Editing South African English (section)

== Black South African English ==
Black South African English, or BSAE, is spoken by individuals whose first language is an [[indigenous African]] tongue.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Language in South Africa|last1=De Klerk|first1=Vivian|last2=Gough|first2=David|year=2002|isbn=9780511486692|pages=356–378|language=en|doi=10.1017/cbo9780511486692.019}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":4" /> 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 [[Bantu peoples in South Africa|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.<ref name=":0" /> Historically, BSAE has been considered a "non-standard" variety of English, inappropriate for formal contexts and influenced by indigenous African languages.<ref name=":4" />

According to the Central Statistical Services, {{as of|1994|lc=yes}} about seven million black people spoke English in South Africa.<ref name=":4" /> BSAE originated in the South African school system when the 1953 [[Bantu Education Act, 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.<ref name=":4" /> 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.<ref name=":4" /> BSAE has contrasting pronunciation and organisation 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."<ref name=":12"/>

=== 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 <nowiki>''new'' English South Africa and developing speaking their tongue version of English and deciding not to speak South Africa'</nowiki>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 publicising the differences between British and other forms of tongue speaking for native speakers in various communities of South Africa.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mesthrie |first1=Rajend |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cqaGb_SEQHUC&dq=South+african+english&pg=PA104 |title=Language in South Africa |last2=Rajend |first2=Mesthrie |date=2002-10-17 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-79105-2 |pages=104 |language=en}}</ref>

The local native language of Black South African "new" English would lean more on the syllable side and would lean less on stress timing; due to this, the speech of the language would be affected by the length of vowel deduction in "new" English.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mesthrie |first1=Rajend |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cqaGb_SEQHUC&dq=How+is+black+south+african+is+different+than+normal+south+african+english&pg=PA356 |title=Language in South Africa |last2=Rajend |first2=Mesthrie |date=2002-10-17 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-79105-2 |pages=361 |language=en}}</ref>

=== 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 are not yet fully defined. However, there are some notable pronunciation differences in the [[mesolect]] and [[acrolect]].<ref name=":12">{{Citation |title=Black South African English: phonology |date=2008-03-18 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783110208429.1.177 |work=Africa, South and Southeast Asia |pages=177–187 |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |doi=10.1515/9783110208429.1.177 |isbn=9783110208429 |access-date=2022-10-18}}</ref>

The vowels in BSAE can be realised 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/ as in CAR. /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 [ʌ] in place of [a].<ref name=":12" />

In addition, many vowels that are normally diphthongs in most varieties are monophthongs in BSAE. For example, "FACE" in General White SAE is typically pronounced as /feɪs/, but in BSAE is typically pronounced /fɛs/.<ref name=":12" />

=== Grammar ===
Black South African English analysis has not been researched or utilised enough due to its contrasting methods to Southern British norms.<ref name=":12" /> BSAE has contrasting pronunciation and organisation of vowels and consonants compared to the ones in more commonly used languages such as other varieties of English.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last=Makalela |first=Leketi |date=2013 |title=Black South African English on the Radio |journal=World Englishes |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=93–107|doi=10.1111/weng.12007 }}</ref> Due to English being an official language of South Africa, dialects that have contrary methods in language and pronunciation to English become isolated from the speech in that area. For instance, "it lacks the tense/lax contrast and central vowels in the mesolectal variety."<ref name=":12" />

In Black South African English, the length of vowels is changeable, and vowel length can be understood as stress placement, with some deviation from Standard English. An example of this is in the word "sevénty", which has primary stress on the penultimate, rather than the initial, syllable.<ref name=":12" />

Additionally, BSAE differs from other forms of dialect by "having shorter tone/information units and having lower pitch and decrease intensity as the sentence concludes."<ref name=":12" />

Certain words such as "maybe" are used as conditional words that imply the result of something if a thing or event were to happen. Another distinctive trait of BSAE is the use of the word "that" as a complementiser. BSAE also has a high frequency of the retention of question word order, 0.86 per 1000 words.<ref name=":22" />

Other findings show that the Cultural Linguistic explorations of World Englishes have been evaluating BSAE based on its cognitive sociolinguistic principles. It is a language that is still being studied due to its strong cultural and traditional ties to its mother tongues.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peters |first=Arne |title=Cultural Linguistics and World Englishes |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2021 |isbn=978-981-15-4695-2 |pages=356 |language=English}}</ref>

=== History ===
Historically, BSAE has been considered a "non-standard" variety of English, perceived as 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 colonisers 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.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=De Klerk |first=Vivian |date=November 1999 |title=Black South African English: Where to from here? |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-971x.00146 |journal=World Englishes |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=311–324 |doi=10.1111/1467-971x.00146 |issn=0883-2919}}</ref> Much like in other colonies of the British, English became a necessity for advancement and economic security in the colony for indigenous Africans.<ref name=":02" />

According to the Central Statistical Services, as of 1994, about seven million black people spoke English in South Africa. BSAE originated in the South African school system when the 1953 [[Bantu Education Act, 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 ===
{{Further|Geography of South Africa}}
South Africa occupies the southern area of Africa, its coastline stretching more than {{convert|2,850|km|mi|abbr=off|sp=us}} from the desert border within [[Namibia]] on the [[Atlantic Ocean|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, Southern Africa|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 {{convert|1,220,813|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}. It has the 23rd largest [[Exclusive Economic Zone]] of {{convert|1,535,538|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.

The South African Central Plateau only contains two major rivers: The [[Limpopo river|Limpopo]] and The [[Orange River|Orange]] (with its tributary, the [[Vaal River|Vaal]]). These rivers mainly flow across the central places in the east and west off the coast until they reach the [[Atlantic Ocean]] through the [[Namibia]]n border.