UNIVERSITATEA OVIDIUS CONSTANTA

Black South African English

General Information
BSAfE is the second language and is present in both formal and informal situations. This
language dates from 18204 when British settlers fixed in the Cape of Good Hope. BSAfE also
has Dutch influences because, before the British colony was a Dutch one. In 1822 English
became the official language. To spread the English, they were introduced clergy and teacher in
church and educational systems.

From morphological and syntax point of view, BSAfE is mainly represented by a

progressive aspect that is used more widely with stative verbs; this phenomenon has spread
during the 20th century.

BE+ing

BlSAf ENGLISH STANDARD ENGLISH OBSERVATIONS

Because most of the people …hail from… Stative verb
are hailing from Malawi …
People who are having time who have time for … Habitual
for their children …
Even racism is still existing … still exists … Existential,
…
There were quite a few … who speak Shangaan Menthal activity
people who were speaking
Shangaan
 I am having a house in
Bryanston.
Past be + -ing for habitual
BlSAf ENGLISH
The essays here are different
from the essays we were
writing in Vista.
He was swimming every
morning.
When my mother was here,
she was here for a month, my
father was phoning almost
everyday.
Past Simple→Past Perfect Simple
BlSAf ENGLISH
She said she came looking for
me.
She knew she wanted to be a
doctor.
He said he liked me but he
stopped texting me.
I have a house in Bryanston.
STANDARD ENGLISH
… from the essays we used to
write at Vista (University). and semi-auxiliary verb “used
He used to swim every
morning.
‘… used to phone …’
STANDARD ENGLISH
She said she had come
looking for me.
She knew she had wanted to
be a doctor.
He said he had liked me but
he stopped texting me.
Habitual, vb of possession
present progressive in BlSAf
and past simple in SE
OBSERVATIONS
Past progressive in BlsAfE
to” expression habitual
meaning+infinitive form,
refer to repeated events in the
past
OBSERVATIONS
In certain contexts (e.g. a
subordinate clause preceded
by a main clause with past
tense verbs) the simple past
corresponds to the past
perfect of StE.
Subordinate direct object
clause
Past perfect in the main
clause and past perfect of
StE.
To want-verb of emotion
Like-vb of emotion
Modality(can, shall, must, may, might, will,would, could, should)
BlSAf ENGLISH STANDARD ENGLISH OBSERVATIONS
How am I going to construct … so that this person can other modals (shall, must,
a good sentence so as this understand me clearly. may, might, will,would,
person can be able to hear me should), which all allow
clearly? collocations with be able

It can be in Computer Perhaps it could have been in Present perfect in SE

Science. the field of Computer Can occasionally has the
Science. (irrealis) semantics of might:

I said, “No, they can be wild, … they might be wild…

but they’re human beings.
May you please lend me a Could you please … May sometimes occurs as a
pen polite form of (irrealis) could:

Invertion of auxiliary with the subject in indirect questions

BlSAf ENGLISH STANDARD ENGLISH OBSERVATIONS
I don’t know what did he I don’t know what he said.
say.
I have no idea what did he I have no idea what he made. Invertion of auxiliary with the
make. subject in indirect questions
Did becomes “-d” past simple
termination in SE

