South African English

(SAE,SAfrE, SAfrEng, en-ZA) is a variant of standard English spoken by English-speaking South Africans. It evolved distinctive characteristics since the late 1700s, inter alia under the influence of the many other languages spoken in the country and unique local conditions. Long unrecognized, it is today accepted as a formal variant with a vibrant literature. In theatre in particular a great number of writers utilize the distinctive characteristics of SAE in their plays. The language has also evolved which has a number of more informal "sub-variants" (sometimes referred to as "Afrikaner-English", "African English", "Indian English", "Coloured English", "Township slang", etc). The melding of Afrikaans, English and other local languages has become increasingly prominent after 1994.

The language gained a form of official sanction in 19** with the publication of Jean Branford's first A Dictionary of South African English.

For more information

Also see Language struggle

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_English

http://public.oed.com/aspects-of-english/english-in-use/south-african-english/

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