South African English
| Part of a series on the |
| Culture of South Africa |
|---|
| History |
| People |
Languages
|
| Traditions |
| Mythology and folklore |
| Cuisine |
Festivals
|
| Religion |
| Art |
Literature
|
Music and performing arts
|
Media
|
| Sport |
Monuments
|
Symbols
|
| Culture portal South Africa portal |
The term South African English (SAfrE, SAfrEng, SAE, en-ZA) is applied to the first-language dialects of English spoken by South Africans, with the L1 English variety spoken by Zimbabweans, Zambians and Namibians, being recognised as offshoots.
There is some social and regional variation within South African English. Social variation within South African English has been classified into three groupings: Cultivated, closely approximating Received Pronunciation and associated with upper class; General, a social indicator of the middle class, and Broad, associated with the working class, and closely approximating the second-language Afrikaans-English variety. This is similar to the case in Australian English.
Read more about South African English: Pronunciation, Demographics, English Academy of Southern Africa, Examples of South African Accents
Famous quotes containing the words south, african and/or english:
“I don’t have any doubts that there will be a place for progressive white people in this country in the future. I think the paranoia common among white people is very unfounded. I have always organized my life so that I could focus on political work. That’s all I want to do, and that’s all that makes me happy.”
—Hettie V., South African white anti-apartheid activist and feminist. As quoted in Lives of Courage, ch. 21, by Diana E. H. Russell (1989)
“The fact that white people readily and proudly call themselves “white,” glorify all that is white, and whitewash all that is glorified, becomes unnatural and bigoted in its intent only when these same whites deny persons of African heritage who are Black the natural and inalienable right to readily—proudly—call themselves “black,” glorify all that is black, and blackwash all that is glorified.”
—Abbey Lincoln (b. 1930)
“My English text is chaste, and all licentious passages are left in the obscurity of a learned language.”
—Edward Gibbon (1737–1794)