Cover not available
Part of
Corpus Linguistics and African Englishes
Edited by Alexandra U. Esimaje, Ulrike Gut and Bassey E. Antia
[Studies in Corpus Linguistics 88] 2019
► pp. 231–258

Chapter 2.3
Namibian English on the web

Lexical and morphosyntactic features in a Corpus of Namibian Online Newspapers (CNamON)

| University of Regensburg
The present chapter introduces the Corpus of Namibian Online Newspapers (CNamON), which encompasses the contents of seventeen news sources as available on the Internet from May to June 2016. These sources add up to roughly 44 million words of text. The corpus was compiled to facilitate taking a systematic account of the lexical and structural properties of Namibian English, which have not been investigated to date. This chapter focusses on the technical details of the compilation process of CNamON as well as its set-up and its usefulness for linguistic research. To demonstrate the corpus’ potential for analyses on the linguistic levels of lexis and (morpho-)syntax, both a qualitative stock-taking and exemplary quantitative analyses of structural characteristics of English in Namibia are provided.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Namibia: An overview
    • 2.1Facts and figures
    • 2.2A brief history of Namibia
    • 2.3Linguistic ecology
  • 3.A Corpus of Namibian Online Newspapers (CNamON)
    • 3.1Namibian newspapers and magazines
    • 3.2Content and size
    • 3.3Compilation
    • 3.4Benefits and limitations
  • 4.Lexical and syntactic features of NamE in CNamON
    • 4.1Lexis and word-formation
      • 4.1.1German loanwords
      • 4.1.2Afrikaans loanwords
      • 4.1.3Oshiwambo loanwords
      • 4.1.4English lexis and word-formation
    • 4.2Phrase structure and syntax
      • 4.2.1Verb phrase
      • 4.2.2Adjective phrase
      • 4.2.3Adverb phrase
      • 4.2.4Noun phrase
    • 4.3Discourse
    • 4.4Three quantitative accounts
      • 4.4.1Non-standard usage of indefinite article forms
      • 4.4.2 go + (and) + bare infinitive
      • 4.4.3 Pain as a verb
  • 5.Summary and discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 13 February 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.88.11kau
References (51)
References
Anthony, Laurence. 2014. AntConc (Version 3.4.4w) [Computer Software]. Tokyo: Waseda University. <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
. 2015. TagAnt (Version 1.2.0) [Computer Software]. Tokyo: Waseda University. <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
Baroni, Marco & Bernardini, Silvia. 2004. BootCaT: Bootstrapping corpora and terms from the web. Proceedings of LREC 2004. <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
Böhm, Michael Anton. 2003. Deutsch in Afrika. Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in Afrika vor dem Hintergrund der bildungs- und sprachpolitischen Gegebenheiten sowie der deutschen Auswärtigen Kulturpolitik. Duisburger Arbeiten zur Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft, Bd. 52. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Buschfeld, Sarah & Kautzsch, Alexander. 2014. English in Namibia: A first approach. English World-Wide 33(2): 121–160. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2017. Towards an integrated approach to postcolonial and non-postcolonial Englishes. World Englishes 36(1): 104–126. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
CIA. 2017. The World Factbook. Namibia. <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
Crane, Thera, Lindgren-Streicher, Karl & Wingo, Andy. 2004. Hai ti! A Beginner’s Guide to Oshikwanyama. <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
Davies, Mark. 2013a. Corpus of Global Web-Based English: 1.9 billion words from speakers in 20 countries (GloWbE). <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
. 2013b. Corpus of News on the Web (NOW): 3+ billion words from 20 countries, updated every day. <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
de Klerk, Vivian & Gough, David. 2002. Black South African English. In Language in South Africa, Rajend Mesthrie (ed.), 356–378. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Donaldson, Bruce C. 1993. A Grammar of Afrikaans. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Edwards, Alison. 2016. English in the Netherlands. Functions, Forms and Attitudes [Varieties of English Around the World G56]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. 2015. African Media Barometer. The First Home Grown Analysis of the Media Landscape in Africa. Namibia 2015. Windhoek: Fesmedia Africa.Google Scholar
Frydman, Jenna. 2011. A critical analysis of Namibia’s English-only language policy. In Selected Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference on African Linguistics: African Languages and Linguistics Today, Eyamba G. Bokamba, Ryan K. Shosted & Bezza Tesfaw Ayalew (eds), 178–189. Somerville MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
Gries, Stefan T. & Bernaisch, Tobias. 2016. Exploring epicentres empirically: Focus on South Asian Englishes. English World-Wide 37(1): 1–25. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Groves, Julie. 2010. Error or feature? The issue of interlanguage and deviations in non-native varieties of English. HKBU Papers in Applied Language Studies 14: 108–129.Google Scholar
Harlech-Jones, Brian. 1995. Language policy and language planning in Namibia. In Discrimination Through Language in Africa? Perspectives on the Namibian Experience, Martin Pütz (ed.), 181–206. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2006. Why the future is illiterate: Where did education reforms go wrong? Insight Namibia July, 30–31.Google Scholar
