Attitudes of Parents to Their Children's Use of English in Botswana1

Abstract

The paper reports a positive shift in the attitudes of some Batswana towards the local variety of English here described as Botswana English. The new attitude is the result of familiarity with the variety in the last decade or so. It is also the result of the belief that the variety is inherently good and that its users, especially children, use it in a communicatively competent manner. In addition, the respondents believe that not only is the variety not inferior to others -native or non-native -but that it can be understood by speech communities that speak English anywhere in the world. Finally, the respondents are satisfied that the variety is of a quality that can be used for educational purposes in Botswana, although the implications of its use are yet to be addressed.

Squaring the circles: issues in modeling English worldwide

“…One direct outcome of this perceptual shift has been the increasing number of recommendations that the teaching of English be made to reflect local identities and incorporate local as well as worldwide norms (among recent examples, see Pakir 1999;Eguiguren 2000;Kubota 2001;Bhatt 2001). Typical of this shift is the claim by Arua and Magocha (2000) that the variety of English now taking root among Botswana children meets all the criteria for a communicatively adequate code, is not perceived as inferior to other varieties, is comprehensible internationally, and is of a quality such that there is no reason why it should not be used for educational purposes.…”

Botswana English: implications for English language teaching and assessment

“…. the other, which Arua and Magocha (2000) and Arua (2004) characterise as a syntactic feature of BE, is shown to bear some resemblance with the Setswana morphology of the English words one, other and another, all denoted by the same lexical item ngwe. Similarly, the use of agreement markers in Setswana, which can be repeated, to replace full pronouns is closely associated with the interposition of independent subject pronouns between subjects and their verbs.…”

“…Among the syntactic features discussed in this study are the exclamation sharp!, the indefinite pronoun phrases the other one and the modal auxiliary can be able. Perhaps, its syntactic similarity with other varieties in the southern region, an indication of cross-border intelligibility, is one of the reasons why the subjects of the earlier study (Arua and Magocha 2000) seemed positively disposed to it. Among the distinct lexical characteristics of BE discussed in Arua's (2004) study are Setswana words borrowed and/or translated into English, including titles or terms of address such as Rra (Sir), Mma (Madame), Rre (Mr.).…”

“…The focus in Arua and Magocha's (2000) study is on the attitudes of Batswana 4 towards the emerging local variety which is beginning to diverge from StBrE. They argue that BE can be identified both at the formal written and the informal spoken levels.…”

Aspects of Culture and Meaning in Botswana English

“…There is a dearth of research in English in Botswana. Earlier attempts at characterizing Botswana English include Merkestein (1998) and Arua and Magocha (2000). While the former describes Botswana English 'as a variety in development rather than a fixed phenomenon' (Merkestein, 1998: 171), the latter argued that Botswana English can be identified both at the formal written and the informal spoken levels (Arua and Magocha, 2000: 282).…”