PRO + be + NUMERICAL constructions →there + be + NUMERICAL

BlSAf ENGLISH STANDARD ENGLISH OBSERVATIONS

Q: Have you got a full squad There are ten of us. a partitive genitive sense ‘ten
today? of us’
A: We are ten.
Q:How many of you were in There were nine of us.’
class today?
A.We were nine.
Complementation
BlSAf ENGLISH
As it can be seen that there is
a problem here.
As it has been said that
history repeats itself.
I went to secondary school
for doing my Standard 6.
I tried that I might see her.
He went there in order that he
sees her.
Double Conjonctions
BlSAf ENGLISH
But I don’t know it well, but I
like it.
So we (= each family) had
about two rooms each, so we
stayed
Others are for the proposal,
others are against it.
The other side is that… you
make friends; and on the
other side enemies are created hand you might
again
STANDARD ENGLISH
As can be seen, there is a
problem here.
As has been said, history
repeats itself.
… to do Standard 6.’
I tried to see her.
He went there in order to see
her.
STANDARD ENGLISH
Some … others…
On the one hand you might
make friends; on the other
make enemies.
OBSERVATIONS
in expository style, used by
speakers
The preference for that (in
BlSAfE) rather than Ø
(SE)
subordinate clause of
purpose,ing form in BlSAfE
and infinitive form in SE
OBSERVATIONS
Adversative constructions
involving conjunctions like
although, but, even, so etc.
mark each clause separately:
Corresponding to a similar
form in languages like Zulu
and Sotho, many BlSAfE
speakers use other … other in
place of StE one…the other
or some … other
Articles
BlSAf ENGLISH STANDARD ENGLISH OBSERVATIONS
I was on a maternity leave …on maternity leave. the use of Ø article in SE,
most noticeably, a -indefinite
article often replaces zero
articles of StE
You’re going to have a …to have trouble.
trouble

Adjectives
BlSAf ENGLISH
People who come from the
rurals have a hard time…
I’m taking Religious
I love her because she sings
so beautiful
They played fantastic well in
the finals
STANDARD ENGLISH
…from the rural areas
…Religious studies.
She sings so beautifully
They played fantastically well
in the finals
OBSERVATIONS
In this function they may take
an article (usually the) and
may take a plural –s.(
BlSAfE)
The noun that they are
understood to quantify is
deleted
Adjectival forms(BlSAfE)
where adverbial forms are
required(SE)

Pronouns
BlSAf ENGLISH STANDARD ENGLISH OBSERVATIONS
I and you must go swimming. You and I must go First person placed before
swimming’ second person BlSAfE
In contrast, in English, the
‘other’ is always placed first
Me and my sister listened to My sister and I listened to
music together music together’
I did go shopping and I did I went shopping and I bought The reflexive pronoun myself
buy me a dress. myself a dress. is often replaced with the first
person singular in pronoun
me:Dative.

He is teaching him to play He is teaching himself to In BlSAfE “him” in

the piano. play the piano. Accusative case, in SE
“himself” reflexive pronoun.
VOCABULARY

isipunu Spoon

Itebhula Sable

Iwindi Window

braai, Bry Bry Barbecue

brown colored person

Robot traffic lights

Biscuit Cookie

cousin, cuzzy friend, mate

mama old woman

smokes Cigarettes

tomato sauce Ketchup

gas station
petrol station

immediately , right now

now now

a little bit later

just now

a packet a plastic shopping bag

convenience store or corner shop

a café

a roundabout
a circle (in the context of traffic)
PRACTICE

1. Write the standard version.

-Good day, Daisy! Have you seen a brown mama at the café ?( an old colored woman at
the corner shop)

- No. I have seen her near the petrol station.(gas station) She was carrying a packet(
a plastic shopping bag) full of biscuits (cookies) and bread.
- She is my grandmother. Usually, she stays in her room and looks out the Iwindi
(window).

- Yes, I know…your grandmother’s old habits... Look cuzzy(friend), what do you say if
we go out to eat something?

-Like Bry Bry with tomato sauce?(Barbecue with ketchup)

-Yeah, your favorite food.

-Of course, cousin. Why not?!

- Would you like to go now now?(immediately, right now)

-No, just now.( a little bit later)

-Ok, got it.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kortmann, Bernd 2004 A Handbook of Varieties of English: Mouton de Gruyter Berlin, New
York.

Collins, Peter , Grammatical Change in English World-Wide, University of New South Wales,
Australia, 2015.

http://editorswa.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Linnegar_F.pdf
https://www.lexico.com/en/explore/the-vocabulary-of-south-african-english
On the Fourth Edition of A Dictionary of South African English, David 1. Gold, Jewish English
Archives, New York https://lexikos.journals.ac.za/pub/article/viewFile/1129/645
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270609793_The_story_of_South_African_EnglishA_b
rief_linguistic_overview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xplIjguZMMQ