INTRODUCTION

The intention of this paper is to present the elements of history, of culture and of
linguistic development inside the territory of South Africa, a former British colony, which is
considered one of the most prolific countries on the African continent. Thus, the main purpose
of this paper, entitled English in South Africa is to stress upon the South African English,
spoken and written, and its origins and development, as many linguists stress upon the fact
that this variety of English can be considered the „language of tragedy”.
In this respect, will be mentioned different studies that focused upon the rise of a
new variety of English and English dialects, that have their own particularities, according to
the local influences, established by means of mixing the cultural differences between the
locals and the British colonists, beginning with the moment of the latter’s arrival on African
land.
On a continent where national borders were bluntly and arbitrarily established by
the different colonial powers, African countries tried to coexist with the different European
influences, that were forced upon their local culture and traditions.
This is also the case of South Africa, which today, is the homeland of many
important personalities, as well as other former colonial territories. Where India has Mahatma
Gandhi, Nigeria has Chinua Achebe, South Africa has Nelson Mandela and Trevor Noah to
tell their stories and the stories of the ones subdued and perpetrated by colonists.
In this respect, this paper is essential for the study of English varieties, as in the
specialised literature, the defining terms, such as “black” or “white”, referring to the types of
South African English reflect that it is, indeed, a very particular manner in which this variety
of English may be understood or studied, as today, the populations of this African territory is
populated be different races and nationalities, fact that implies that languages, and especially
English, are strongly related to political and racial affairs, thus subjects such as ethnicity or
nationality provide a very well fundamental basis for understanding the broad groups and
conglomerates of English varieties in many countries, former colonial territories.
All in all, this paper is responsible with the holistic and comprehensive study of
South African English regarding its origins, development and usage, as well as its
particularities, grammar, vocabulary and even phonology, that were used in different
speeches, such as Nelson Mandela’s or Trevor Noah’s, the well-known faces of the South
African culture.
 CONTENTS

ARGUMENT………………………………………………………………………………….5
I. SOUTH AFRICA. A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC
COUNTRIES ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT ………………………………………..7
I.1. The history and culture of South Africa………………………………………………...8
I.1.1. Historical and political context………………………………………….9
I.1.2. Customs, traditions and cultural development………………………….10
I.1.3. South Africa as a British colony………………………………………..12
I.1.4. The blend between African and European identity……………………..15
I.2. South Africa today, between former colony and independent state…………………
16

II. SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH, THE LANGUAGE OF TRAGEDY ………………..17

II.1. Phonetic and phonological innovation………………………………………………..18
II.1.1. Dialects…………………………………………………………………
19
II.1.2. Particularities in spelling and pronunciation……………………………
21
II.2. Grammar………………………………………………………………………………….23
II.3. Vocabulary………………………………………………………………………………..24

III. ANALYSING PARTICULARITIES OF SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH IN

FICTIONAL AND POLITICAL DISCOURSES. A STUDY PERFORMED ON
NELSON MANDELA AND TREVOR NOAH’S SPEECH
…………………………………………27

CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………………………………….37
ANNEXES…………………………………………………………………………………...38
BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………...42

1
 ARGUMENT

As numerous countries do, South African live in a polyglot environment, a polyglot

society, that offers them a wide variety of manner of interaction and communication with
different people, so that they can establish not only cultural, but also financial and commercial
bonds between these two parties. In this respect, we may mention that the chosen theme for
this paper is essential for understanding not only the past and the present of these people and
their language, but also their future and their role in this linguistic society.
In South Africa, there are plenty of tribes, with different cultures, traditions and with
different languages, that influences the dialects of South African English, as the origin of
these dialects stays into the mix between English and IsiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans and
Setswana1, which gave birth to different types of South African English.
Also, this country cand be also interpreted in the beginning as the African Tower of
Babel2, which, in the beginning was due to the lack of understand each other’s tribe African
language, and later was understood as the phenomenon of not establishing a connection based
on relevance between the four large languages of this territory. Later on, by better
understanding the English language and by deepening the understand of English, the
differences of these four large types of South African English faded away, thus, today, we
encounter small differences in the African English spoken in different parts of this territory.
In this respect, we may understand why this theme is very important for the holistic
comprehension of English spoken in South Africa, as this paper was structured in three large
chapters, entitled: South Africa. A Holistic Approach to One of The Most Prolific Countries
on the African Continent, South African English. The Language of Tragedy, Analysing

1
Ball, P. The English Language in South Africa, 2017, article available at
https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/english-language-south-africa#:~:text=It%20has%20also%20become
%20one,Johannesburg%2C%20South%20Africa's%20financial%20capital., link accessed on May 21st, 2022;
15:17.
2
In biblical literature, structure built in the land of Shinar, known also as Babylonia, after the Deluge. The story
of its construction, appears to be an attempt to explain the existence of diverse human languages by means of a
punishment given by God.

2
Particularities of South African English in Fictional and Political Discourses. A Study
Performed on Nelson Mandela and Trevor Noah’s Speech.
The first chapter comprises the theoretical part, full of introductory information related
to the context and the background of South African English, as we may see from the title:
South Africa. A Holistic Approach to One of The Most Prolific Countries on the African
Continent. In this chapter is included information related to the history, the culture of South
Africa, as well as to the position of colony of South Africa, during the time where this state
was under the control and the policies of the British Empire, specifically during the 19 th
century. Furthermore, this chapter is divided into two large directions, meaning The history
and culture of South Africa and South Africa today, between former colony and independent
state, divisions meant to reveal the two sides of South Africa, the one as a British colony, and
the one as an independent state.
The second chapter, entitled South African English. The Language of Tragedy includes
information about the phonetic and phonological innovation present in this variety of English,
by exploring themes as dialects and particularities in spelling and pronunciation, as well as
information and collected data regarding grammar and vocabulary, that are vital elements to
the analysis of a language, as we may see from the title of the respective three subchapters:
Phonetic and phonological innovation, Grammar and Vocabulary.
The last chapter, howerver, consists of a detailed analysis regarding the particularities
of South African English that are identified in Nelson Mandela’s and Trevor Noah’s speeches,
as the title of this last chapter suggests Analysing Particularities of South African English in
Fictional and Political Discourses. A Study Performed on Nelson Mandela and Trevor
Noah’s Speech.
Of course, after presenting the needed information, there will be identified the
conclusions and there will be listed the bibliographical resources.
Thus, this paper will start with the first chapter, an introductory study regarding the
origin and the evolution of South African, as a country and as the nest of South African
English.

3
 I. SOUTH AFRICA. A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO ONE OF THE MOST
PROLIFIC COUNTRIES ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT

Today, according to many researchers conducted by institutions such as

Congressional Research Service3, South Africa, as its name mentions, is a state located in the
south of the African continent, that has a majority of black people, even tough is considered a
highly multiracial country, with a population of nearly 60 million people4. It has favourable
with different countries for financial and cultural affairs, such as the United States of
America, being considered the largest and the most important trading partner5 of the
American giant.
In terms of internal political affairs, South Africa is no stranger to the different
scandals and riots in which important politicians, such as president Cyril Ramaphosa 6, were
implicating, being accused of different financial crimes and minor batteries.
In spite of all these scandals and the high criminal rate, the country still attracts
many tourists and many curious cats that want to learn about the history of one of the most
important colonies for the 19th century British Empire, which today is considered one of the
most influential African states due their possibilities and opportunities of investing and
trading different goods with American, European and even Australian countries. Also, South
African remarks itself also by its important role in the African Union 7 and by also having the
largest and the most well-developed economies out the African continent, due to the former
information, meaning the possibility of trade and investment.

3
Available at https://crsreports.congress.gov/, link accessed on May 21st, 2022; 15:58.
4
Ibidem.
5
Ibidem.
6
South African politician and business man who served as the fifth president of South Africa, during the
democratic policy, beginning with the year 2017.
7
Organization formed from 1963, that existed up until in 2002, established in order to promote unity and
solidarity between African States, many of them, former colonies.

4
 Letting aside the economical and diplomatic field, South Africa attract by its
exoticism and by its history, as the culture, the language and the traditions of different tribes
and people still exist today, whereas rituals and dances are the main element that bounds
tourism to the need of discovering lands with golden sunsets and with a different variant of
the English language, as in the sea of Anglicanism, words and spelling of Zulu, Xhosa and
other civilizations sparkle, offering flavour to a highly circulated language.
Another subject related to the cultural and linguistic development the density and
the racial waves present in the dynamics of the South African population, as it is, indeed, as
we have mentioned before, a multiracial country, with lots of nationalities, customs and
traditions. According to many researchers, there are, of course, notable difference between the
English spoken by the white population of South Africans and its black populations, but all
these fade when the contact of different foreign people access the cultural treasures of the
lands.
Thus, this chapter stresses upon all the subjects related to the culture and the
development of English on the territory of South African, as the title suggest.
In the following pages, we will be analysing and understand the social, cultural
and historical environment, that made this transition possible.

I.1. The history and culture of South Africa

In this respect, we may mention that the national identity of South Africa is
constructed by means of heritage and identity. First of all, we may mention the fact that the
cultural heritage of the South African populations stays within the historical and political
context, as the overall cultures, languages and heritages are different and yet, convergent to
what this state represents today. A very important issue id the problem of identity that rose
when the segregationist movement, the Apartheid, came to rule over South Africa 8. During
those times, people confronted with and identity crisis, as they could not define themselves
and they felt like the had no home, origin, and even future, due to the fact that the internal
policy was based on the attempt to divide and to subdue the population, as they focused on
breaking the social bonds between people.
Other unfortunate issues, such as colonialism, slavery, settler and foreign
economical systems, the depletion of African resources and the liberation movements,

8
A system of legislations that spread and established segregationist policies against citizens that did not belong
to the white population in South Africa.

