart'', which means "to learn off by heart"; these items show the influence of Indian English teachers in South Africa.<ref name=":0" /> Phonologically, ISAE also shares several similarities with Indian English, though certain common features are decreasing in the South African variety. For instance, consonant retroflexion in phonemes like /ḍ/ and strong aspiration in consonant production (common in North Indian English) are present in both varieties, but declining in ISAE. [[Syllable-timed]] rhythm, instead of [[stress-timed rhythm]], is still a prominent feature in both varieties, especially in more colloquial sub-varieties.<ref name=":0" />

== Coloured South African English ==
About 20% of all [[Coloureds|coloured]] people in South Africa speak English as a [[First language|home language]]. They are primarily concentrated in the provinces of [[KwaZulu-Natal]] and northeastern parts of the [[Eastern Cape]] in the former [[Transkei]] with some transplants being found in [[Johannesburg]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alexander |first=Mary |date=June 10, 2019 |title=What languages do black, coloured, Indian and white South Africans speak? |url=https://southafrica-info.com/infographics/languages-black-coloured-indian-white-south-africans-speak/ |access-date=18 July 2022 |website=South Africa Gateway |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716195502/https://southafrica-info.com/infographics/languages-black-coloured-indian-white-south-africans-speak/ |archive-date=16 July 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Many people from these regions migrated to [[Durban]] and [[Pietermaritzburg]], where the most Anglophone coloureds can be found.<ref name=Fynn1999>{{Cite thesis |type=M.A. Thesis |last=Fynn |first=Lorraine Margaret |date=1991 |title=The "Coloured" Community of Durban: A Study of Changing Perceptions of Identity |publisher=[[University of Natal]] |location=[[Durban]] |hdl=10413/6802}}</ref>

Anglophone coloureds with European heritage have ancestry mostly from the [[British Isles]], which, along with originating in regions with very few [[Afrikaans]] speaking people, contributed to English being the main language of the coloured people in the region.<ref name=Fynn1999 />

The accent of Anglophone coloured people is influenced by their multiracial background, being descended from Europeans (British, [[Germany|German]], and Afrikaners), blacks ([[Zulu people|Zulu]] and [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]]), Indians (both [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]] and [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]]) as well as other mixed people like [[Demographics of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha|St. Helenians]], [[Mauritian Creoles]] and some [[Griqua people|Griquas]]. This has influenced the accent to be one of the most distinctive in Southern Africa.

=== Cape Flats English ===
{{main|Cape Flats English}}
A particular variety or sub-spectrum of South African English is [[Cape Flats English]], originally and best associated with inner-city [[Cape Coloured]] speakers.<ref name=KortmannSchneider2004>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mtd3a-56ysUC|title= A Handbook of Varieties of English|editor-first=Bernd|editor-last=Kortmann|editor2-first=Edgar W.|editor2-last=Schneider|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter|location=Berlin/New York|year=2004|isbn= 978-3-11-017532-5}}</ref>

== Lexicon ==

=== History of SAE dictionaries ===
In 1913, Charles Pettman created the first South African English dictionary, entitled ''Africanderisms''. This work sought to identify Afrikaans terms that were emerging in the English language in South Africa.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Taylor|first=Tim|year=1994|title=Review of A Lexicon of South African Indian English|jstor=30028394|journal=Anthropological Linguistics|volume=36|issue=4|pages=521–524}}</ref> In 1924, the [[Oxford University Press]] published its first version of a South African English dictionary, ''The South African Pocket Oxford Dictionary.'' Subsequent editions of this dictionary have tried to take a "broad editorial approach" in including vocabulary terms native to South Africa, though the extent of this inclusion has been contested.<ref name=":2" /> [[Rhodes University]] (South Africa) and [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]] (Great Britain) worked together to produce the 1978 ''Dictionary of South African English,'' which adopted a more conservative approach in its inclusion of terms. This dictionary did include, for the first time, what the dictionary writers deemed "the jargon of townships", or vocabulary terms found in Black journalism and literary circles.<ref name=":2" /> Dictionaries specialising in scientific jargon, such as the common names of South African plants, also emerged in the twentieth century. However, these works still often relied on Latin terminology and European pronunciation systems.<ref name=":2" /> {{as of|1992}}, Rajend Mesthrie had produced the only available dictionary of [[Indian South Africans|South African Indian]] English.<ref name=":2" />

=== Vocabulary ===
Unique SAE terms include:

* ''robot'' (traffic light)<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2024-01-03 |title=The Real Reason South Africans Call Traffic Lights “Robots” - Biltong St Marcus |url=https://www.biltongstmarcus.co.uk/blog/the-real-reason-south-africans-call-traffic-lights-robots/ |access-date=2025-11-12 |website=www.biltongstmarcus.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Rensburg |first=Marzanne Janse van |date=2024-06-05 |title=Four South African words that would confuse foreigners |url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/lifestyle/south-african-words-that-will-confuse-any-american/ |access-date=2025-11-12 |website=SA People |language=en-ZA}}</ref>
* ''tekkies'' (trainers, sneakers, or tennis shoes)<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" />

