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The Formation of South African English

A re-evaluation of the role of Johannesburg in the history of South African English

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2013

Ian Bekker
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Extract

Of all the major colonial varieties of English, South African English (SAfE) is arguably the most under-studied. Its linguistic history is also one of the most complex, South Africa having been the site of a series of immigration events involving English-speakers from a vast array of regional and social backgrounds. On top of this the English spoken by native speakers of other languages also, conceivably, had a role to play in this dialect's formation. This paper provides a brief historical reconstruction of the formation of SAfE, drawing on recent work which seems to indicate that in many important respects SAfE is younger than many might suspect.

Type
Research Article
Information
English Today , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , March 2013 , pp. 3 - 9
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

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