Cover not available
Article published In:
English World-Wide
Vol. 40:2 (2019) ► pp.144–169

Intergroup dynamics and variation in postcolonial ESL varieties

A preliminary view of Namibian English vowel systems

| The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
| University of Hamburg

L1 background is often described as the main factor accounting for variation in postcolonial ESL varieties. However, recent studies (e.g. Mesthrie 2009, 2017) suggest that variation patterns in ESL varieties can in some cases also be linked to identity factors rooted in local patterns of intergroup relations. This study examines the interrelation between L1 background and such identity factors in the phonetic patterns found in the English varieties spoken in Namibia. The data consist of a corpus of careful style elicited via sociolinguistic interviews from an ethnically stratified sample of L2 English speaking Namibian students with Afrikaans, Bantu languages (Oshiwambo and Otjiherero), and Khoekhoeghowab as L1s. Individual speakers tend to be related in their phonetic behaviors if they share the same L1. However, some features cannot be directly attributed to L1 background, so their distribution is best read against the background of Namibian inter-ethnic relations and ethnolinguistic vitality differentials.

Keywords: sociophonetics, sociolinguistics, language contact, ethnicity, gender, Namibia
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Predicting internal variability of ESLs
  • 3.Namibia’s sociolinguistic ecology and hypotheses on variation in Namibian English
  • 4.Sample, data and methods
  • 5.Monophthongs
  • 6.Diphthongs
  • 7.Discussion
  • 8.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 13 June 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.00026.ste
References
Adank, Patty, Roel Smits, and Roeland Van Hout
2004 “A Comparison of Vowel Normalization Procedures for Language Variation Research”. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 1161: 3099–3107. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Agha, Asif
2007 Language and Social Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bekker, Ian
2014 “The KIT-Split in South African English. A Critical Review”. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Languages Studies 321: 113–131. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bell, Allan
2001 “Back in Style: Reworking Audience Design”. In Penelope Eckert, and John Rickford, eds. Style and Sociolinguistic Variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 139–169.Google Scholar
Boersma, Paul, and David Weenink
2019 Praat: Doing Phonetics by Computer. Version 6.0.48. [URL] (accessed February 17, 2019).
Botha, Christo
2007 “Internal Colonization and an Oppressed Minority? The Dynamics of Relations between Germans and Afrikaners against the Background of Constructing a Colonial State in Namibia”. Journal of Namibian Studies 21: 7–50.Google Scholar
Bourhis, Richard Y., Lena C. Moise, Stephane Perreault, and Sacha Senecal
1997 “Towards an Interactive Acculturation Model: A Social Psychological Approach”. International Journal of Psychology 321: 369–386. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bowerman, Sean
2004 “White South African English: Phonology”. In Edgar W. Schneider, Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann, and Rajend Mesthrie, eds. A Handbook of Varieties of English. Volume I1. Phonology. Berlin: De Gruyter, 931–942.Google Scholar
Brock-Utne, Birgit, and Hall B. Holmarsdottir
2001 “The Choice of English as a Medium of Instruction and its Effects on the African Languages in Namibia”. International Review of Education 471: 293–322. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brugman, Johanna C.
2009 Segments, Tones and Distribution in Khoekhoe Prosody. Ph.D. Dissertation, Cornell University.Google Scholar
Buschfeld, Sarah, and Alexander Kautzsch
2014 “English in Namibia. A First Approach”. English World-Wide 351: 121–160. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dobell, Lauren
1998 SWAPO’s Struggle for Namibia, 1960–1991: War by Other Means. Basel: Schlettwein.Google Scholar
Dubow, Saul
2014 A History of Apartheid. 1948–1994. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Finn, Peter
2004 “Cape Flats English: Phonology”. In Edgar W. Schneider, Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann, and Rajend Mesthrie, eds. A Handbook of Varieties of English. Volume I1. Phonology. Berlin: De Gruyter, 964–984.Google Scholar
Fivaz, Derek, and Sakaria Shikomba
2003 A Reference Grammar of Oshindonga. Windhoek: Out of Africa Publishers.Google Scholar
Fourie, D. J.
1991 “Language Conflict in Owamboland”. South African Journal of Linguistics 91: 69–73. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fredericks, Niklaas J.
