User:Tytygo/South African English

Black South African English
Black South African English, or BSAE, is spoken by individuals whose first language is an indigenous African tongue. BSAE is considered a "new" English because it has emerged through the education system among second-language speakers in places where English is not the majority language. At least two sociolinguistic variants have been definitively studied on a post-creole continuum for the second-language Black South African English spoken by most Black South Africans: a high-end, prestigious "acrolect" and a more middle-ranging, mainstream "mesolect". The "basilect" variety is less similar to the colonial language (natively-spoken English), while the "mesolect" is somewhat more so. Historically, BSAE has been considered a "non-standard" variety of English, inappropriate for formal contexts and influenced by indigenous African languages.

Classification
The difference between Black and White South Africans is based on their ethnic backgrounds, with them, as BSAE, being originally the first indigenous people that made a new English South Africa and developing speaking their tongue version of English and deciding not to speak South Africa' s native language of English, which is mostly exclusive for them due to it not being the majority language. In SAE It is primarily used for publicizing the differences between British and other forms of tongue speaking for native speakers in various communities of South Africa

Phonology
BSAE emerged from the influence of local native languages on the British English variety often taught in South African schools. After dispersing BSAE has been seen as three distinct subvarieties: the basilect, mesolect, and acrolect. Not much has yet been studied on the subvarieties of BSAE, and the distinctions between them aren’t yet fully defined. However, there are some notable pronunciation differences in mesolect and acrolect.

The vowels in BSAE can be realized as five key phonemes: /i/, pronounced in words like “FLEECE” or KIT, /u/ in “FOOT” or “GOOSE”, /ɛ/ in “TRAP”, “DRESS”, or “NURSE”, /ɔ/ in LOT or FORCE, and /a/ in. /i/ may occasionally be pronounced [ɪ] in the acrolectal variety, though there is no consistent change among speakers. One difference in the acrolect in comparison to the mesolect is that it often uses the phoneme /ʌ/ in place of /a/.

In addition, many vowels that are normally diphthongs in most varieties are monophthongs in BSAE. For example, “FACE” in standard American English is typically pronounced as /feɪs/ or /fɛis/, but in BSAE is typically pronounced /fɛs/.

Grammar
Black South African English analysis has not been researched or utilized enough due to its contrasting methods to Southern British norms. BSAE has contrasting pronunciation and organization of vowels and consonants compared to the ones in more commonly used languages such as other varieties of English. Due to English being the official language of South Africa, dialects that have contrary methods in language and pronunciation to English become isolated from the speech in that area. It has contrasting pronunciation and organization of vowels and consonants compared to the ones in standard English. For instance, “it lacks the tense/lax contrast and central vowels in the mesolectal variety.” In Black South African English, the length of vowel usage is changeable however, length can be understood as a stress placement.

History
Historically, BSAE has been considered a "non-standard" variety of English, inappropriate for formal contexts, and influenced by indigenous African languages.

BSAE, or Black South African English, has its roots in European colonialism of the African continent in the 19th century. As a result of English being pushed by the colonizers of the region, the British, English became widespread in the South African region after it became necessary for indigenous African communities to use for success under the British. Much like in other colonies of the British, English became a necessity for advancement and economic security in the colony for indigenous Africans.

According to the Central Statistical Services, as of 1994, about 7 million black people spoke English in South Africa. BSAE originated in the South African school system when the 1953 Bantu Education Act mandated the use of native African languages in the classroom. When this law was established, most of the native English-speaking teachers were removed from schools. This limited the exposure that black students received to standard varieties of English. As a result, the English spoken in black schools developed distinctive patterns of pronunciation and syntax, leading to the formation of BSAE. Some of these characteristic features can be linked to the mother tongues of the early BSAE speakers. The policy of mother tongue promotion in schools ultimately failed, and in 1979, the Department of Bantu Education allowed schools to choose their own language of instruction. English was largely the language of choice because it was viewed as a key tool of social and economic advancement.

Geography
South Africa occupies the southern area of Africa, its coastline stretching more than 2,850 kilometers (1,770 miles) from the desert border within Namibia on the Atlantic (western) coast southwards around the tip of Africa and then northeast to the border with Mozambique on the Indian Ocean. The low-lying coastal zone is narrow for much of that distance, soon giving way to a mountainous escarpment (Great Escarpment) that separates the coast from the high inland plateau. In some places, notably the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the east, a greater distance separates the coast from the escarpment. Although much of the country is classified as semi-arid, it has considerable variation in climate as well as topography. The total land area is 1,220,813 km2 (471,359 sq mi). It has the 23rd largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 1,535,538 km2 (592,875 sq mi).

References