SAE includes lexical items borrowed from other [[Languages of South Africa|South African languages]]. The following list provides a sample of some of these terms:

* ''braai'' ([[barbecue]]) from Afrikaans<ref name=":3" /> 
* ''impimpi'' ([[police informant]])<ref name=":4" /> 
* ''indaba'' ([[conference]]; meeting) from [[Zulu language|Zulu]]<ref name=":3" /> 
* ''kwela-kwela'' ([[taxi]] or police pick-up [[van]])<ref name=":4" /> 
* ''madumbies'' (a type of edible [[root]]) found in Natal 
* ''mama'' (term of address for a senior woman)<ref name=":4" /> 
* ''mbaqanga'' (type of [[music]])<ref name=":4" /> 
* ''[[morabaraba]]'' ([[board game]])<ref name=":4" /> 
* ''sgebengu'' (criminal) found in IsiXhosa and IsiZulu speaking areas<ref name=":4" />
* ''skebereshe'' (a loose woman) found in Gauteng
* ''y'all'' (the contraction of "you all") for second person plural pronouns in ISAE<ref name=":3" />
* ''aweh'' (a greeting or in agreement)

==== British lexical items ====
SAE also contains several lexical items that demonstrate the British influence on this variety:

* ''arse'', ''bum'' (ass)<ref name=":0" />
* ''chemist'' (drugstore)<ref name=":0" />
* ''dinner-jacket'' ([[tuxedo]])<ref name=":0" />
* ''dustbin'' ([[garbage can]])<ref name=":0" />
* ''petrol'' ([[gasoline]])<ref name=":0" />
* ''silencer'' ([[muffler]])<ref name=":0" />
* ''flat'' ([[apartment]])

=== Expressions ===
A range of SAE expressions have been borrowed from other South African languages, or are uniquely used in this variety of English. Some common expressions include:

* The borrowed Afrikaans interjection ''ag,'' meaning "oh!", as in, "Ag, go away man"! (Equivalent to German "ach"). SAE uses a number of discourse markers from Afrikaans in colloquial speech.<ref name=":3" />
* The expression to ''come with,'' common especially among Afrikaans people, as in "are they coming with?"<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgsLAQAAMAAJ&q=%2522coming+with%2522 |title=Africa, South and Southeast Asia |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |year=2008 |isbn=9783110196382 |editor-last=Mesthrie |editor-first=Rajend |pages=475}}</ref> This is influenced by the Afrikaans phrase ''hulle kom saam'', literally "they come together", with ''saam'' being misinterpreted as ''with''.<ref name=KortmannSchneider2004 />{{rp|951}} In Afrikaans, ''saamkom'' is a [[separable verb]], similar to ''meekomen'' in Dutch and ''mitkommen'' in German, which is translated into English as "to come along".<ref name=pharos>{{cite book | title=Pharos tweetalinge skoolwoordeboek = Pharos bilingual school dictionary | publisher=Pharos | publication-place=Cape Town | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-86890-128-9 |author=Anon.|page=251}}</ref> "Come with?" is also encountered in areas of the Upper Midwest of the United States, which had a large number of [[Scandinavian American|Scandinavian]], [[Dutch Americans|Dutch]] and [[German Americans|German immigrants]], who, when speaking English, translated equivalent phrases directly from their own languages.<ref>[http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-tribu-words-work-midwest-20101208-story.html What's with 'come with'?], ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', 8 December 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141121191113/https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-tribu-words-work-midwest-20101208-story.html |date=21 November 2014}}.</ref>
* The use of the "strong obligative [[Modal verb|modal]]" ''must'' as a synonym for the polite ''should/shall''. "Must" has "much less social impact" in SAE than in other varieties.<ref name=":3" />
* ''Now-now'', as in "I'll do it now-now". Likely borrowed from the Afrikaans ''nou-nou'', this expression describes a time later than that referenced in the phrase "I'll do it now".<ref name=":3" />
* ''Crayfish'', used instead of lobster, likely comes from the Afrikaans “kreef”.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-04 |title=Meet the West Coast rock lobster! |url=https://www.aquarium.co.za/news/meet-the-west-coast-rock-lobster |access-date=2025-11-12 |website=Two Oceans Aquarium |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Kiff'', as in "this ice cream is ''kiff''." Used to express approval or joy from something, or to describe something that is in fashion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baloyi |first=Tshuxeko |date=2023-03-06 |title=South African slang word of the day: Kiff |url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/offbeat/south-african-slang-word-of-the-day-kiff-breaking-06-march-2023/ |access-date=2025-11-12 |website=The South African |language=en-ZA}}</ref>
* A large amount of slang comes from British origin, such as "naff" (boring, dull or plain), or "China" (mate, friend) from [[cockney rhyming slang]].