2013 A Study of Dialectal and Inter-Linguistic Variations of Khoekhoegowab: Towards the Determination of Khoekhoegowab Orthography. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of the Western Cape.Google Scholar
Giles, Howard
1979 “Ethnicity Markers in Speech”. In Klaus R. Scherer, and Howard Giles, eds. Social Markers in Speech. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 251–290.Google Scholar
Giliomee, Hermann, and Lawrence Schlemmer
1993 From Apartheid to Nation-Building. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Harlech-Jones, Brian
1990 ‘You Taught me Language’. The Implementation of English as a Medium of Instruction in Namibia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
2001 “Some Prevalent Assumptions in Language Policy, with Contextualisations from Namibia”. In Richard Trewby, and Sandra Fitchat, eds. Language and Development in Southern Africa. Making the Right Choices. Cape Town: Gamsberg McMillan, 25–37.Google Scholar
Hoffmann, Thomas
2011 “The Black Kenyan English Vowel System. An Acoustic Phonetic Analysis”. English World-Wide: 321: 147–173. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, Richard
1997 Rethinking Ethnicity. Arguments and Exploration. 2nd ed. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Kachru, Braj
2005 Asian Englishes. Beyond the Canon. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.Google Scholar
Kern, Friederike
2011 “Introduction”. In Friederike Kern, and Margret Selting, eds. Ethnic Styles of Speaking in European Metropolitan Areas. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1–18. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kioko, Angela N., and Margaret J. Muthwii
2003 “English Variety for the Public Domain in Kenya. Speakers’ Attitudes and Views”. Language, Culture and Curriculum 161: 130–145. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kleinz, Norbert
1984 Deutsche Sprache im Kontakt in Südwest-Afrika: Der heutige Gebrauch der Sprachen Deutsch, Afrikaans und Englisch in Namibia. Wiesbaden: Steiner.Google Scholar
Labov, William
1972 Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
1994 Principles of Linguistic Change. Internal Factors. London: Wiley.Google Scholar
2001 Principles of Linguistic Change. Social Factors. London: Wiley.Google Scholar
Lanham, Len W., and C. A. Macdonald
1979 The Standard in South African English and its Social History. Heidelberg: Groos. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lim, Lisa
2007 “Mergers and Acquisitions: On the Ages and Origins of Singapore English Particles”. World Englishes 261: 446–473. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Maho, Jounie F.
1998 Few People, Many Tongues. The Languages of Namibia. Windhoek: Gamsberg McMillan.Google Scholar
Meierkord, Christiane
2012 Interactions across Englishes. Linguistic Choices in Local and International Contact Situations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mesthrie, Rajend
2006 “Contact Linguistics and World Englishes”. In Braj Kachru, Yamuna Kachru, and Cecil Nelson, eds. The Handbook of World Englishes. London: Wiley-Blackwell, 273–288. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2009 “Socio-Phonetics and Social Change: Deracialisation of the GOOSE Vowel in South African English”. Journal of Sociolinguistics 141: 3–33. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2014 “The Sociophonetic Effects of ‘Event X’: Post-Apartheid Black South African English in Multicultural Contact with Other South African Englishes”. In Sarah Buschfeld, Thomas Hoffmann, Magnus Huber, and Alexander Kautzsch, eds. The Evolution of Englishes. The Dynamic Model and Beyond. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 58–69.Google Scholar
2017 “Class, Gender, and Substrate Erasure in Sociolinguistic Change: A Sociophonetic Study of Schwa in Deracializing South African English”. Language 931: 314–346. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Möhlig, Wilhelm J. G., Lutz Marten, and Jekura U. Kavari
2002 A Grammatical Sketch of Herero (Otjiherero). Köln: Köppe.Google Scholar
Muysken, Pieter
2000 Bilingual Speech. A Typology of Language Mixing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
2013 “Language Contact Outcomes as the Result of Bilingual Optimization Strategies”. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 161: 1–22. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Namibia Statistics Agency
2003 “Namibia 2001”. Population and Housing Census. Windhoek: National Planning Commission.Google Scholar
2012 “Namibia 2011”. Population and Housing Census Main Report. Windhoek: Namibia Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
Ortega, Lourdes
2009 Understanding Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Pendleton, Wade
1993 Katutura: A Place Where we Stay. Life in a Post-Apartheid Township in Namibia. Katutura Before and Now. Windhoek: Gamsberg McMillan.Google Scholar