5
contributed to this identity crisis, up until 19949, when the democratic system was established
with the election of Nelson Mandel, a former prisoner of the Ampharetid system, a militant
for racial equity and equality, and a black rights activist, who proved to be the voice of the
oppressed black population, not only in South Africa but all around the world, where slavery
still existed and broke dreams, families, bonds and rights.
In order to understand in a better way, the evolution and the formation of the
South African democratic system, we will be adding information about the major historical
and cultural events and milestones, that changed the course of history and managed to
determine a new world and a new chance for the black population to restore the country’s
values and principles, uniquely different from the European system of values.

I.1.1. Historical and political context

According to many studies, humans were present on the South African lands for
more than 1000 000 years ago10, as their ancestors existed with more than 3 million yeas
before there. Thus, the human activity on golden, arid land was present, when the European
colonists appeared, in order to study, research, discover and even to enslave the population of
those lands. The first English settlement on the southern part of Africa came a little later that
the ones on Nigeria, as the first Europeans colonies were established in the north-eastern parts
of the continent. In this respect, around 1652, the Dutch East India Company 11 established the
first colony form the southern part of Africa, in the region called Table Bay, region known
today as the capitol of South Africa, Cape Town. Later, similar as in the case of India,
appeared the British settlers, in circa 1820, who arrived in Algoa Bay12, the name of the
region known today as Nelson Mandela Bay, a group of almost 4500 teachers, preachers,
tradesmen, craftsmen and farmers.13
The settlers or the colonists lived first in peace with the natives, and later the
conflicts began to arise, as Europeans established their own courts and their own laws, forcing

9
In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected president, as in 1993 he received the Noble Peace Prize for their work
towards abolishing the Apartheid and the segregationists’ policies.
10
Pocket Guide to South Africa 2014/15, available at
https://www.gcis.gov.za/sites/default/files/docs/resourcecentre/pocketguide/PocketGuide-history.pdf, link
accessed on May 21st, 2022; 16:08.
11
Thompson, Leonard, A History of South Africa. Third Edition, Yale University Press, London, 2000, pp. 2.
12
Ibidem, pp. 14.
13
Pocket Guide to South Africa 2014/15, available at
https://www.gcis.gov.za/sites/default/files/docs/resourcecentre/pocketguide/PocketGuide-history.pdf, link
accessed on May 21st, 2022; 16:08.

6
Africans to converts to Christianism and subduing not only the resources of the land, but also
the freedom and the liberty of each black individual.
Riots and discontent of the local population determine the white settlers to abolish
slavery in the region around the year 1838, as there were other ways to exploit the exotic
country, by means of hunting, fishing and extreme mining, the latter leading in 1867, to the
diamond mining revolution, as there were also made movies after this unfortunate event. But
mining and exploiting people for the sake of diamond was not the only buried resource that
sparkle the interest of the British colonists. Gold, another precious mineral, was brought to
surface with the help of local black people, that led to bloodiest war between the colonists and
the local people, in which Britain engaged between 1815 and 1915 14. During these unfortunate
events, almost 15 000 South Africans15 were killed.
Following these bloody conflicts, South African territories begin to regain their
independence, little by little, as in 1910, the Union of South Africa was established and in
1948, the pro-African National Party was founded. It took 13 more years to South Africa to be
declared an independent republic, in 1961, by the NP Government, under Verwoerd, Prime
Minister at that time.
But the Apartheid was no democratic system, and the people was still subdued to
an almost tyrannical policy, thus, in 1994, people voted for a democratic system, and they
elected Nelson Mandela16, who still remains the voice of the oppressed South Africans.

I.1.2. Customs, traditions and cultural development

The culture of South Africa stays within the moral system of values, as the value,
for the South African people can be interpreted as the value of an object, an item and even a
belief, in a similar manner to the other African tribes, such as the Nigerian Igbos, that praised
the value of the kola nut and the ritual performed during sharing it with the guest or the host.
Idang, in his work entitled African Culture and Values17 affirms that: “A value can be seen as
some point of view or conviction which we can live with, live by and can even die for. This is why it
seems that values actually permeate every aspect of human life. For instance, we can rightly speak of
religious, political, social, aesthetic, moral, cultural and even personal values. We have observed
14
Pocket Guide to South Africa 2014/15, available at
https://www.gcis.gov.za/sites/default/files/docs/resourcecentre/pocketguide/PocketGuide-history.pdf link
accessed on May 21st, 2022; 17:37.
15
Ibidem.
16
Ibidem.
17
Idang, Gabriel, E., “African Culture and Values”, published in Phronimon, Volume 16, Number 2, by Unisa
Press, 2015, pp.97-11.

7
elsewhere that there are many types and classifications of values. As people differ in their conception
of reality, then the values of one individual may be different from those of another ”18.
Thus, there exist the belief that each person from a specific tribe and region may
be having his or her own system of values.
As for the African system of values, we may mention the fact that these can be
divided in different categories, such as the moral values, the social values, the political and
the aesthetic ones, as their sum is meant to form the national identity and consciousness of the
South African people.
The strong moral considerations that South African play a major role on the
construction and the formation of the national moral identity, as people do believe in a system
of karma, name potlach, as many other culture and people do. This system expresses the fact
that if the potlach, or the gift, is not returned, then the one who receives it will be punished. It
is also important to mention that the gift, the so-called potlach does not need to be a material
possession, but also, rituals, services, war and bad deeds. Thus, the African people believe
that it is best not to return negative deeds or war, as adultery, stealing and even other immoral
behaviours are heavily discouraged, as the one who commits the actions may be cursed or
punished by deities, as well and their family and friends.
In this respect, there are many researches conducted on this subject, as the
lifestyle values are included in the category of outcomes that South Africans want in terms of
reward for their good deeds, as seen in the following table:
Lifestyle values Mean Var Corr Cron
s A
An easy, quiet life 4.18 1.03 0.013 0.491
An exciting life full of adventure 4.01 1.01 0.145 0.352
Enough time for hobbies and interests 4.08 0.92 0.338 0.198
An interesting, full life 3.96 0.99 0.318 0.231
Being helpful to others 4.05 1.01 0.199 0.308
Cluster 4.05 0.370
Table 1. Lifestyle values19

In the same study, performed by Soontiens and De Jager, in the work entitled
South African values: A reflection on its ‘Western’ base, in order to portray the national
system of values and the way in which social and art culture are constructed, performed the
same study on different values, related to lifestyle, family life, social content and community,
environment and jobs, as we may observe from the following tables.

18
Ibidem, pp.101.
19
Soontiens, W., De Jager, J.W., “South African values: A reflection on its ‘Western’ base”, published in
African Journal of Business Management, Vol.2.(X), University of Technology, South Africa, pp.226.

8
 Family life values Means Var Corr Cron A
Deep love with a partner 3.96 1.50 0.322 0.396
Basic material security 4.07 1.46 0.292 0.412
A happy family life 3.84 1.73 0.284 0.439
A high standard of living 4.01 1.56 0.233 0.451
The bringing up children 4.13 1.22 0.251 0.465
Cluster 4.00 0.487
20
Table 2. Family life values

Social and community values Mean Var Corr Cron

s A
Global peace 3.40 2.57 0.408 0.708
Possibilities to influence public affairs 3.71 2.37 0.449 0.695
A concern for general human welfare 3.50 2.48 0.507 0.676
An effort of society to eliminate hunger and diseases 3.47 1.96 0.672 0.596
Participation in organizing activities of children and 3.57 2.36 0.418 0.709
youth
Cluster 3.53 0.727
Table 3. Social and community values 21

Environment values Mean Var Corr Cron

s A
Society efforts to conserve the vital functions of nature 3.52 1.98 0.553 0.760
Knowledge about the factual state of the environment 3.60 2.02 0.494 0.779
The aesthetic impact of nature 3.63 1.94 0.641 0.734
Active participation in improving the environment 3.59 1.74 0.674 0.719
A positive impact of the environment on health 3.51 2.01 0.511 0.774
Cluster 3.57 0.793

Table 4. Environmental values22

Job and work values Mean Va Cor Cron

s r r A
An interesting, attractive job 3.88 1.6 0.53 0.599
9 8
A steady source of plenty of money 4.01 1.8 0.32 0.688
2 8
An improvement of the physical working environment 4.04 1.6 0.52 0.600
1 4
Good relations with fellow workers 3.95 1.9 0.35 0.673
6 2
A job acknowledged as having social value 4.07 1.5 0.49 0.617
7 0
Cluster 4.00 0.688
Table 5. Job and work values 23

Thus, the cultural identity is formed by the sum of customs, traditions and values

20
Ibidem, pp. 227.
21
Soontiens, W., De Jager, J.W., “South African values: A reflection on its ‘Western’ base”, published in
African Journal of Business Management, Vol.2.(X), University of Technology, South Africa, pp.227.
22
Ibidem, pp. 228.
23
Idem.

9
related to different topics and aspects.