== Demographics ==
The [[South African National Census of 2011]] found a total of 4,892,623 speakers of English as a first language,<ref name="cib2011">{{cite book |title=Census 2011: Census in brief |url=http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2011/census_products/Census_2011_Census_in_brief.pdf |publisher=Statistics South Africa |location=Pretoria |year=2012 |isbn=9780621413885 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513171240/http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2011/census_products/Census_2011_Census_in_brief.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|23}} making up 9.6% of the national population.<ref name="cib2011" />{{rp|25}} The provinces with significant English-speaking populations were the [[Western Cape]] (20.2% of the provincial population), [[Gauteng]] (13.3%) and [[KwaZulu-Natal]] (13.2%).<ref name="cib2011" />{{rp|25}}

English was found to be spoken across all of South Africa's ethnic groups. A breakdown of English speakers according to the conventional racial classifications used by Statistics South Africa is described in the following table:

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|-
! Population group !! First-language English speakers<ref name="cib2011" />{{rp|26}} !! % of population group<ref name="cib2011" />{{rp|27}} !! % of total English-speakers
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Bantu peoples in South Africa|Black African]] || 1,167,913 || 2.9 || 23.9
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Coloured]] || 945,847 || 20.8 || 19.3
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Indian South African|Indian]] or [[Asian South African|Asian]] || 1,094,317 || 86.1 || 22.4
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[White South African|White]] || 1,603,575 || 35.9 || 32.8
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Other || 80,971 || 29.5 || 1.7
|-class="sortbottom"
|style="text-align:left"|'''Total''' || '''4,892,623''' || '''9.6''' || '''100.0'''
|}

== Examples of South African accents ==
The examples of South African accents in the list below were obtained from [[George Mason University]]:
* [http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=102 Male from Nigel, Gauteng]
* [http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=496 Male from Port Elizabeth]
* [http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=903 Male from Cape Town]
* [http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=904 Female from Cape Town]

All four of the speakers in this list have English as their first language.

==See also==
{{Portal|South Africa|Language}}

* [[List of English words of Afrikaans origin]]
* [[List of lexical differences in South African English]]
* [[List of South African slang words]]
* [[Zimbabwean English]]
* [[Australian English]]
* [[New Zealand English]]
* [[English in the Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth English]]
* [[Regional accents of English]]
* [[Dunglish]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist|refs=

{{efn|name=enZA|<code>en-ZA</code> {{langx|af|Suid Afrikaans Engels}} is the [[language code]] for South African English, as defined by [[ISO standard]]s (see [[ISO 639-1]] and [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-2]]) and [[Internet standard]]s (see [[IETF language tag]]).}}

}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|title=Africa, South and Southeast Asia|volume=4 of |series=Kortmann, Bernd; Schneider, Edgar W.: Varieties of English|editor-first=Rajend |editor-last=Mesthrie|publisher=de Gruyter|chapter=Cape Flats English: Phonology*|first=Peter|last=Finn
|year=2008
|isbn=9783110208429 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L1VhZHGupMUC&pg=PA200
}}
* {{Citation
|last=Lass
|first=Roger
|chapter=South African English
|editor-last=Mesthrie
|editor-first=Rajend
|year=2002
|title=Language in South Africa
|pages=363–386
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|isbn=9780521791052
|doi=10.1017/CBO9780511486920.015
}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Citation |last=Branford |first=William |year=1994 |chapter=9: English in South Africa |editor-last=Burchfield |editor-first=Robert |title=The Cambridge History of the English Language |volume=5: English in Britain and Overseas: Origins and Development |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-26478-2 |pages=430–496}}
* {{Citation |editor-last=De Klerk |editor-first=Vivian |year=1996 |title=Focus on South Africa |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |isbn=90-272-4873-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IZVqidxVsLwC}}
* {{cite journal |last=Khoklova |first=Irina |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042815060449 |title=Lingua Franca English of South Africa |journal=[[Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences]] |volume=214 |date=2015-12-05 |pages=983-991 |doi=10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.689 |via=[[Science Direct]] |doi-access=free}}
* {{Citation |last=Lanham |first=Len W. |year=1979 |title=The Standard in South African English and Its Social History |place=Heidelberg |publisher=Julius Groos Verlag |isbn=3-87276-210-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PR-uBDZn33wC}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [https://www.englishacademy.co.za English Academy of South Africa]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622171909/http://www.und.ac.za/und/ling/archive/pica-01.html |date=22 June 2008 |title=Picard, Brig (Dr) J.&nbsp;H, SM, MM. "English for the South African Armed Forces" }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060219211349/http://www.frokwon.net/slang.asp Zimbabwean Slang Dictionary]
* [http://www.roepstem.net/sa-english.html The influence of Afrikaans on SA English (in Dutch)]
* [http://www.rsa-overseas.com/features/slang.htm The Expat Portal RSA Slang]
* [http://web.ku.edu/~idea/africa/southafrica/southafrica.htm Several Samples of The Dialect]

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