Peyroux, Elisabeth
2004 Windhoek, capitale de la Namibie. Changement politique et recomposition des périphéries. Johannesburg: IFAS.Google Scholar
Ponelis, Fritz
1993 The Development of Afrikaans. Frankfurt am Main: Lang.Google Scholar
Prinsloo, K. P., D. J. Stoker, A. M. Lubbe, A. E. Strydom, H. A. Engelbrecht, and D. P. van Vuuren
1982 Aspekte van taal- en kommunikasie-aangeleenthede in SWA/Namibië. Vols. 1–131. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council.Google Scholar
Rampton, Ben
2014 Crossing. Language and Ethnicity among Adolescents. 2nd ed. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Rickford, John R., and Penelope Eckert
2001 “Introduction”. In Penelope Eckert, and John Rickford, eds. Style and Sociolinguistic Variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1–20.Google Scholar
Schmid, Sabine
2002 Affirmative Action as a Tool for Transformation. The Case of South Africa and Namibia. Saarbrücken: Verlag für Entwicklungspolitik.Google Scholar
Schmied, Josef J.
1991 “National and Subnational Features in Kenyan English”. In Jenny Cheshire, ed. English Around the World: Sociolinguistic Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 420–431. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schneider, Edgar W.
2007 Postcolonial English. Varieties Around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stals, Ernst, and Fritz Ponelis
2001 Só het Afrikaans na Namibië gekom: Afrikaans-Hollands in Namibië vóór die koloniale tyd. Windhoek: Gamsberg McMillan.Google Scholar
Stell, Gerald
2016 “Current Trends in Linguistic Diversity in Post-Apartheid Windhoek: A Qualitative Appraisal”. Language Matters 471: 326–348. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thomas, Erik R., and Tyler Kendall
2007 NORM: The Vowel Normalization and Plotting Suite. [URL] (accessed March 5, 2019).
Thomason, Sarah
2001 Language Contact. An Introduction. Washington: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Trudgill, Peter, and Jean Hannah
2013 International English. A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English. 5th ed. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN)
1981 Toward a Language Policy for Namibia. English as the Official Language: Perspectives and Strategies. Lusaka: UNIN.Google Scholar
Van Rooy, Bertus
2004 “Black South African English. Phonology”. In Edgar W. Schneider, Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann, and Rajend Mesthrie, eds. A Handbook of Varieties of English. Volume I1. Phonology. Berlin: De Gruyter, 943–952.Google Scholar
Van Rooy, Bertus, and Gerhard Van Huyssteen
2002 “The Vowels of BSAE: Current Knowledge and Future Prospects”. South African Journal of Linguistics 18sup381: 15–33.Google Scholar
Watermeyer, Susan
1996 “Afrikaans English”. In Vivian De Klerk, ed. Focus on South Africa. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 99–124. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wells, John C.
1982 Accents of English I. An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wimmer, Andreas
2008 “The Making and Unmaking of Ethnic Boundaries: A Multilevel Process Theory”. American Journal of Sociology 1131: 970–1022. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wissing, Daan P.
2002 “Black South African English: A New English? Observations from a Phonetic Viewpoint”. World Englishes 211: 129–144. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2013 “Akoestiese ontleding van die vokale van bruin en wit jong, vroulike sprekers van Afrikaans”. Litnet Akademies: ’n Joernaal vir die Geesteswetenskappe, Natuurwetenskappe, Regte en Godsdienswetenskappe 101: 304–340.Google Scholar
2014 “Fonetiek”. In Wannie Carstens, and Nerina Bosman, eds. Kontemporêre Afrikaanse Taalkunde. Pretoria: Van Schaik, 91–125.Google Scholar
Yagmur, Kutlay, and Martin Ehala
2011 “Tradition and Innovation in the Ethnolinguistic Vitality Theory”. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 321: 101–110. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 4 other publications

Schröder, Anne
2021. Chapter 1. The dynamics of English in Namibia. In The Dynamics of English in Namibia [Varieties of English Around the World, G65], ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Stell, Gerald
2021. Chapter 2. English in Namibia. In The Dynamics of English in Namibia [Varieties of English Around the World, G65], ► pp. 21 ff. DOI logo
Stell, Gerald
2023. Afrikaans English as a Southern Hemisphere English. English World-Wide. A Journal of Varieties of English 44:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Zähres, Frederic
2021. Chapter 7. Broadcasting your variety. In The Dynamics of English in Namibia [Varieties of English Around the World, G65], ► pp. 135 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 29 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.