South African English

South African English

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The term South African English (SAfrE, SAfrEng, SAE, en-ZA) is applied to the first-language dialects of English spoken by South Africans, with the L1 English variety spoken by Zimbabweans, Zambians and Namibians, being recognised as offshoots.

There is some social and regional variation within South African English. Social variation within South African English has been classified into three groupings: Cultivated, closely approximating Received Pronunciation and associated with upper class; General, a social indicator of the middle class, and Broad, associated with the working class, and closely approximating the second-language Afrikaans-English variety. This is similar to the case in Australian English.

Read more about South African English:  Pronunciation, Demographics, English Academy of Southern Africa, Examples of South African Accents

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