English in South Africa has had a varied history from the time of the first settlers at the beginning of the nineteenth history to the present, post-apartheid period. There are four basic varieties which can be recognised: (i) White South African English, (ii) Black South African English, (iii) Afrikaans English, (iv) South African Indian English. These varieties have different backgrounds and differing status in present-day South African society. The aim of the course will be to illuminate the relationship of language variety and society in this country today and to account for the manner in which forms of English are developing in South Africa at present.
Literature
de Klerk, Vivian (ed.) 1996. Focus on South Africa. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Kortmann, Bernd (general editor) 2008. Varieties of English. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Vol. 4: Africa, South and Southeast Asia, ed. Rajend Mesthrie.
McCormick, Kay 2002. Language in Cape Town’s District Six. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mesthrie, Rajend (ed.) 2002. Language in South Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mesthrie, Rajend & Rakesh M. Bhatt 2008. World Englishes. The Study of New Linguistic Varieties. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Silva, Penny (ed.) 1996. A Dictionary of South African English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Webb, Vic 2002. Language in South Africa. The Role of Language in National Transformation, Reconstruction and Development. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Website to be consulted by students: Studying Varieties of English |