I.1.3. South Africa as a British colony

At the beginning of the 15th century, the great European powers, such as Great
Britani, France, Portugal, Germany, Spain and Belgium, managed to establish different
colonies all around the world, and by the end of the 19 th century, the British Empire was the
most expansive and powerful colonial force, Under the British Empire were also regions such
as India, Nigeria and South Africa. The last case, the one of South Africa is considered a very
emblematic, yet unique and interesting case of colonisation, as the firsts to inhabits the lands
of Southern part of Africa were the Dutch. The indigenous people that were “discovered” by
the Dutch were called the Khoisan, a group formed of two main subcategories of people, the
Sun, and the Khoi-Khoi. 24
After many years of trade and exports under the financial and judicial system
established by the Dutch, the company came into bankruptcy, as many of the Dutch sailor
failed to reach their destination, due to lack of hygiene on ship and the diseases that they
caught on their way to African lands. Soon after them, Britain founded the British East India
Company and took control over today’s Cape Town capitol, as the strategic centre of the
colony. There were also riots, so that Britain’s under the rule if Vice-Admiral Elphinstone, in
1795, won the battle of Muizenberg, returning, however, the colony to the Dutch, in 180, after
the Treaty of peace of Amiens, with France, was signed, in the same year.
Once again, three years later, the colony came again, into the hands of the British.
As a result of the Napoleonic wars, in order to protect the sea route that connected the African
territory with their Asian colony, India. In order to accomplish this, they had to win the battle
of Blauuberg, which they did. Finally, from this year, from 1806, the colony around Cape
stayed in the possession of Great Britain, as in 1948 the Apartheid was formed and in 1994,
the people voted for the democratic system, proposed by Nelson Mandela.
All in all, the country remained in history as a postcolonial country, which is
nowadays a very important subject in the specialised literature, as it has the power to reveal
the heavy impact of colonial politics upon that specific territory. In this respect, we may
mention that the British had a major impact on South Africa during the colonialism, not only
at a linguistic level, but also in terms of economy, as trade accelerated drastically after the
24
According to South African History Online, available at https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/khoisan, link
accessed on link accessed on May 22nd, 2022; 10:09.

10
arrival of the British, due to the need of importing goods and construction materials. Also,
their existence caused the creation of different jobs, such as labours for taking out raw
materials and minerals, which is in fact the extreme mining that depleted the African
resources of diamond and gold.
In this respect, with the establishment of mines, the South African economy
exploded, firstly only for the British, and after the system failed, for the local economy, as
today, the state is one top fifth country with the production of two million carats of diamonds
annually25, with the world’s largest diamond mine26.
As for the English language, the language started to be spoken in South Africa
even before the British officially colonisation, as within the 16th century, the British explorers
and traders brought language. From the historical point of view of the initiation process, the
English speakers in South Africa can be divided into three large categories, the ones before
the first official occupation, the first occupation, in 1795 and the second occupation, in 1806.
In this respect, English language spread among people during the colonization era
and also, during the Apartheid rule, as almost 89% of the white South African were able to
speak English.27
Also, its rapid spread can be explained by mean of the need of a higher status, as
English was regarded as the language of higher social classes in South Africa, thus, today,
South African English, in a very detailed analysis, can be divided into three large categories,
such as:
 Black South African English;
 White South African English;
 Indian South African English.28
In a poll, published by South African Gateway, we may observe the varieties of
South African English that are spoken by black, white, coloured and Indian population:

25
Janse, A.J.A., “A History of Diamond Sources In Africa: Part II”, published in GEMS & GEMOLOGY, Spring,
1996, pp.2-30, available at https://www.gia.edu/doc/A-History-of-Diamond-Sources-in-Africa.pdf, link
accessed on May 22nd, 2022; 11:38.
26
Ibidem.
27
According to NDLA-South African English, available at https://ndla.no/en/subject:1:c8d6ed8b-d376-4c7b-
b73a-3a1d48c3a357/topic:59a2daf8-db7f-4f47-8160-551f9d9c582c/resource:6779f31a-306d-40a4-9f7b-
70669a5f258a, link accessed on May 22nd, 2022; 13:47.
28
The 11 languages of South Africa, available at https://southafrica-info.com/arts-culture/11-languages-south-
africa/#:~:text=IsiZulu%20is%20South%20Africa's%20biggest,%2C%20and%20isiNdebele%20(2%25)., link
accessed on May 22nd, 2022; 13:50.

11
 Figure 1. Language distribution in South Africa’s population groups29

These aspects, together with the particularities of each variety, shall be studied in
the following chapter.

I.1.4. The blend between African and European identity

In this respect, we may affirm that the cultural and social life in South Africa is
the result of blending the Western European element with the traditional, local, African ones.
Mixing European culture with the indigenous one, South Africa remarks itself as a country of
contrasts, as it provided elements from both cultures, that can also be interpreted according to
their duality, from the European perspective and the indigenous one.
Sometimes, these elements cand work together and sometimes, they can collide
with one another, so that they give birth to different conflicts, as we have already seen
throughout years. In this respect, we may affirm that even today, there are still evident
discrepancies between the lives of white people and black or coloured people. As an example,
an article published on Britannica mentions about the differences between educational system
of white people and the one for the black population 30, as the elite and high-quality ones are
addressed to the former ones, and the one that are poor and not high-quality, are addressed to
the latter.
Also, another discrepancy is the social inclusion of “coloured” people, that have
mixed race parents, one that is white and one that is black, a theme heavily exploited in

29
The 11 languages of South Africa, available at https://southafrica-info.com/arts-culture/11-languages-south-
africa/#:~:text=IsiZulu%20is%20South%20Africa's%20biggest,%2C%20and%20isiNdebele%20(2%25), link
accessed on May 22nd, 2022; 16:02.
30
According to South Africa, article published on Britannica, available at
https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Africa, link accessed on May 22nd, 2022; 16:16.

12
Trevor Noah’s book, Born a Crime31, as he talks about the story of his life, and him being
rejected by the white population, as well as the black ones, that do not considered him a true
member of either of the parties.
All in all, we may mention that there is an evident mixing of Wester European
culture and Indigenous one, as they sometimes go along well, and sometimes collide due to
cultural, racial and even social prejudices and principles.

I.2. South Africa today, between former colony and independent state

South Africa nowadays represents not only the landmass present at the end of the
Eurasian-African regions, but also a nation, that has a name, a cultural identity and its people.
As we have already seen, there are plenty of current descriptions of South Africa, as many
researchers admit the fact that the lands and the waters around it are full of treasures, as
Leonard Monteath Thompson affirms, in his book, entitle A History of South Africa:
“Southern Africa possesses great mineral resources. Iron-bearing rocks were spread
throughout much of the region, and rocks containing gold and copper broke surface at
various points in the Limpopo river valley and the northwestern part of the Cape Province, as
well as further north in Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. Preindustrial farming people
mined these deposits in open stopes to a depth of several feet and extracted the minerals from
the deposits; but modern industrial technology was a prerequisite for the fuller exploitation of
the region's vast quantities of gold, copper, diamonds, platinum, chrome, and uranium” 32.
On the other hand, South Africa represent more than just a territory full of
treasures that was once colonised by the Dutch and the British, but also a country of contrast,
a society of discrepancies and racial conflicts that many times, are brutal and violent. Also, it
is a country full of history, that regained its independent and freed itself by choosing wise
people to rule it, in a democratic and peaceful manner, as Nelson Mandela did for many years.
All these being said, our study will continue with the second chapter included in
the structure of this paper, that is entitled South African English. The Language of Tragedy.

31
Noah, T., Born a Crime, Random House Press, New York, 2016.
32
Thompson, Leonard, A History of South Africa. Third Edition, Yale University Press, London, 2000, pp.5.

13
 II. SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH, THE LANGUAGE OF TRAGEDY

In order to understand the different types of South African English, we have to

study the unicity and authenticity of general South African English, as well as what exactly
makes it so special and differentiates it from other varieties of English.
As South Africa is the land of multiracial and multicultural population, studies
show that since 1994, “English has been one of eleven official languages, and mother-tongue
English-speakers number just three and a half million in a population of over forty million
people – under 9%. So the position of SAE is markedly different from that in multi-lingual but
predominantly English-speaking countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the
USA”33.
Thus, there are more than just one European influence regarding the languages
spoke in South Africa as the three large influences, besides the traditional and original
languages of the South African tribes are Apartheid, Afrikaans and English, with all their
adjacent varieties, too. In this respect, we may understand that Apartheid stands for the
language imposed by the regime before establishing a democratic regime, whereas Afrikaans
stand for a West Germanic language, that evolved from its older variant, which is Dutch,
during the Dutch colonisation of Cape. Initially, the latter was known as Cape Dutch as the
written language was indeed formal literal Dutch.
In terms of studying South African English, we may mention the fact that this
specific English variety was former with the help of words form other languages, such as:
Afrikaans, the Nguni languages (Xhosa and Zulu), the Sotho languages (Sesotho, Sepedi,
Setswana), Indian dialects, Portuguese, the Khoisan languages, as well as the Malayo-

33
Silva, P., “South African English: Oppressor or Liberator?”, published in The Major Varieties of English,
Papers from MAVEN 97, Vaxjo, Vol.20–22, November, 1997.