Kamwangamalu, Nkonko M. 2013. Multilingualism in Southern Africa. In The Handbook of Bilingualism and Multilingualism, Tej K. Bhatia & William C. Ritchie (eds), 791–812. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Kautzsch, Alexander. Forthcoming. English in Germany and Namibia: The effects of extra- and intra-territorial forces.
Kautzsch, Alexander & Schröder, Anne. 2016. English in multilingual and multiethnic Namibia: Some evidence on language attitudes and on the pronunciation of vowels. In Anglistentag 2015 Paderborn, Proceedings, Christoph Ehland, Ilka Mindt & Merle Tönnies (eds), 277–288. Trier: Wiss. Verlag Trier.Google Scholar
Kautzsch, Alexander, Schröder, Anne & Zähres, Frederic. In preparation. Ethnic variation in Namibian English: A first approach to Baster English.
Kleinz, Norbert. 1984. Deutsche Sprache im Kontakt in Südwestafrika. Der heutige Gebrauch der Sprachen Deutsch, Afrikaans und Englisch in Namibia. Wiesbaden: Steiner.Google Scholar
Larsen, Martin Buch. 2007. The Media Environment in Namibia, 1990–2007. Windhoek: Media Institute of Southern Africa Namibia (MISA).Google Scholar
Maho, Jouni Filip. 1998. Few People, Many Tongues. The Languages of Namibia. Windhoek: Gamsberg Macmillan.Google Scholar
McCormick, Kay. 2002. Code-switching, mixing and convergence in Cape Town. In Language in South Africa, Rajend Mesthrie (ed.), 216–234. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mesthrie, Rajend (ed.). 2002. Language in South Africa. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mukherjee, Joybrato. 2007. Structural nativisation in Indian English: Exploring the lexis-grammar interface. In Rainbow of Linguistics, Niladn Sekhar Dash, Probal Dasgupta & Pabitra Sarkar (eds), 98–116. Calcutta: T. Media Publication.Google Scholar
Mungungu, Saara Sirkka. 2010. Error Analysis: Investigating the Writing of ESL Namibian Learners. MA thesis, University of South Africa. <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
Namibia Statistics Agency. 2011. Namibia 2011 Population and Housing Census Main Report. <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
Nesselhauf, Nadja. 2011. Exploring the phraseology of ESL and EFL varieties. In The Phraseological View of Language: A Tribute to John Sinclair, Thomas Herbst, Susen Faulhaber & Peter Uhrig (eds), 159–177. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
NIDS-Namibia Inter-censal Demographic Survey 2006. <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
Nghikembua, Anneli. 2015. Error Analysis in a Learner Corpus: A Study of Errors amongst Grade 12 Oshiwambo Speaking Learners of English in Northern Namibia. MA thesis, Rhodes University, South Africa. <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
Nurse, Derek. 2008. Tense and Aspect in Bantu. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Pütz, Martin (ed). 1995. Discrimination Through Language in Africa? Perspectives on the Namibian Experience. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Riddle, Charles. 1989. A profile of Namibian media: The censored debate. International Communication Gazette 44(1): 45–55. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roche, Xavier & other contributors. 2017. HTTrack. Website Copier. (Software). <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
Rothe, Andreas. 2010. Media System and News Selection in Namibia [Lingener Lektüren zum Kommunikations-Management 1]. Münster: LIT Verlag.Google Scholar
Schneider, Edgar W. 2007. Postcolonial English: Varieties Around the World. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schneider, Klaus P. & Schröder, Anne. In preparation. Variational pragmatics and the specificity of English in Namibia.
Simons, Gary F. & Charles D. Fennig (eds). 2017. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 20th edn. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. <[URL]> (20 October 2017).
Stell, Gerald. 2014a. Social identities in post-Apartheid intergroup communication patterns: Linguistic evidence of an emergent non-white pan-ethnicity in Namibia? International Journal of the Sociology of Language 230: 91–114.Google Scholar
. 2014b. Uses and functions of English in Namibia’s multiethnic settings. World Englishes 33 (2): 223–241. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
TexTexin. 2011. UTF-8 Encoding Debugging Chart. <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
Tonchi, Victor L., Lindeke, William A. & Grotpeter, John J. 2012. Historical Dictionary of Namibia, 2nd edn. Lanham MD: The Scarecrow Press.Google Scholar
Tötemeyer, Andree-Jeanne. 2010. Multilingualism and the language policy for Namibian schools. PRAESA Occasional Papers No. 37, <[URL]> (2 August 2017).
Trudgill, Peter & Hannah, Jean. 2002. International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English. London: Arnold.Google Scholar
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2011. Demographic Yearbook 2009–2010. <[URL]> (2 August 2017). DOI logo
Wallace, Marion & Kinahan, John. 2011. A History of Namibia. London: C. Hurst & Co.Google Scholar
Zähres, Frederic. 2016. Vowels in Namibian English: Investigating the NURSE-WORK Vowel Split. MA thesis, Bielefeld University.Google Scholar
Cited by (4)

Cited by four other publications

Schneider, Edgar W. & Anne Schröder
2021. Chapter 12. The dynamics of English in Namibia. In The Dynamics of English in Namibia [Varieties of English Around the World, G65], ► pp. 275 ff. DOI logo
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
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
Schmied, Josef J.
2019. Chapter 3.2. African corpora for standards in African academic English. In Corpus Linguistics and African Englishes [Studies in Corpus Linguistics, 88], ► pp. 356 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 26 june 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.