This study of the South African variety of English is an exercise in the sociology of language conducted mainly within the conceptual framework and methodology created by William Labov. It accepts that social process and social structure are reflected in patterns of covariation involving linguistic and social variables, and in attitudes to different varieties of speech within the community. This premise is pursued here in its historical implications: linguistuic evidence in present-day speech patterns of earlier states of the society and of the social, political and cultural changes that have brought about the present state. The second main focus in this volume is directed at the concept of standard variety, that is the social attributes and functions of a formal speech pattern for which the status of standard might be claimed.

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,7, University of Duisburg-Essen, course: English in Africa, language: English, abstract: Due to the spread of English to so many parts of the world which was triggered during the colonial era and by migration of English-speaking people, the importance of English not only as a language of commerce, science and technology but also as an international language of communication has been realized (Platt, Weber, Ho 1984: 1). In my research paper I will provide an overview of the English language in South Africa by looking at its origins concerning the historical background. Furthermore, I am going to focus on the English language in South Africa in more detail in order to point out the influence of the immigrants’ speech from England and Scotland on some phonetic features of South African English. Eventually, I am going to discuss whether the spread of English can be seen as an evidence of a “killer language” which has been used as a tool for subtle linguistic imperialism, occurring at the expense of local languages, stabilizing hierarchical structures and reinforcing existing status differentials (de Klerk 1996: 7-8). So, the main purpose of my paper is to show that the English language in South Africa before, during and after apartheid policy is one of the official languages since there is more than one local language in a multilingual nation. While English in South Africa is seen by many “as a medium of achieving and announcing independence and maturity, for many others English represent colonialism, power and elitism, and acts as a vehicle of values not always in harmony with local traditions and beliefs” (de Klerk 1996: 7). In this chapter, I will focus on the historical and social background of the English language in South Africa in regard to different language varieties. In the following, based on Roger Lass’s article “South African English”, I will, as I mentioned before, refer to the historical background of the English language in South Africa and so discuss the aspect of different language varieties that were influenced by the English language. Then, concerning L.W. Lanham’s The Standard in South African English and its Social History, I will point out in which way the English language developed there. By referring to the historical background in more detail, I will eventually focus on Josef Schmied’s English in Africa, thus stressing the strategic importance of South Africa for the British.

World Englishes is a vibrant research field that has attracted scholars from many different linguistic subdisciplines. Emphasizing the common ground of all research on World Englishes, the 22 articles in this collected volume, selected from more than a hundred papers presented at the 2007 conference of the International Association for World Englishes in Regensburg, cover a broad range of topics which together reflect the state of the art of research in this field. The volume focuses on regions as diverse as Africa, the Caribbean, the Antipodes and Asia, but also promotes a globally comparative perspective by analyzing selected characteristics of the English language across a wide range of varieties. Methodologically, a number of different approaches are applied, including corpus linguistic studies, socio-phonetics as well as historical discourse analysis. Due to its wide scope, the book is of interest not only to World Englishes scholars but also to sociolinguists as well as applied, contact or corpus linguists.

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,5, University of Hannover (Philosophische Fakultät), course: Hauptseminar: English in Africa, language: English, abstract: English came to South Africa through colonization by the end of the 18th century. Around 200 years later it is widely spoken in Africa’s most southern country although it is not the sole official language. It equally shares that status together with Afrikaans and nine African indigenous languages – at least in theory. This paper is supposed to characterize the development and current status of the English language in South Africa. The multicultural state has an eventful and dramatic history. It is important to outline and explain that varied history in this linguistic paper because it had a major effect on language spread and development in South Africa, which has since the arrival of the Europeans never been completely linguistically homogenous. English in South Africa can not be understood without taking a closer look at more than 300 years of eventful history. Chapter two is going to give an overview of that history referring thereby to different recognized historians and their works. After that there will be a closer look at the status of English in today’s South African society. The next chapter has three different focuses. It will take a closer look at the governmental policy of multilingualism and its outcomes in practice. Also the role of the English language in the media and education system of South Africa will be examined. The question needs to be answered, which trends for the future are becoming obvious concerning the role of English in South Africa. Will it be extended in the future or rather suffer from competition through other languages? What is today’s image of English in comparison to the other “imported” language, namely Afrikaans? After having finished the general description of SAE there will be a closer look at its linguistic features. Two major kinds of South African Englishes will thereby be distinguished: White South African English (WSAFE) and Black South African English (BSAFE). Both will be examined in chapters four and five. The theoretical knowledge gained in chapters four and five will then be applied in a phonological analysis of a Black South African speaker of English, namely a 17 year old girl with Zulu background.

Fully revised and updated, the second edition of this authoritative guide is a comprehensive, scholarly and systematic review of modern English. In one volume the book presents a description of both the linguistic structure of present-day English and its geographical, social, gender, and ethnic variations. Covering new developments such as the impact of email on language and corpus-based grammars, this accessible text has been extensively rewritten and brings the survey of modern English right up to date. It also offers new examples and suggestions for further reading.