14
Javanese languages, all according to the study performed by Penny Silva, in the article
entitled South African English: Oppressor or Liberator?34.
In the same article, Silva mentions South African population has been usually
unaware of the fact that their variety of English that they spoke is much more different than
the other ones, as there can be remarked other traits and features that accentuate the
differences between their variant and other from the entire world, such as slang, which is very
common for the white population present in South Africa. Also, another trait is the fact that
not only South African English has a wide variety of borrowed words not only from the Latin,
European languages, but also from Asian and American regions, as well as three to four major
variants, such as Black English, White English, Coloured English and Indian English.
Thus, in order to study this subject, we will be touching on topics such as
pronunciation, spelling, grammar and vocabulary.

II.1. Phonetic and phonological innovation

As for the topic of phonetic and phonological innovation, there are different
manners in which we may approach the subject. First of all, we may mention the fact that the
first real and original native English accent evolved from the children’s speech during the
second British occupation of Cape, by the settlers, in 1820, children that arrived there with
their parents and spoke various English dialects. Also, as in every language, the pronunciation
is different and has particular features, as they are specifically called South African English
variables, that have the role and function to characterize different accents belonging to
different types of South African English, and also, they may as well serve as differentials that
point out discrepancies between the accents present in the language.
First of all, we have the Dutch related English, that was spoken by the Dutch
colonists, during the establishment of their East India Company in Cape, as the English
spoken there was heavily influenced by the Dutch pronunciation. This type of English is
known today as Afrikaans, as we have already mentioned in the previous pages, as this
specific type of English is a mix between not only the Dutch way of pronouncing words, but
also the Afrikaans proper, traditional pronunciation, which is specific to the indigenous tribes
present on African land, during the colonisation process.
On the other hand, there is the Black South African variety of English, as it is the
largest variety of South African English found on this territory, having their own, particular
34
Idem.

15
accentor, of course. It is derived from the general African English, the non-literary English
that was spoken by the indigenous people, before adopting the language voluntarily and
transforming it into their own, personalised variant, with double negation and other traits, that
contradict the RP BBC pronunciation and writing dogma. In spite of this, South African
English, particularised by the black population in this state is the result of educational
systems, that presents discrepancies between the white and the black population, as the
former, associated with the elite, had quality teachers and beneficiated from a proper learning
environment, whereas the latter where always not taken care off and not taken into
consideration, as their education was not a priority for the system.
Indian South African English, on the other hand, evolved beginning with the year
1860, as many workers and labourers from Natal fields came form India just to find a place to
work or to improve the lifestyle of their families back home.
We do know the fact that in India, during British colonialism, another variety of
English transpired, but the variant spoken in South Africa combined notions of Indian English
and South African dialects, as well as Afrikaans elements. In this respect, Lanham, in the
work entitled The Pronunciation of English in South Africa 35, mentions the following bout the
Indian South African English: “Until well into this century, Ind. E pronunciation was
characterized by variables typical of the Indian English of India. In recent generations,
however, Ind. E has progressively moved away from the influence of Indian languages,
coinciding with a shift to English as the language of the home. English is, in fact, the only
language really known by younger South African Indians. The distinguishing feature of Ind. E
today is the extent to which it excludes the most typical S. Afr. Eng. variables and
approximates the local standard”.36
Finally, the English spoken by the coloured community is described as a type of
English that seems very similar to the literary 19 th century English, combined with influences
from Afrikaans.
As for the variables, there will be studied in the following pages, after analysing
and understanding the numerous dialects that may de identified in South African English.

II.1.1. Dialects

35
Lanham, L.W., The Pronunciation of English in South Africa, Rodes University, Rhodes, 1996, available at
https://www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/content/dsae/documents/articles/
The_Pronunciation_of_English_in_South_Africa.pdf, link accessed on May 24th, 2022; 12:23.
36
Idem.

16
 In this respect, in South Africa, we may mention that there are eleven official
languages that are recognised by the constitution, as it follows: Sepedi (known under the
name Sesotho sa Leboa); Sesotho; Setswana; siSwati; Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans,
English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu, as we may observe from Figure 1.
Also, we may mention the fact that there is a diverse placement and distribution of

the different 11 languages that are spoken in South Africa, as we may observe not only from
the first figure, but also, form the second one, which is in fact a chart that offers detailed
information about their distributions and regions, in which the language is spoken.

Figure 2. The distribution of South African languages37

37
The 11 languages of South Africa, available at https://southafrica-info.com/arts-culture/11-languages-south-
africa/#:~:text=IsiZulu%20is%20South%20Africa's%20biggest,%2C%20and%20isiNdebele%20(2%25), link
accessed on May 24th, 2022; 14:46.

17
 Figure 3. The distribution of South Africa’s 11 official languages38

In this respect, we may have the following distribution, as a summary for hat the
two figures show us:
 Afrikaans has a percentage of 13,5% of the active population;
 South African English 9,6%;
 From the isi family, we may observe the following percentages: isiZulu 22,7%,
isiXhosa 16%, isiNdebele 2,1%;
 From the si family: Sesotho 9,1%, Setswana 8%, siSwati 2,5%, Xitsonga 4,5% etc.
All these being said, we may turn to the next division, in which we will study the
spelling and pronunciation particularities that the general variant of South African English
displays.

II.1.2. Particularities in spelling and pronunciation

As we have already said, there is a wide variety of phonetic innovations that

enhance or diminish the way in which different sounds are pronounced in South African
38
Idem.

18
English, as we may observed from the table:
Feature Examples Observations

British /ɑː/ Martin, pass Martin is heard as ‘Morton’, garden as ‘Gordon’.

British /eɪ/ play, Cape Cockney ‘pline Jine’ for plain Jane.

British /əʊ/ no, show Eliza Doolittleʼs ‘nah’ for no.

British /aɪ/ nice, why Cockney ‘moy’ for my.

British /ɑʊ/ round, cow Close to SSB ‘a’ in hat.

Dutch /r/ press, A single strike of the tongue against the upper teeth
Grahamstown, ridge, but can be a trill.
really, hairy
Dutch /p,t,k/ pattern, attack, Unaspirated as in Afrikaans.
conquer
Natal /aɪ/ nine, slide The vowel is more fronted and tenser.

Natal /l/ Cold A vowel similar to cock the latter sounding like ‘Alf’
bell, elf an effect similar to cold above a vowel closer to /ʊ/.
cull
milk
Natal /ɜː/ hurt, Durban The tongue is raised and fronted with some lip-
rounding.
Natal /uː/ you, too The tongue is central and high with lip-rounding
largely lost.
General SAE /ɪ/ spirit, limit, sit There are exceptions to and variation in this
complementation, notably either /ɪ/ or /ə/ in pin,
wind.
General SAE /ɪ/ happy, any Raised, tenser and longer.
General SAE /ɛ/ head, bent. yes is heard as ‘yis’.
General SAE /ɛə/ there, scarce The vowel is shorter, the glide is lost.
General SAE /ə/ chicken, wanted, They have a prominent lower central /ə/ vowel.
candid
General SAE . forty, paws Raised tongue, shortened, more lip-rounding
/ɔː/
General SAE /ɔɪ/ boy, point Vowel similar to variable 17 with higher, tenser,
more prominent glide.
General SAE /ɪ/ kiss, ring, hit Approaching Afrikaans ‘ie’ in siek.
Afrikaans /aɪ/, - Is low, fronted and tense.
/əʊ/, /eɪ/
Afrikaans . /r/ Four, part Is distinctly Afk. E.
Afrikaans /h/ Hair, hot Is voiced as in Afrikaans with some breathiness
Afrikaans /h/ Chaos, react As in ‘cha(h)os’, ‘re(h)act’.
Afrikaans /æ/ Carry, happy Tongue raised higher than /ɛ/: cattle heard as kettle
Afrikaans /ɪ/ sit, little In stressed monosyllabic words it may be a long

19
 vowel, e.g. It is is heard as ‘Eat ease`.
Variables AF . n sir, heard, nurse In Afr. E together with loss of length hence nurse is
/ɜː/ heard as ‘ness.
Variables AF heat heard as ‘hit’ The vowel length distinction of native English is lost
pull heard as ‘pool’ in apparently random alternation of long and short
sport heard as versions of a vowel.
‘spot’
heart heard as ‘hut
Variables AF /ə/ teacher, wanted, Similarly return with the same two /e/-quality
enter syllables.
Variables AF /ɪ/ sit, simple, did Is absent in Afr. E. Both are pronounced with /ɪ/ or
tongue-higher /i/.
Variables AF /æ/ cat, matter The loss of distinctions such as head : had and
kettle : cattle.
Indian SAE my, five Noticeably shorter with equal prominence to /a/
and /ɪ/.
Indian SAE /v/ vine, wine The lacking both the friction of /v/ and the raising of
and /w/ the back of the tongue of /w/.
Indian SAE ‘interested’ instead Reduction of the main stress in words.
of interested
‘celebrate’ instead
of celebrate
Table 6. The Variables of South. African English Pronunciation39
=
II.2. Grammar

As for the grammatical point of view, there is plenty of data that stresses upon this
subject, as there are numerous researches made in order to establish the pattern and the
syllabus according to which South African English functions.
First of all, there is stressed upon the in which SAE 40 syntax is constructed, as it
presents differences according to the register of speech, be it formal or informal. In this
respect, studies show that formal language syntax functions in the same manner as the
international standard English. As for the informal SAR syntax, we cannot affirm the same, as
it presents notable differences from the international standard, as we may observe from the
following table:

Marker Example Meaning Observations

Sentence initiators- How are you? How are you? Borrowed from Afrikaans.

