Black South African English
Introduction
Learn more about the variety of English used by Black speakers from South Africa.
Background
South African English (SAE), and more particularly Black South African English (BSAE), has emerged as a distinct variety shaped by South Africa's complex linguistic and social history. Originating from the arrival of British settlers in 1795, SAE developed through contact with indigenous African languages, primarily in mission schools during the 19th century. Its evolution was significantly influenced by the Apartheid era. During Apartheid, BSAE was heavily isolated for over 40 years.
In the post-Apartheid era, BSAE has undergone significant changes and gained increasing prominence. It has become the primary language of a growing multilingual Black elite and is increasingly used as a first language in some homes. The variety is moving towards an indigenized or nativized form of English, reflecting South Africa's changing social dynamics. As South Africa continues to navigate its multilingual landscape, BSAE plays a crucial role in education, social mobility, and national identity.
Pronunciation
FLEECE-KIT Merger
FOOT-GOOSE Merger
TRAP-DRESS-NURSE Merger
LOT-FORCE Merger
Rhoticity
Goldman-Fristoe
This section highlights key pronunciation features in BSAE that differ from Standard American English and may be commonly flagged by SLPs.
The FLEECE and KIT vowels are sometimes both realized as /ɪ/.
Recording
The word fleece (0:56) is pronounced [flɪs], and kit (0:57) is pronounced in [kɪt] in the following sentence:
“Then she put on a plain yellow dress and a fleece jacket, picked up her kit and headed for work.”
The FOOT and GOOSE vowels can be realized as /u/.
Recording
The word foot (1:17) is pronounced [fut] in the following sentence:
“...the animal could be suffering from a rare form of foot and mouth disease…”
The word goose (1:36) is pronounced [gus] in the following sentence:
“Before long, that itchy goose began to strut around the office like a lunatic…”
The TRAP, DRESS, and NURSE vowels are all realized as /ɛ/. The SQUARE vowel follows this as well.
Recording
The word nurse (0:20) is pronounced [nɛs] in the following sentence:
“Sarah Perry was a veterinary nurse who had been working daily at an old zoo…”
The word dress (0:54) is pronounced [drɛs] in the following sentence:
“Then she put on a plain yellow dress and a fleece jacket, picked up her kit and headed for work.”
The word trap (1:58) is pronounced [tɹɛp] in the following sentence:
“Comma was strong and huge, so it would take some force to trap her…”
LOT and FORCE vowels are realized as /ɔ/ for some speakers. THOUGHT, CLOTH, and NORTH vowels can all also merge to a similar sound.
Recording
The word force (1:37) is pronounced [fɔs] in the following sentence:
“…it would take some force to trap her…”
The word four (2:59) is pronounced [fɔ] in the following sentence:
“It’s like four hundred kilometers away…”
The word thought (2:34) is pronounced [θɔt] in the following sentence:
“...Mrs. Harrison—a millionaire lawyer—thought it was a fair price for a cure.”
In the prevocalic or intervocalic position, some speakers realize r as a trill: /r/, while others realize it as a tap: /ɾ/. Before consonants or at the end of an utterance, it is generally not pronounced.
Recordings
The word swear (0:05) is pronounced [swe], and Republic (0:07) is pronounced [rəpəblɪk] in the following sentence:
“I swear that I will be faithful to the Republic of South Africa…”
The word minister (0:20) is pronounced [mɪnistə] in the following sentence:
“...I undertake to hold my office as the minister with honor and dignity…”
The word true (0:23) is pronounced [tʃru], counselor (0:24) is pronounced [kənsɛlə], directly (0:27) is pronounced [dərɛktli], indirectly (0:28) is pronounced [ɪndərɛktli], and secret (0:30) is pronounced [səkrɛt] in the following sentence:
“...to be a true and faithful counselor, not to divulge directly or indirectly any secret matter..”
The word Perry (0:15) is pronounced [pɛɾi], and very (0:24) is pronounced [vɛɾi] in the following sentence:
“Sarah Perry was a veterinary nurse who had been working daily at an old zoo in a deserted district of the territory, so she was very happy to start a new job at a superb private practice in North Square near the Duke Street Tower.”
The following table highlights some pronunciations that BSAE speakers may realize in the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation, as compared to Standard American English.
Test Word | Standard American English | Black South African English |
|---|---|---|
Puzzle | [pəzəl] | [pɑ̈zəl] |
Tiger | [taɪgəɹ] | [tʌɪgə] |
Frog | [fɹɑg] | [frɔg] |
Quack | [kwæk] | [kwɛk] |
Teeth | [tiθ] | [tɪθ] |
Grammar
It’s and existential there’s with plural subjects
Progressive be + V-ing
Count/mass noun distinctions
Complementizer omission
BSAE exhibits various grammatical features. Below are a few examples of these distinctive features.
In BSAE, it is common to use it’s before a plural noun, like saying “it’s oranges” when Standard American English would favor “they are oranges” or “they’re oranges.” The same is true for existential there’s. In BSAE, the sentence “There’s the chairs” is completely acceptable, whereas Standard American English would favor the sentence “There are the chairs.”
Recording
It’s (6:28) is used with the plural subject words (6:29) when the speaker says the sentence “It’s the only words I know.”
