English in South Africa

- Historical Background, Global Context -

Before British involvement

History of languages in South Africa is always a history of economic and social conditions. Especially the history of European languages serve as an obvious way to understand access to resources and economic life 1652 Dutch settlers

Cape Colony centred around Western Cape

Some British influence traders, and for example group of shipwrecked traders with Zulus (late 17th century)

Durban Xhosa lore English speaking castaways

late 18th century clan abelungu

The British needed the Cape

1795 First British Occupation 1803 retaken by the Batavian republic strongly dependent on French state Napoleon takes Holland in Napoleonic wars (1805-15) 1806 British take Cape Colony Settlement 1820 Eastern Cape area ~4000 settlers

The Settlers

Political movement by Tory government

(traditional, conservative as opposed to Labour party) to stave off pressures for more radical reform in Britain July of 1819 50 000 pounds to assist people to emigrate to the Cape to a better life government seen as aiding the people of Britain also to stop flow of British citizens to America (which was then independent) to increase the English-speaking population of the cape and create a buffer zone (Zuurveld)

Organisation

Men with capital form parties 10 or more men and their families pay deposits (that you get back in instalments on arrival) free transport and food to the Cape head of the party allocated land according to number of men full title to land after 3 years of occupation and cultivation Double situation desire to send men with money there but also system of poverty relief Some wealthy men, but mostly people with just enough to pay the deposit and form joint parties the idea of the leader didnt come into being majority were working class people, and skilled craftsmen Mostly English, but also Irish and Scottish contingents e.g. Thomas Pringle, Bonaparte Blenkins! located in different areas to avoid conflict between people of different tastes and manners e.g. Irish-English

A Leap in the Dark

The Colonial Department had no idea of the conditions they would face

conflict with Xhosa lack of knowledge misrepresentation no government support natural disasters (drought in South Africa)

Extremely stressful, and the whole idea was really an irresponsible scheme on the part of the British government

I am an afflicted stranger in a strange land

Roots of South African English

Roots of SAE: the first childhood groups of the children of the 1820 settlers

first generation born in Africa

Their English: almost half from London and Home Counties (surrounding London) of lower-middle and working-class backgrounds Southern English Thirty regional and social dialects (cockney, Sloane english, etc.) developed into a homogenous speech pattern

promoted by social levelling and stressful conditions in seriously impoverished frontier society

no stratification in language shared schools and rural communities

The Second Wave

1848 to 1862: Natal settlements (Byrne settlers) Attempt to settle land after British conquered Kwazulu-Natal (map) Craftsmen, professional people, struggling aristocrats, retired military personnel sources more from Midlands and north of England

strong desire to remain English, and a more positive association with England

social life, identity, behaviour conservative English

Byrne was uninformed about the SA reality land had been sold to speculators too far from towns not enough

The Third Wave

1866 discovery of diamonds (Kimberley) 1886 discovery of gold (Johannesburg) This caused an inflow of immigrants from all over the world

Standard southern British English well educated, high social status to other areas of the country (diamond and goldfields)

overshadowed local Englishes with authority this influence maintained until World War 2

Conservative English (next class) not common today

Local influences

Influences of Black, Indian, Afrikaans and Coloured Englishes especially from Afrikaans

proximity of communities: The advance of the 19th century saw Cape Settler society becoming progressively less a product of its history and more of its environment. Intermarriage and social mingling with the Afrikaner community did not efface the English identity of settler descendants, but contributed towards modifying their social values towards frontier values [...] The social forces behind such imitation [of phonological variables] was the accommodation of, for example, a Settler son to the Afrikaans-English of an Afrikaner wife. [...] Through more extensive contact, particularly in the Cape Midlands, Settler descendant and Afrikaner had grown to resemble one another to an extent that, ironically, they shared the same social image in the early days of the mining cities [of the 1860s] (- Lanham)
Conservative Respectable Extreme

The net result is that we can distinguish three Englishes

Anglicisation

2nd occupation: aggressive policy of anglicisation 1814: English firmly established as official language of the colony

Ban on Dutch in schools and official use Lord Charles Somerset: they were only about 30000 in number, and it seems absurd that such a small body of people should be allowed to perpetuate ideas and customs that were not English in a country that had become part of the British Empire all government posts and communication in English juries for instance only in English example of justice system problems and translation importing Church of Scotland clergy in Dutch Reformed Church

1822 proclamation that all documents to be in English from 1825

anglicised Scots

Mission Education in black schools

Imperial history in schools, teachers required to coerce students towards English