39
Lanham, L.W., The Pronunciation of English in South Africa, Rodes University, Rhodes, 1996, available at
https://www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/content/dsae/documents/articles/
The_Pronunciation_of_English_in_South_Africa.pdf, link accessed on May 24th, 2022; 18:06.
40
South African English, abbreviated form.

20
 affirmative no —No, I'm fine. —I'm fine.
Emphatic aikona Aikona fish No fish today Borrowed from Bantu/Nguni
languages.
Informal phrases ja well no fine/ Yes, well, no fine. General South African
jawellnofine English usage.
(ridicule meaning)
Suffixed phrases We saw Billy and Billy and the others. Also used in Caribbean
And them them in town. English.
Busy as a progressive We were busy We were waiting for General South African
marker waiting for him. him. English usage.
Using Is it? As an all- She had a baby She had a baby last Also used in Singaporean
purpose response last week. week. English. Derived from the
—Is it? —Really?/For real? Afrikaans Is dit?
Wow!
Extensive use of We were sommer We were just General South African
Afrikaans ‘modal standing around. standing around. English usage.
adverb
Table 7. Forms of Grammar in South African English41
II.3. Vocabulary

In terms of vocabulary, South African English is formed of different proportions

of words belonging to different languages and dialects spoken on this territory, as we may
observe from Figure 3.

Percentage

Afrikaans English African languages Other languages

41
South African English, published by Encyclopedia.com, available at
https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/south-african-english,
link accessed on May 24th, 2022; 20:21.

21
 Figure 4. The proportion of borrowings from different languages, used in current SAE vocabulary 42
On the other hand, the same studies show that there are certain expressions and
words that are used in current South African Languages, and which belong to different
languages, such as Afrikaans, Koi, English, Portuguese and so on, so forth.
In this respect, we may present these borrowings in the following tables.
Nr.crt. Expression/Word Meaning
1. Kloof A steep-sided, wooded ravine or valley.
2. Krants A sheer cliff or precipice in southern Africa.
3. Dagga A country cottage used especially in the summer.
4. Buchu A southern African shrub (Barosma ensata)

5. Boer An Afrikaner farmer.

6. Kreal A wicker basket (as for carrying newly caught fish).
7. Springbok A gazelle with a characteristic habit of leaping.
8. Quagga An extinct zebra.
Table 8. Borrowings from Afrikaans/Dutch and Koi languages43

Nr.crt. Expression/Word Meaning

1. Veld Field
2. Vlei Flatter
3. Koppie Cup
4. Nek Nek

5. Rand Edge
6. Deurmekaar or in a State of confusion
dwaal
7. Nogal What is more
8. Job reservation, Used in regular South African English.
reference book, and

42
South African English, published by Encyclopedia.com, available at
https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/south-african-english,
link accessed on May 25th, 2022; 08:17.
43
Idem.

22
 endorse out
Table 9. Borrowings from English44

Nr.crt. Expression/Word Meaning

1. Karroo (Khoi language) Semi-desert
2. Donga (Nguni language) An eroded watercourse, usually dry.
3. Kraal (Khoi language) An African or Khoikhoi village, an
enclosure for cattle.
4. Kuerboom (South Afrikan Dutch) Flowers, blooms.

5. Kudu (Khoisan language) Antilope

6. Impala (Zulu) Antilope
7. Tssebe (Tswana) Antilope
8. Sangoma (Nguni language) Diviner
9. Kaross (Khoisan language) Skin blanket
10. Kapkar (Afrikaans) Hooded cart
11. Bakkie (Afrikaans) Basin or other containers
12. Tshwala (Nguni language) Beverage brewed with malted grain or
maize.
13. Mampoer (Sotho) A brandy distilled from peaches and
other soft fruits, possibly named after the
Sotho chief Mampuru.
14. Mahog(a) (Sotho) Brandy as served in township shebeens.
15. Tsotsi (African language) An African street thug.
16. Amandla(Nguni language) Power.
17. Muti/Larney(Zulu) Remedies.
Table 10. Borrowings from other African languages45

All this being mentioned, we may affirm that in the following pages, we will pass
on to the analysis performed on different speeches, uttered or delivered by representative
figures for South Africa, such as Nelson Mandela, politician, activist and leader of the
44
South African English, published by Encyclopedia.com, available at
https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/south-african-english,
link accessed on May 25th, 2022; 09:25.
45
South African English, published by Encyclopedia.com, available at
https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/south-african-english,
link accessed on June 11th, 2022; 08:03.

23
democratic movement, and Trevor Noah, comedian and actor.

III. ANALYSING PARTICULARITIES OF SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH IN

FICTIONAL AND POLITICAL DISCOURSES. A STUDY PERFORMED ON
NELSON MANDELA AND TREVOR NOAH’S SPEECH

In this chapter, we will focus on different texts, such as Nelson Mandela’s speech
delivered in Cape Town, in 1996, and Trevor Noah discourse offered in his book, Born a
Crime46, as well as in his stand up shows, where he equally uses South African English,
British English, Indian English etc.
First of all, we may get acquainted with Nelson Mandela, a black nationalist
activist and the first black president of South Africa, from 1994 to 1999. He is considered the
father of Modern South Africa, as he militated for democracy and fought against the
segregation displayed by the Apartheid. He also received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for
destroying in a non-violent and peaceful manner the regime installed by the Apartheid and for
establishing a strong foundation for democracy in South Africa. Also, he was awarded many
more prizes, at least 250.
46
Noah, T., Born a Crime, Random House Press, New York, 2016.

24
 As for the speech, we chose Nelson Mandela’s speech delivered at Cape Town
City Hall, in 1996, recorded by The New York Times, by means of Cable News Network. The
speech will be included in Annexes.
Thus, in the first paragraph, viewed as the opening of the speech, the first sentence
is in isiXhosa and includes also words from the Nguni language, such as “Amandla”, which is
translated as “Power”. In this respect, we can observe that the first sentence, “Amandla!
Amandla! i-Afrika, mayibuye! ”47 is translated into the international standard English as
“Power! Power! Africa it is ours!”. Here, in this sentence, we may observe obvious
differences between the standard English and the English spoken in South Africa, as this
specific paragraph is very complex, and mixes formal and informal registers.
We have already affirmed that, in South African English, in formal contexts there
is used an almost literary form of English, whereas in colloquial language, there is used a
mixture of standard English and borrowings from different indigenous languages and from
European languages, such as Dutch or Portuguese.
Thus, in this paragraph, we may observe that first, Nelson Mandela appeals the
people of South Africa, especially the black, the coloured and the Indian population, in the
first and foremost sentence, as they are his comrades, his friends, his family, and continues his
speech, with a standard English, that appeals all the people that are present there, as we may
observe from the paragraph: “Amandla! Amandla! i-Afrika, mayibuye! My friends, comrades
and fellow South Africans, I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for
all. I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people” (NM,
1996).
Also, we may observe that even in the sentences that appeals all the people of the
country, in an almost literary English, it may be remarked his manner of placing punctuation
marks and using different words, that are specific to the South African English syntax.
First of all, in the sentences: “I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a
humble servant of you, the people” (NM, 1996), commas are used in a slightly different
manner that in the normal, standard English, which is a phenomenon explained by either the
need of the speaker to appeal the traditional, South African rhythm and pace when
pronouncing the words and also, as the attempt to switch the emphasis form himself to his
audience, his fellows, his people. In this respect, we can observe that after the word prophet
should have been placed a comma, as in standard English orthography.
Also, in the sentence “My friends, comrades and fellow South Africans, I greet
47
From the speech help by Nelson Mandela, all the paragraphs will be noted as NM,1996.

25
you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all” (NM, 1996), after introducing
his manner of addressing people “My friends, comrades and fellow South Africans”, it may
have been necessary a full stop, or a comma followed by a blank row, so that it would have
corresponded to the requirements of the standard English.
The speech continues with the second paragraph, in which we may observe
another South African particularity, one from the morphological and syntactical point of view,
as the place of adverbs differs from the standard English.
In the paragraph “On this day of my release, I extend my sincere and warmest
gratitude to the millions of my compatriots and those in every corner of the globe who have
campaigned tirelessly for my release” (NM, 1996), we may observe that the place of adverb
tirelessly is after the verb whereas the standard English requires it to be placed between
auxiliary and the verb from the predicate.
On the other hand, the speaker uses a lot of phrases and words specific to the
isiXhosa in order to appeal the people of his kind and also, all the populations that
experienced segregation and, as we have mentioned before related to the context of the speech
and the usage of addressing marks.
Also, from the videos and the vocal recording of Nelson Mandela, we may
observe that the particularities and the South African English variables are used and included,
as the voice and the inflections of the politician are evident in his manner of pronouncing
words.
In this respect, there will be analysed different short videos, in order to better
understand the explanations behind every special type of pronouncing words. In addition, for
every video, there will be provided the transcript, so that we will have the text in front of our
eyes, as we may see the literary variant and we will analyse the manner in which the words
are pronounced.

 Video 1: Nelson Mandela Iconic Speech - "Sport has the power to change the world"48
Transcript
Sport, has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the
power to unite people, in a way that little us does. It speaks to youth in a language they
understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.

48
Nelson Mandela Iconic Speech - "Sport has the power to change the world", video available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTH771HIhpg, link accessed on June 11th, 2022; 11:38.

