Contact and Innovation in New Englishes: Ethnic Neutrality in Namibianfaceandgoat

Abstract

This study examines acoustic data from Namibian English to gain insights into how substrates may impact the formation of New Englishes. To this end, the study singles out the Namibian English vowels face and goat, following the assumption that they could be realized as either diphthongs or monophthongs depending on which Namibian language the speaker has as a native language. Based on a sample of face and goat vowels elicited together with their equivalents in several Namibian languages, the study shows that influence from Namibian native languages in face-goat realizations is more likely among the members of the demographically dominant ethnolinguistic group, as well as among men in general. Another significant finding is that, irrespective of the vowel systems of their native languages, specific ethnolinguistic groups tend to converge with the monophthongizing face-goat variants encountered in the demographically dominant ethnolinguistic group. The study’s general conclusion is that New Englishes can develop ethnically neutral varieties whose emergence seems to follow the general principles of new-dialect formation.

The production of voicing in Namibian English stops by speakers of Khoekhoegowab

“…The study focused on L1 Khoekhoegowab speakers' production of English stop consonants but the results also offer valuable information on Namibian English phonetics in a broader perspective. There is still relatively little research on the phonetic features of Namibian English, and there is some debate on whether there is a single standardized English variety or multiple L1 dependent varieties spoken in the country (Buschfeld & Kautzsch 2014;Schröder et al 2021;Stell 2022aStell , 2022b. Either way, since Khoekhoegowab is the second most common indigenous language spoken in Namibia, a notable number of Namibian English speakers are L1 Khoekhoegowab speakers.…”

“…It has been suggested, however, that the pronunciation of Namibian English varies among speakers and is influenced by ethnic factors, implying the existence of multiple localized sub-varieties of Namibian English (Schröder et al 2021). On the other hand, some argue that a single, more standardized local variation of Namibian English with a higher social status might be emerging among speakers of different local languages, bringing the ethnically diverse Namibian English variations together (Stell 2022a(Stell , 2022b. However, compared to other varieties of English, the descriptions on the phonetic characteristics of Namibian English are still relatively limited and literature often focuses on South African Englishes or English spoken by L1 Bantu speakers in general (e.g.…”

“…) Studies on Namibian English have typically focused on vowels (e.g. Schröder et al 2021;Stell 2022aStell , 2022b, and research on the consonants of Namibian English is particularly scarce. The purpose of the current study was therefore to provide some of the first insights into the consonants of Namibian English by examining the production of word-initial stop consonants by native speakers of Khoekhoegowab.…”