Language Politics - historically

Anglicisations effect on language politics: Contributed to many issues Great Trek, Anglo-Boer War Policy of anglicisation until 1910 English and Dutch official languages not in reality accepted by rulers

British official: the principle of the equality of the two languages had consistently been rejected by us from the start

Anglicisation until 1948 National Party win and institute Afrikanerisation policies 1953: Bantu Education Act imposing Afrikaans in black schools (rather than English) reaction preference for English 1976 Soweto uprising English became seen as the language of liberation

Language Politics - today

English co-exists with other languages in a state of organic tension Resented by Afrikaner population <-> embraced by black and Indian coloured population ambivalent relationship Currently the first language of the English population, the Indian population, and segment of the coloured population most common second language (50% of population speak it) English seen as access to work and economy, but also as oppressor to indigenous languages Example of engineering sector

executive level English indigenous languages (Afrikaans, Zulu, Sotho) to get the job done at a lower level

lingua franca

Classification of SAE

Northern hemisphere Extra Terrestrial Englishes (ETEs) America (1607), Canada (1583 and 1713), Irish in a sense (some features) 17th to early 18th century Southern hemisphere ETEs SAE, Zimbabwean, Australia (1788), New Zealand (1792) Different relationships e.g. America cut itself off

developed own vocabulary too gas, drugstore, muffler

current cultural dominance is changing this again

Southern English

This doesnt refer to the southern hemisphere rather to the part of England where it has its origin The term is not very informative We will not study the source in detail Some features

Vowel categories (Wells standard lexical sets)

STRUT/FOOT distinction (strut cut) (foot - good) TRAP/BATH distinction (trap cat) (bath half) The earlier an ETE was established the more archaic the features will be. American English has no TRAP/BATH distinction Southern hemisphere ETEs are typically non-rhotic Southern ETEs are in most ways typically British, as opposed to American. Not only in pronunciation.

Vocabulary
BRITISH petrol bum, arse dustbin chemist silencer dinner-jacket SAE petrol bum, arse dustbin garbage-can chemist silencer dinner-jacket USA gas(oline) ass drugstore muffler tuxedo

Sources for studying Early South African English

Mostly letters and diaries

The best known is one called the Chronicle of Jeremiah Goldswain

sawyer from Buckinghamshire emigrated to eastern Cape in 1820 kept detailled diary linguistic fame for his personalised spelling system

used to make deductions about vowel shifts in SAE use of adjectives as adverbs various other linguistic phenomena

Also missionary accounts

not common mans language

Sources: Letters to the Governor

Everyday language Very far from the Queens English

distinction:

letters by common man letters by professional letter writers

exploitation language as powerful social excluder

real letters much more interesting uneducated writing strongly influenced by speech patterns

(which is not to say that we should look only at this, or underestimate the importance of educated teachers etc)

Letters to the Governor: Examples

Its with the Depost umility I take up my unworthy pen to adrees you But feeling fuley asurd that God has emplanted in your simpathesing mind to much of his Blessed Sons example to be angry with an orphen like me who now humbley Beags that your kind Benovelent will Grant me a Colonial Pass at it is my Determination to Bind myself as an aprentice for three years But inconsiquence of having no Colonial pass I cannot. I have apied to Captn Camble and to Captn Somerset in his time and now remain in Mr H Huntly Employ at Grahamstown. If your Goodness will grant the foresaid Believe me I shall feel my self in duty bound to pray for your Honnours wellfair So I remain your humble and h servant To his Excelence the Governer - CO158(130)

Letters to the Governor: Examples

I have been visited by Gika once this year who conducted himself very friendly while present but very differently after his departure while he was here some one of the institution informed him that a force was coming against him from the colony to regain the cattle which his people had stollen. Is ... to demand recompence for the murders which his people had done on his leaving this he felt very unhappy and after remaining three days he departed when he went according to the custom of this country some of the poeple who reside here went with him what they call half way accordingly when they came to the first Caffre Kraal the [Xhosas] came all together to salute him - Joseph Williams, 1818

Input survivals in SAE

Traits that can be found in settler letters, and still exist In L1 speakers (e.g. continuous use) and L2 speakers (transferred/evolved use) Some examples:

Adjective with infinitive

I am lazy to acquire the skills They are incapable to provide for themselves in an agricultural pursuit I have a wife and two children in London who have objected to accompany me here (replaces gerund) instead of didnt (usually not ever)

Never

but I never got any pass yet

Input survivals in SAE

Omission several categories, typically determiners, e.g.