26
 In this video, Nelson Mandela speaks about the importance of sport and its role in
uniting people, especially the young generations. Thus, in order to analyse the manner in
which he pronounces the words, we will be listing the technique and particularities identified
in this video, bellow, as it follows:
 Sport- the vowel length distinction of native English is lost in apparently random
alternation of long and short versions of a vowel. In addition, the /r/ is not voiced and
acts as if is muted. Instead to be heard as /spo:t/ in British English (BE) or /sport/ in
American English (AmE), the words is pronounced as /spot/;
 The- here, istead of the word to be pronounced as /ðə/, the sound /ð/ is replaced with
/z/, as the word sound more like / zə/, a variable specific to African English in general;
 World- here, the /r/ is muted and the sound /l/, /d/ are mixed and extended, so that
instead of pronouncing the word as / wɜːld/, we have the following pronunciation
/wəd/;
 Inspire- here, the first syllable is low, fronted and tense, instead of the word being
heard as / ɪnˈspaɪə/, it is heard as / ɪnspə:/;
 People- it has a prominent lower central /ə/ vowel, and /I/ from the first syllable is
heard as / ə/. Also, it is approaching Afrikaans ‘ie’ in siek.
 Us- it is very ambiguous, as we do not know whether is the word us or as. Also, the
tongue is central and high with lip-rounding largely lost.
 Does- the tongue is central and high with lip-rounding largely lost, The vowel is
shorter, the glide is lost and it sounds similar to /dəz/, instead of /dʌz/;
 Speaks- here, even though the pronunciation should be /spiːks/, the word is heard as
/spak/, as similar in the case of the loss of distinctions such as head : had and kettle :
cattle.
 Understand- the pronunciation should have been / ˌʌndəˈstænd/, whereas the word is
pronounced as / ˌʌndstʌn/, as we may observe the reduction of the main stress in
words and noticeably shorter with equal prominence to /a/ and /ɪ/.
 Despair- here we have the same process and changes as within the previous word,
understand, as we may observe the reduction of the main stress in words and
noticeably shorter with equal prominence to /a/ and /ɪ/.

• Video 2: Nelson Mandela speaking on apartheid49

49
Nelson Mandela speaking on apartheid, video available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=0RngOz0K4E0, link accessed on June 11th, 2022; 12:13.

27
Transcript
We take this opportunity once more to pay tribute to the millions of Britains,
would through the Earth and like other everywhere else in the world, stood up to say No to
Apartheid.

In this video, Nelson Mandela speaks about the manner in which South African
behaved in from of the British and how people do not want to be subdued by the violence of
the Apartheid. Thus, in order to analyse the manner in which he pronounces the words, we
will be listing the technique and particularities identified in this video, bellow, as it follows:
 Take- instead of pronouncing the word / teɪk/, we heard / tek/, as the vowel is shorter,
and the glide is lost. Also, they have a prominent lower central /ə/ vowel.
 Opportunity- instead of pronouncing the word /ˌɒpəˈtjuːnɪti/, we heard the word
pronounced as /ˌɒpatunti/, as /I/ is raised, tenser and longer, and it is absent in Afr. E.
Both are pronounced with /ɪ/ or tongue-higher /i/.
 Tribute- instead of pronouncing the word / ˈtrɪbjuːt/, we may hear / ˈtrbut/, as the
tongue is central and high with lip-rounding largely lost, and we may observe the
reduction of the main stress in words and noticeably shorter with equal prominence
to /a/ and /ɪ/.
 Millions- instead of pronouncing the word / ˈmɪljənz/, we heard the word pronounced
as / ˈmɪljo:n/, as there are exceptions to and variation in this complementation, notably
either /ɪ/ or /ə/, and the vowel is more fronted and tenser.
 Britains- instead of pronouncing the word /ˈbrɪtnz/, we heard the word pronounced as /
ˈbrɪton/, as there are exceptions to and variation in this complementation, notably
either /ɪ/ or /ə/, and the vowel is more fronted and tenser.
 Would- instead of pronouncing the word / wʊ:d/, we may confuse this word to wood /
wʊd/, as the tongue is central and high with lip-rounding largely lost.
 Earth- instead of pronouncing the word / ɜːθ/, we heard the word pronounced as / əθ/,
due to the fact that the tongue is raised and fronted with some lip-rounding, and the
vowel length distinction of native English is lost in apparently random alternation of
long and short versions of a vowel.
 Else- instead of pronouncing the word / ɛlz/, we heard the word pronounced as / əlz/,
as the tongue is raised and fronted with some lip-rounding, and the vowel length
distinction of native English is lost in apparently random alternation of long and short

28
 versions of a vowel.
 World- here, the /r/ is muted and the sound /l/, /d/ are mixed and extended, so that
instead of pronouncing the word as / wɜːld/, we have the following pronunciation
/wəd/;
 Stood- instead of pronouncing the word / stʊd/, we heard the word pronounced as /
stəd/, the tongue is central and high with lip-rounding largely lost, and we may
observe the reduction of the main stress in words and noticeably shorter with equal
prominence to /a/ and /ɪ/.
 Up- instead of pronouncing the word / ʌp/, we heard the word pronounced as / ə p/, the
tongue is central and high with lip-rounding largely lost, and we may observe the
reduction of the main stress in words and noticeably shorter with equal prominence to
other vowels.
 No- instead of pronouncing the word / nəʊ/, we heard the word pronounced as / na:/,
the tongue is central and high with lip-rounding largely lost.
 Apartheid- instead of pronouncing the word / əˈpɑːtheɪt/, we heard the word
pronounced as / aˈpɑtet/, as /I/ is raised, tenser and longer, and it is absent in Afr. E.
Both are pronounced with /ɪ/ or tongue-higher /i/.
In this respect, we may mention that the differences between standard English and
South African English in Nelson Mandela’s speeches are conclusive and evident. Thus, in the
following pages we will analyse the discourse of another representative figure for South
African, the comedian Trevor Noah.

The second personality representative for the Sout African territory is Trevor
Noah, a comedia, television host, actor and political commentator. He is well known for the
productions that he hosts, such as The Daily Show, which is an American ssatirical new
program that is aired on Comedy Central.
In this respect, Noah begin his carrer as a comedian in 2002 and he had much
succes, as in 2014, he begin to receive titles and awards for his activity, as he become the
Senior International Correspondent for The Daily Show and in the following year, he
succedeed the long-time host of that time, Jon Stewart.
As for the awards he has won over the time, there are prizes such as MTV Africa
Music Awards and the Primetiem Emmy Award, as in the second case, he was also

29
nomainated for another eleven prizes.
In 2017 and 2018, he received other awards, that were heavier that the first ones,
as he was named one of “The Most Powerful People in New York Media”, by the Hollywood
reporter.
Last but not least, in many cases, there is mentioned that Noah, in 2018, Time
magazine one of the hundred most influential people in the world.
But, even though, now he has a life and a career that make almost everyone
envious, Noah has a fragile childhood, on the lands of South Africa as his mother was
indigenous and his father was European, therefore he was coloured, the race that was equally
rejected by the white and the black populations in South Africa during those times.
In this respect, his joys and sorrows are reflected in his book, Born a Crime50,
published in 2016, book that is also available on Audible, with Trevor Noah being the one
who reads it. Thus, the analysis of South African English particularities on this book can be
realised, as in Nelson’s Mandela case, at a written level, in terms of lexicology, grammar and
syntax, as well as at an auditory level, in terms of pronunciation, stress and even pitch.
In the book, a major part is played by his mother, who includes different
indigenous expressions, together with general South African variables, as we may see from
the beginning of the book: “My mother is as stubborn as she is religious. Once her mind’s
made up, that’s it. Indeed, obstacles that would normally lead a person to change their plans,
like a car breaking down, only made her more determined to forge ahead.
“It’s the Devil,” she said about the stalled car. “The Devil doesn’t want us to go to church.
That’s why we’ve got to catch minibuses.””51
Thus, when Trevor Noah continues to counterargument his mother, in order not to
go to church that day, his mother becomes frustrated and uses a particular expression, later
explained by Noah:
““No. That’s the Devil talking. Now go change your clothes.”
“But, Mom!”
“Trevor! Sun’qhela!””52.
In this respect, Noah explains that this is a general expression encountered in the
Xhosa tribe, an expression used whenever the parents from that community have their
children disobeying them, as Noah explains: “Sun’qhela is a phrase with many shades of
50
Noah, T., Born a Crime, Random House Press, New York, 2016.
51
Noah, T., Born a Crime, Random House Press, New York, 2016, pp.12.
52
Noah, T., Born a Crime, Random House Press, New York, 2016, all the paragraphs and the exerts from the
book will be noted BaC.

