Researching South African Englishes

Abstract

In this paper we provide an overview of the current status as well as broad functions of Englishes in South Africa. We also provide a discussion of some of the contemporary concerns related to the complex and multivaried nature of English in the country. This paper further serves to introduce the major themes that are of concern to those researchers that are interested in the study of South African Englishes, through an introduction of the papers that form part of this Special Issue. Finally, we discuss the current state of the art with regards to researching English in the country where we suggest potential future areas of investigation.

Contrast, Contact, Convergence? Afrikaans and English Modal Auxiliaries in South African Parliamentary Discourse (1925–1985)

“…It shows much more continuity with the metropolitan variety of English than Afrikaans does with Dutch, and strong British normative influence was still present in 1925, and lingered for most of the 20th century (Lanham and Macdonald, 1979). In the local context, this variety should more accurately and narrowly be described as White South African English, in contrast with other native varieties such as Indian South African English and nonnative varieties, including the second-language English of black speakers and Afrikaans speakers (Botha et al, 2021;Van Rooy, 2017). During the period under investigation in this study, there is little normative instability in South African English, with British norms remaining the official yardstick for spelling and grammar, unlike Afrikaans that had to establish its own independent norms after its 'declaration of independence' from Dutch.…”

“…The change in modals in South African English,4 also reflected in the Hansard, should be understood against a broader canvas of change in the modals of South African English (Wasserman, 2014), and Afrikaans (Erasmus, 2019), and the possible role of language contact between English and Afrikaans in these changes (Wasserman and Van Rooy, 2014;Wasserman, 2016;Van Rooy, 2021).…”