BSAE uses the progressive be + V-ing in a wider variety of contexts compared to Standard American English. For example, it is normal in Standard American English for one to say, “People who have time for their children are happier,” but not, “People who are having time for their children are happier.” However, the second sentence would be perfectly acceptable in BSAE. This also extends to habitual contexts, meaning that if something is happening regularly, then the progressive be V-ing is likely to be used within that context.
Recording
This speaker uses the feature when referring to what his father does for his business, leaning into the habitual use tied to BSAE, when he says, “He is doing car spares at the moment” (3:15).
In BSAE, some mass nouns take on a plural suffix. This is shown in words such as furnitures and machineries.
BSAE speakers often omit that in sentences like “I just want to say ø if I wanted to eat the dinner you cooked, I would’ve done it already.” This is also likely due to Afrikaans grammar, as there is no complementizer in structures like this.
Lexicon
Lexical Transferring and Borrowing
Hybridization
British/American Integration
Because there are so many indigenous languages that BSAE draws from, there is a wide range of vocabulary from these languages. Typically, BSAE borrows words from food, clothing, sociopolitical structure, and traditional ceremonies.
The word zambia in Zimbabwe means "woman's garment" while in Zambia and Malawi, it's known as a citenge. Or lobola meaning "bride price."
Some other indigenous languages have made their way into BSAE.
Eina is "ouch" from the Khoi language
Zulu is another big contributor of words to the BSAE vocabulary.
Donga - kind of ditch
Indaba - conference
Shongololo - millipede
Amasi - sour milk drink
Gogo - "grandmother"
In BSAE, these borrowed words can be combined with English morphemes. BSAE uses morpheme endings like -ism, -ed, etc., as borrowings.
For example, khonta, meaning "seek a piece of land", combined with -ed becomes khonta-ed.
The same applies to words like mulunguism "whiteman-like behavior", mbayiyanism “lynching”, or unSwazi "not Swazi-like."
Some words from British and American English dialects have made their way into BSAE as well and can be confusing for non-native speakers.
In England, the word biscuit would refer to what those in the United States call a cookie. In South Africa, they use cookie as the word for "cupcake."
Buck—"slang term for the country's currency"
Café —"convenience store"
Chemist—"pharmacy or drugstore"
References
1. "South African English." Oxford English Dictionary. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://www.oed.com/discover/south-african-english/?tl=true.
2. Cooper, P. A. 2018. “An Evaluation of Attitudes towards Conservative and Extreme South African English Dialects”. English Usage in Southern Africa 20 (2):39–53. https://www.unisapressjournals.co.za/index.php/EUSA/article/view/5140.
3. Cooper, "An Evaluation of Attitudes," 39–53.
4. "South African English - Engelsk 1 - NDLA." ndla.no. Accessed November 21, 2024. https://ndla.no/subject:1:c8d6ed8b-d376-4c7b-b73a-3a1d48c3a357/topic:3ef1b186-b34c-41c6-9455-549cc1856b3e/topic:2e6e7c85-02b0-441a-a67c-161e0bb07c72/resource:6779f31a-306d-40a4-9f7b-70669a5f258a#.
5. NDLA, "South African English."
6. NDLA, "South African English."
7. OED, "South African English."
8. Alexander, Mary. "South African English: A Quick Guide." South Africa Gateway, November 11, 2024. https://southafrica-info.com/arts-culture/dictionary-south-african-english/.
9. NDLA, "South African English."
10. NDLA, "South African English."
11. Mesthrie, Rajend. "Africa, South and Southeast Asia." In Varieties of English, edited by Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider, 477-491. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2008.
12. Mesthrie, "Africa, South," 477–491.
13. Mesthrie, "Africa, South," 477–491.
14. Mesthrie, "Africa, South," 477–491.
15. Lanham, L. W. "The Pronunciation of English in South Africa." Rhodes University, 1996. https://www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/content/dsae/documents/articles/The_Pronunciation_of_English_in_South_Africa.pdf
16. Kortmann, Bernd, Kerstin Lunkenheimer, and Katharina Ehret, eds. "The Electronic World Atlas of Varieties of English." Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies. Accessed November 21, 2024. https://archive.org/details/ewave
17. Kortmann, "The Electronic World," 1–10.
18. Kortmann, "The Electronic World," 1–10.
19. Kortmann, "The Electronic World," 1–10.
20. Kamwangamalu, Nkonko M. “Southern African Englishes: Form and Functions.” The Handbook of World Englishes, November 27, 2019, 159–72. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119147282.ch9.
21. Yumpu.com. “Varieties of English: South African English by Vanessa Reis Esteves ...” yumpu.com. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/3915475/varieties-of-english-south-african-english-by-vanessa-reis-esteves-.
22. Kamwangamalu, "Southern African Englishes," 159–72.
23. Yumpu, "Varieties of English."
Recordings and Videos
South Africa 43 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2017, December 8). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/south-africa-43.
South Africa 12 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2021, December 15). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/south-africa-12.
“South African Parliament erupts in laughter as Minister Majodina struggle to say ‘conscientiously,’” video clip, posted July 3, 2024 by The Eastleigh Voice, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XIU7YoHWfY.
South Africa 18 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2012, January 15). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/south-africa-18.
South Africa 5 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2012, January 15). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/south-africa-5.