30
meaning. It says “don’t undermine me,” “don’t underestimate me,” and “just try me.” It’s
a command and a threat, all at once. It’s a common thing for Xhosa parents to say to their
kids. Any time I heard it I knew it meant the conversation was over, and if I uttered another
word I was in for a hiding—what we call a spanking” (BaC, pp. 13). Of course, as Trevor
Noah is a comedian, and the comic style shows in the book and in his manner of describing
situations.
Following the next pages, he recounts an event from the same day, where they
enter the car of a Zulu driver, and things escalate, as he judges his mother and they are in
danger, as the behaviour of that man is chaotic and violent. Though and still, his mother tried
to calm him down, as we may see from the attempt:
““I’m sorry if we’ve upset you, bhuti. You can just let us out here—”
“No.”
“Really, it’s fine. We can just walk—”
“No.”” (BaC, pp. 17-18)
In this respect, we do not have any explanation for this word offered by the author
of the book, but we may find it in other dictionaries, as bhuti is a word used to appeal and to
address male, usually young males, in order to calm them 53, thus, it is used for talking to a
man in a friendly manner, so that he may calm down or be reasonable.
Also, in the second chapter, of his book, Trevor Noah talks about how their
parents met and how people were curious about the child, as his mother tried to protect her
baby, by herself, as she did not want to involve Noah’s father, as, during those times, it was a
crime for two people, from different races, to have intercourse, and also to have children.
His father was Swiss/German, as the author says, and when his mother was asked
who the father of her baby was, she offered this response:
““Who is the father?” they asked.
“His father is from Swaziland,” my mother said, referring to the tiny, landlocked kingdom in
the west of South Africa.”” (BaC, pp. 26)
In this fragment, the land from the west of South Africa has a name that resembles
a lot Switzerland, as if his mother was not lying, neither telling the truth when responding to
the doctors.
In the third chapter, when talking about his family and the relatives involved in his
childhood and his life, in general. The only masculine figure, that could be regarded as a

53
According to the Dictionary of South Africa, found at https://dsae.co.za/entry/bhuti/e00744, accessed link
accessed on June 11th, 2022; 14:53.

31
pseudo-father for him was his grandfather, who has a specific nickname, as we may observe
in the neighbourhood, as we may observe from the following fragment: “The only semi-
regular male figure in my life was my grandfather, my mother’s father, who was a force to be
reckoned with. He was divorced from my grandmother and didn’t live with us, but he was
around. His name was Temperance Noah, which was odd since he was not a man of
moderation at all. He was boisterous and loud. His nickname in the neighborhood was “Tat
Shisha”” (BaC, pp. 31).
This specific nickname is explained in the following rows by Noah, who mentions
that his grandfather was named like this because his good-looking appearance, in spite of his
age: “which translates loosely to “the smokin’ hot grandpa.” And that’s exactly who he was.
He loved the ladies, and the ladies loved him. He’d put on his best suit and stroll through the
streets of Soweto on random afternoons” (BaC, pp. 31).
Again, we encounter the expression Sun’qhela, as there are numerous other
situations in which his mother stopped him when he frustrated her, as we see in the following
paragraph:
“Trevor, don’t eat the food.”
“But I’m starving.”
“No. They might poison us.”
“Okay, then why don’t I just pray to Jesus and Jesus will take the poison
out of the food?”
“Trevor! Sun’qhela!”(BaC, pp. 32).
On the other hand, the domestic violence, and the violence towards women was
very common, as Noah recounts some events with his cousins and aunt, as his cousins would
slap their mother, due to the social belief that is you do not beat or hit a woman, you do not
love her. He remembers that women chanted for their physical and emotional integrity, as
they were considered the one who help the community together: “Their fathers were off
working in a mine somewhere, able to come home only during the holidays. Their fathers had
been sent to prison. Their fathers were in exile, fighting for the cause. Women held the
community together. “Wathint’Abafazi Wathint’imbokodo!” was the chant they would rally
to during the freedom struggle.” (BaC, pp. 34).
Thus, he also offers and explanation for this chant of Xhosa women, that would
use this phrase or this chant in order to reaffirm their position and their strength against the
violent actions of their husbands, or the male community in general, as Noah explains:
““When you strike a woman, you strike a rock.” As a nation, we recognized the power of

32
women, but in the home they were expected to submit and obey”. (BaC, pp. 34).
Also, there are included passages that talk about their visits at church, as they
would use their indigenous languages, together with part of English, in order to sing or to talk
about different Biblical events, as we may see from the following paragraph: “Then there
would be a bit of song. There was a leather pad called “the beat” that you’d strap to your
palm, like a percussion instrument. Someone would clap along on that, keeping time while
everyone sang, “Masango vulekani singene eJerusalema. Masango vulekani singene
eJerusalema.”” (BaC, pp. 34).
Even though in the text is not offered the translation of this expression, we can
mention that we studied and analysed it, thus this expression has the following meanings,
according to the different ways of interpreting the word mansango: “Masango, we open the
entrance of Jerusalem” or “Through the forest/jungle, we open the entrance of
Jerusalem”,
As the term Masango can be a name, or may have the meaning forest or jungle.
As for other paragraphs and parts from the book, we may also observe terms
borrowed from different languages, such as Italian, Irish and Turkish, as we may observe in
the following paragraph: “The most common were the spaza shops and the shebeens. The
spaza shops were informal grocery stores. People would build a kiosk in their garage, buy
wholesale bread and eggs, and then resell them piecemeal” (BaC, pp. 36).
In this respect, we have the following borrowed words, that are also present in
South African English:
 Spaza (shops)- term borrowed from Italian, from spezi, which means groceries, that
has another meaning in South African English, as in slang, it means camouflaged or
dummy. This term, borrowed from Italian, was transformer in the Xhosa and the Nguni
languages;
 Shebeens- term borrowed from Irish, that had the original meaning as a bar, an illicit
one, where the alcoholic beverages were sod illegally, without licence. In South
African English, this term keeps its original meaning;
 Kiosk- term that comes from the Turkish word kōšk, which originally referred to an
open pavilion, usually used for commerce or for selling objects/products, a meaning
that is preserved in both standard English and South African English.
All in all, it is important to acknowledge that the English used by Trevor Noah in
the book is mostly standard English, but the paragraphs in which he recounts the saying or the
words of his mother, of his relatives, friends and community, he uses South African English,
33
in order to offer authenticity to the story and to the language with which he grew up.
All these being mentioned, out analysis performed on different types of files,
written, video or audio, is concluded, and we may affirm that South African is a mix between
English and indigenous languages, with their own particularities in phonetical and
phonological innovation, with their proper grammar and syntax, and also with their numerous
and various borrowings, that offer originality and authenticity to one of the most prolific
African English variants.

CONCLUSIONS

As we have already mentioned, the presence of English on the South African

lands dates back to the British Empire occupation, during the grand era of colonisation,
beginning in 1795, at Cape of Good Hope, today known as Cape Town. Similar to the other
cases of colonies, such as India or the American lands, the soldiers and the British population
forced the changes, not only in culture, but also the language, onto the population that they
occupied at that time.
Also, this process was very complex, as the population of South Africa
experienced two waves of Dutch colonization, the ones before 1795 and from 1803 to 1806,

34
and two waves of British colonisation from 1795 to 1803 and from 1806 up to the
independence of the country.
Also, in order to understand why this language is so interesting and yet different
from the standard English, we analysed different features and particularities, such as phonetic
and phonological innovation, the innovations present in grammar and in syntax, as well as the
numerous borrowings from different languages, not only indigenous ones, such as isiXhosa,
isiZulu, Nguni or Afrikaans, but also from European languages, such as Dutch, English,
Italian, Spanish, Irish, Portuguese, Turkish and even French.
In addition, we included information about the four categories of South African
English, which are:
 Black South African English- the language of the majority, the language adjusted and
spoken by the indigenous people, as a result of being colonised by the Dutch and the
British;
 White South African English- the language spoken by the white populations, that
established and lived on the territory of the colonised people, that still there today;
 Indian South African English- the language spoken by the Indian population, which
established in South Africa in order to find jobs there, as a result of the direct
communication between the British colonies, as India and South Africa were under the
British empire during the same time;
 Coloured South African English- the language spoken by the coloured population,
meaning the population that resulted from the relationship between the black and the
white population.
All in all, the South African English is one of the most prolific and the most
authentic English variant, whose people still affirms itself and its culture nowadays, inspired
oppressed and subdues populations.
ANNEXES
List of figures

Figure 1 (Language distribution in South Africa’s population groups) 14

Figure 2 (The distribution of South African languages) 20
Figure 3 (The distribution of South Africa’s 11 official languages) 20
Figure 4 ( The proportion of borrowings from different languages, used in current
SAE vocabulary)

35
24

List of tables

Table 1 (Lifestyle values) 11

Table 2 (Family life values) 11
Table 3 (Social and community values) 12
Table 4 (Environmental values) 12
Table 5 (Job and work values) 12
Table 6 (The Variables of South. African English Pronunciation) 22
Table 7 (Forms of Grammar in South African English) 23
Table 8 (Borrowings from Afrikaans/Dutch and Koi languages) 25
Table 9 (Borrowings from English) 26
Table 10 (Borrowings from other African languages) 27

Other Annexes
Nelson Mandela’s speech54:
„Amandla! Amandla! i-Afrika, mayibuye! [Power! Power! Africa it is ours!] My
friends, comrades and fellow South Africans, I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy
and freedom for all. I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you,
the people.
Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today.
I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.
On this day of my release, I extend my sincere and warmest gratitude to the
millions of my compatriots and those in every corner of the globe who have campaigned
tirelessly for my release.
I extend special greetings to the people of Cape Town, the city to which, which
has been my home for three decades. Your mass marches and other forms of struggle have
served as a constant source of strength to all political prisoners.
I salute the African National Congress. It has fulfilled our every expectation in its
role as leader of the great march to freedom.
I salute our president, Comrade Oliver Tambo, for leading the A.N.C. even under

54
Available at https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/12/world/south-africa-s-new-era-transcript-mandela-s-speech-
cape-town-city-hall-africa-it.html, link accessed on June 11th, 2022; 17:41.

