Black South African English

Since the end of apartheid in the early 1990’s English has expanded greatly in the black population of South Africa. The varieties which have arisen here show a considerable influence from the native background languages of speakers. For instance, typical features of Bantu languages emerge in Black South African English, e.g. syllable-timing, mid-length monophthongs and r-lessness. With the increasing consciousness of the blacks, this group of varieties may become more focussed and serve as a linguistic identification for the aspiring black section of the South African population.

   Sample sound file