She explains me then I write it (preposition) The men hockey club (possessive s) We came back from holiday last week (article/noun-determiner) by used for besides, at, with

Prepositions

He left it by the house. Im scared for these exams.

for used for of

in used for at

She was very good in this job.

He complains over it. Sickness under the flock. She has insisted that Tome come with.

over used for about

under used for among

with used for along

Input survivals in SAE

Also in L2 Englishes e.g. Cape Flats English

Dative of advantage

I bought me a car I do think that it would be a good idea. He did present a letter to the magistrate.

Unstressed do

Double negative

no man never was more embarassed

progresses, evidences, sufferings

Noun plurals

It is difficult to say with certainty at which point these deviations started are they from the source, or from later influence (e.g. by Afrikaans) Complex situation of language learning in South Africa Next: sociophonological description of South African English (The trichotomy)

South African English Vocabulary

bakkie - a utility truck, pick-up truck bergie - refers to a particular subculture of vagrants in Cape Town (from Afrikaans 'berg', mountain, originally referring to vagrants who sheltered in the forests of Table Mountain.) Increasingly used in other cities to mean a vagrant of any description. bioscope - cinema, movie theatre (now dated)

South African English Vocabulary

billion - as in the UK this officially means a million million. Nowadays the American usage (one billion is one thousand million) is almost exclusively used. biltong - dried meat, similar to jerky biscuit - same as American cookie, in South Africa, cookie is used for cupcake boerewors - spicy sausage from (Afrikaans) "farmer-sausage" (usually made with beef) bonnet - hood of a car

South African English Vocabulary

braai - a barbecue, to barbecue (from Afrikaans braaivleis) brinjal - eggplant (from Portuguese berinjela, also used in Indian English) bundu - a wilderness region, remote from cities (from Shona bundo, meaning grasslands) bunking - playing hooky, skipping school/class bunny chow - loaf of bread filled with curry, speciality of Durban, particularly Durban Indians cafe - when pronounced "caffee" refers to a convenience store not a coffee shop (originally such stores sold coffee and other basic items)

South African English Vocabulary

cool drink, cold drink - soft drink, fizzy drink not necessarily chilled cubby hole - car glove compartment dagga - marijuana donga - a ditch of the type found in South African topography (from Zulu, 'wall') dorp, dorpie - small town, off the beaten track erf plural erven - a plot of land for a building (from Cape Dutch). flat - as in Britain this is used for an apartment

South African English Vocabulary

how's it - hello, how are you, good morning (despite being a contraction of 'how is it', howzit is almost exclusively a greeting, and seldom a question) Go so long- from Afrikaans gaan solank is it? - an all purpose exclamative, equivalent to "really?", "uhuh indaba - conference (from Zulu, 'a matter for discussion') jam - a fruit preserve spread whether containing pieces of fruit or not, never called a jelly in South Africa just now - idiomatically used to mean later, or in a short while Now now- from the Afrikaans nou-nou in a little while koki, koki pen, a fibre tip coloured art pen (from a local brand name) kombi - any type of minivan (from the Volkswagen 'Kombi' van)

South African English Vocabulary

lobola - traditional African bride-price location - an urban area populated by black, coloureds or Indians (dated, replaced by the term township in common usage) main road - what is generally called a high street in Britain matric - school-leaving certificate or the final year of highschool or a student in the final year, short for matriculation mielie - an ear of maize (from Afrikaans mielie) mielie meal - used for both maize flour and the traditional porridge made from it similar to American grits, the latter also commonly known by the Afrikaans word pap

South African English Vocabulary

muti - traditional medicine naartjie - a tangerine (from Afrikaans) now now - idiomatically used to mean soon (sooner than just now) robot, robots - besides the standard meaning, in South Africa this is also used for traffic lights. The etymology of the word derives from a description of early traffic lights as robot policemen, which then got truncated with time. samoosa - Indian samosa shebeen - illegal drinking establishment (also used in Scotland) shongololo - millipede (from Zulu and Xhosa, ukushonga, to roll up) sosatie - a kebab on a stick spanspek - a cantaloup (from Afrikaans)

South African English Vocabulary

sucker - used for both a popsicle (frozen sucker) and a lollypop takkies - sneakers, trainers (from Afrikaans tekkies) taxi - shared taxi (usually a minibus taxi) as well as taxicab township - large residential suburb lacking city infrastructure, in particular the areas allocated to non-white South Africans under apartheid veld - wide open rural spaces