36
the most difficult circumstances.
I salute the rank-and-file members of the A.N.C. You have sacrificed life and limb
in the pursuit of the noble cause of our struggle.
I salute combatants of Umkonto We Sizwe [Spear of the Nation] , like Solomon
Malhangu and Ashley Kriel, who have paid the ultimate price for the freedom of all South
Africans.
I salute the South African Communist Party for its steady contribution to the
struggle for democracy. You have survived 40 years of unrelenting persecution. The memory
of great Communists like Moses Kotane, Yusuf Dacoo, Bram Fischer and Moses Madidha
will be cherished for generations to come.
I salute General Secretary Joe Slovo, one of our finest patriots. We are heartened
by the fact that the alliance between ourselves and the party remains as strong as it always
was.
I salute the United Democratic Front, the National Education Crisis Committee,
the South African Youth Congress, the Transvaal and Natal Indian Congresses. And Cosatu.
And the many other formations of the mass democratic movement.
I also salute the Black Sash and the National Union of South African Students. We
note with pride that you have acted as the conscience of white South Africans. Even during
the darkest days in the history of our struggle, you held the flag of liberty high. The large-
scale mass mobilization of the past few years is one of the key factors which led to the
opening of the final chapter of our struggle.
I extend my greetings to the working class of our country. Your organized stance
is the pride of our movement. You remain the most dependable force in the struggle to end
exploitation and oppression.
I pay tribute - I pay tribute to the many religious communities who carried the
campaign for justice forward when the organizations of our people were silenced.
I greet the traditional leaders of our country. Many among you continue to walk
in the footsteps of great heroes like Hintsa and Sekhukhuni.
I pay tribute to the endless heroes of youth. You, the young lions. You the young
lions have energized our entire struggle.
I pay tribute to the mothers and wives and sisters of our nation. You are the rock-
hard foundation of our struggle. Apartheid has inflicted more pain on you than on anyone
else. On this occasion, we thank the world - we thank the world community for their great
contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle. Without your support our struggle would not have

37
reached this advanced stage.
The sacrifice of the front-line states will be remembered by South Africans
forever.
My salutations will be incomplete without expressing my deep appreciation for
the strength given to me during my long and lonely years in prison by my beloved wife and
family.
I am convinced that your pain and suffering was far greater than my own.
Before I go any further, I wish to make the point that I intend making only a few
preliminary comments at this stage. I will make a more complete statement only after I have
had the opportunity to consult with my comrades.
Today the majority of South Africans, black and white, recognize that apartheid
has no future. It has to be ended by our own decisive mass actions in order to build peace and
security. The mass campaigns of defiance and other actions of our organizations and people
can only culminate in the establishment of democracy.
The apartheid destruction on our subcontinent is incalculable. The fabric of
family life of millions of my people has been shattered. Millions are homeless and
unemployed.
Our economy - our economy lies in ruins and our people are embroiled in
political strife. Our resort to the armed struggle in 1960 with the formation of the military
wing of the A.N.C., Umkonto We Sizwe, was a purely defensive action against the violence of
apartheid.
The factors which necessitated the armed struggle still exist today. We have no option but to
continue. We express the hope that a climate conducive to a negotiated settlement would be
created soon so that there may no longer be the need for the armed struggle.
I am a loyal and disciplined member of the African National Congress. I am,
therefore, in full agreement with all of its objectives, strategies and tactics.
The need to unite the people of our country is as important a task now as it
always has been. No individual leader is able to take all these enormous tasks on his own. It
is our task as leaders to place our views before our organization and to allow the democratic
structures to decide on the way forward.
On the question of democratic practice, I feel duty bound to make the point that a leader of
the movement is a person who has been democratically elected at a national conference. This
is a principle which must be upheld without any exceptions.
Today, I wish to report to you that my talks with the Government have been aimed at

38
normalizing the political situation in the country. We have not as yet begun discussing the
basic demands of the struggle.
I wish to stress that I myself had at no time entered into negotiations about the
future of our country, except to insist on a meeting between the A.N.C. and the Government.
Mr. de Klerk has gone further than any other Nationalist president in taking real steps to
normalize the situation. However, there are further steps as outlined in the Harare
Declaration that have to be met before negotiations on the basic demands of our people can
begin.
I reiterate our call for inter alia the immediate ending of the state of emergency
and the freeing of all, and not only some, political prisoners (...)
It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal
for which I am prepared to die. [The following portion was delivered in Xhosa. The
translation was provided by Mbulelo Mzamane, a professor of Comparative Literature at the
University of Georgia.] My friends, I have no words of eloquence to offer today except to say
that the remaining days of my life are in your hands. [He continued in English.] I hope you
will disperse with discipline. And not a single one of you should do anything which will make
other people to say that we can't control our own people”.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

39
Dictionaries:
Cambridge English Online Dictionary, available at https://dictionary.cambridge.org/;
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, available at https://www.merriam-webster.com/;
Online Dictionary of South Africa, available at https://dsae.co.za/.

Books:
Branford, J., A dictionary of South African English, University Press, Oxford, 1991;
Childs, R., Divide and rule: Race relations in South Africa 1938–1977, Palgrave Macmillan,
London, 1990;
Crystal, David, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Linguistics (2nd edition), Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 1997;
Davies, A., The native speaker in applied linguistics, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh,
1991;
Fairclough, N., Language and power, Longman, London, 1992;
Kachru, B., The Alchemy of English, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1986;
Mesthrie, R., A lexicon of South African Indian English, Peepal Tree Press, Leeds, 1992;
Mesthrie, R., A lexicon of South African Indian English, Peepal Tree Press, Yorkshire, 1992b;
Rockford, J.R., Spoken Soul, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York, 2000;
Thompson, Leonard, A History of South Africa. Third Edition, Yale University Press, London,
2000.

Fiction Books:
Noah, T., Born a Crime, Random House Press, New York, 2016.

Articles:
Ball, P. The English Language in South Africa, 2017, article available at
https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/english-language-south-africa#:~:text=It%20has
%20also%20become%20one,Johannesburg%2C%20South%20Africa's%20financial
%20capital., link accessed on May 21st, 2022; 15:17.
Idang, Gabriel, E., “African Culture and Values”, published in Phronimon, Volume 16,
Number 2, by Unisa Press, 2015, pp.97-11
Janse, A.J.A., “A History of Diamond Sources In Africa: Part II”, published in GEMS &
GEMOLOGY, Spring, 1996, pp.2-30, available at https://www.gia.edu/doc/A-History-of-
Diamond-Sources-in-Africa.pdf, link accessed on May 22nd, 2022; 11:38.

40
Silva, P., “South African English: Oppressor or Liberator?”, published in The Major Varieties
of English, Papers from MAVEN 97, Vaxjo, Vol.20–22, November, 1997;
Soontiens, W., De Jager, J.W., “South African values: A reflection on its ‘Western’ base”,
published in African Journal of Business Management, Vol.2.(X), University of Technology,
South Africa.

Guides:
Pocket Guide to South Africa 2014/15, available at
https://www.gcis.gov.za/sites/default/files/docs/resourcecentre/pocketguide/PocketGuide-
history.pdf link accessed on May 21st, 2022; 17:37.

URL/Webography:
https://crsreports.congress.gov/, link accessed on May 21st, 2022; 15:58;
https://www.gcis.gov.za/sites/default/files/docs/resourcecentre/pocketguide/PocketGuide-
history.pdf, link accessed on May 21st, 2022; 16:08;
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/khoisan, link accessed on link accessed on May 22 nd,
2022; 10:09;
https://www.gia.edu/doc/A-History-of-Diamond-Sources-in-Africa.pdf, link accessed on May
22nd, 2022; 11:38;
https://ndla.no/en/subject:1:c8d6ed8b-d376-4c7b-b73a-3a1d48c3a357/topic:59a2daf8-db7f-
4f47-8160-551f9d9c582c/resource:6779f31a-306d-40a4-9f7b-70669a5f258a, link accessed
on May 22nd, 2022; 13:47;
https://southafrica-info.com/arts-culture/11-languages-south-africa/#:~:text=IsiZulu%20is
%20South%20Africa's%20biggest,%2C%20and%20isiNdebele%20(2%25)., link accessed on
May 22nd, 2022; 13:50;
https://southafrica-info.com/arts-culture/11-languages-south-africa/#:~:text=IsiZulu%20is
%20South%20Africa's%20biggest,%2C%20and%20isiNdebele%20(2%25), link accessed on
May 22nd, 2022; 16:02;
https://www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/content/dsae/documents/articles/
The_Pronunciation_of_English_in_South_Africa.pdf, link accessed on May 24th, 2022; 12:23;
https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/
south-african-english, link accessed on May 24th, 2022; 20:21;
https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/12/world/south-africa-s-new-era-transcript-mandela-s-
speech-cape-town-city-hall-africa-it.html, link accessed on June 11th, 2022; 17:41.

41
Documentaries/Videos:
Nelson Mandela Iconic Speech - "Sport has the power to change the world", video available
at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTH771HIhpg, link accessed on June 11th, 2022;
11:38;
Nelson Mandela speaking on apartheid, video available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=0RngOz0K4E0, link accessed on June 11th, 2022; 12:13.

42