1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. English World-Wide
  4. Volume 41, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 41, Issue 2
  • ISSN 0172-8865
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9730
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Studies on the pronunciation of Namibian English (NamE) have shown strong evidence for ethnically conditioned variation within the NamE vowel system. Thus, NamE should not be seen as a monolithic entity but rather as a group of ethnically and/or socially conditioned varieties. In this paper, we undertake a first approach to Baster English, a potential ethnic variety of NamE. The Rehoboth Basters constitute a unique ethnically mixed Afrikaans-speaking group from South Africa, who settled in Namibia in the 19th century and are known for their strong sense of a separate local and ethnic identity. Triangulating the results of a quantitative questionnaire on language attitudes and acoustic analyses of vocalic features in informants’ pronunciation, we demonstrate how the Basters’ unique identity translates into linguistic practice in a multi-ethnic and multilingual environment.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/eww.00046.sch
2020-06-09
2024-09-15

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/eww.00046.sch
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Bekker, Ian
    2009 “The Vowels of South African English”. Ph.D. Dissertation, North-West University.
  2. 2014 “The kit-Split in South African English: A Critical Review”. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies32: 113–131. 10.2989/16073614.2014.925222
     https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2014.925222 [Google Scholar]
  3. Bekker, Ian and Bertus Van Rooy
    2015 “The Pronunciation of English in South Africa”. InMarnie Reed, and John M. Levis, eds.The Handbook of English Pronunciation. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 286–300. 10.1002/9781118346952.ch16
     https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118346952.ch16 [Google Scholar]
  4. Boersma, Paul, and David Weenink
    2018 Praat: Doing Phonetics by Computer (version 6.0.40) praat.org (accessedJune 13, 2018).
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Bowerman, Sean
    2008 “White South African English: Phonology”. InRajend Mesthrie, ed.Varieties of English. Vol. 4: Africa, South and Southeast Asia. Berlin: De Gruyter, 164–176.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Britz, Rudolf G., Hartmut Lang, and Cornelia Limpricht
    1999 Kurze Geschichte der Rehobother Baster bis 1990. Göttingen: Klaus Hess Publishers.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Buschfeld, Sarah
    2014 “English in Cyprus and Namibia: A Critical Approach to Taxonomies and Models of World English and Second Language Acquisition Research”. InSarah Buschfeld, Thomas Hoffmann, Magnus Huber, and Alexander Kautzsch, eds.The Evolution of Englishes: The Dynamic Model and Beyond. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 181–202.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Buschfeld, Sarah and Alexander Kautzsch
    2014 “English in Namibia: A First Approach”. English World-Wide35: 121–160. 10.1075/eww.35.2.01bus
     https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.35.2.01bus [Google Scholar]
  9. 2017 “Towards an Integrated Approach to Postcolonial and Non-Postcolonial Englishes”. World Englishes36: 104–126. 10.1111/weng.12203
     https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12203 [Google Scholar]
  10. Buschfeld, Sarah and Anne Schröder
    2020 “English and German in Namibia”. InRaymond Hickey, ed.English in the German-Speaking World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 334–361.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Carstens, Peter
    ed. 1984 The Rehoboth Baster Nation of Namibia. [Translation ofMaximilian Beyer 1906 Die Nation der Bastards]. Basel: Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. De Decker, Paul
    2016 “An Evaluation of Noise on LPC-Based Vowel Formant Estimates: Implications for Sociolinguistic Data Collection”. Linguistics Vanguard2: 1–19. 10.1515/lingvan‑2015‑0010
     https://doi.org/10.1515/lingvan-2015-0010 [Google Scholar]
  13. Deumert, Ana
    2009 “Namibian Kiche Duits: The Making (and Decline) of a Neo-African Language”. Journal of Germanic Linguistics21: 349–417. 10.1017/S1470542709990122
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S1470542709990122 [Google Scholar]
  14. Di Paolo, Marianna, Malcah Yaeger-Dror, and Alicia B. Wassink
    2011 “Analyzing Vowels”. InMarianna Di Paolo, and Malcah Yaeger-Dror, eds.Sociophonetics: A Student’s Guide. London: Routledge, 87–106.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Dierks, Klaus
    2002 Chronology of Namibian History: From pre-Historical Times to Independent Namibia (2nd ed.). Windhoek: Namibia Scientific Society.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Donaldson, Bruce C.
    1993 A Grammar of Afrikaans. Berlin: De Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110863154
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110863154 [Google Scholar]
  17. Ejikeme, Anene
    2011 Culture and Customs of Namibia. Santa Barbara: Greenwood.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Finn, Peter
    2008 “Cape Flats English: Phonology”. InRajend Mesthrie, ed.Varieties of English. Vol. 4: Africa, South and Southeast Asia. Berlin: De Gruyter, 200–222.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Flynn, Nicholas
    2011 “Comparing Vowel Formant Normalization Procedures”. York Papers in Linguistics Series2: 1–28.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Franz, Kuno and Robert Budack
    2015 Krieg und Frieden im Basterland. Windhoek: Padlangs Publications.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Frydman, Jenna
    2011 “A Critical Analysis of Namibia’s English-Only Language Policy”. InEyamba G. Bokamba, Ryan K. Shosted, and Bezza Tesfaw Ayalew, eds.Selected Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference on African Linguistics: African Languages and Linguistics Today. Somerville: Cascadilla Proceedings Project, 178–189.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Gough, David
    1996 “Black English in South Africa”. InVivian de Klerk, ed.Focus on South Africa. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 53–78. 10.1075/veaw.g15.06gou
     https://doi.org/10.1075/veaw.g15.06gou [Google Scholar]
  23. Hirst, Daniel
    2012 Praat Script Analyse Tier uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/praat-users/files/Daniel_Hirst/analyse_tier.praat (accessedJune 13, 2018).
     [Google Scholar]
  24. “History”. n.d.Rehoboth Basters rehobothbasters.com/history.php (accessedOctober 1, 2018).
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Honorof, Douglas N., Jill McCullough, and Barbara Somerville
    2000 “Comma Gets a Cure” www.dialectsarchive.com/comma-gets-a-cure (accessedDecember 15, 2018).
  26. Kachru, Braj B., Yamuna Kachru, and Cecil L. Nelson
    eds. 2009 The Handbook of World Englishes. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Katjavivi, Peter H.
    1988 A History of Resistance in Namibia. Paris: Unesco Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Kaulich, Udo
    2003 Die Geschichte der ehemaligen Kolonie Deutsch-Südwestafrika (1884–1914): Eine Gesamtdarstellung (2nd ed.). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Kautzsch, Alexander and Anne Schröder
    2016 “English in Multilingual and Multiethnic Namibia: Some Evidence on Language Attitudes and on the Pronunciation of Vowels”. InChristoph Ehland, Ilka Mindt, and Merle Tönnies, eds.Anglistentag 2015 Paderborn: Proceedings. Trier: WVT, 277–288.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Kautzsch, Alexander, Anne Schröder, and Frederic Zähres
    2017 “The Phonetics of Namibian English: Investigating Local Features in a Global Context”. Paper presented at theIAWE Conference, Syracuse University.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Kendall, Tyler and Erik R. Thomas
    2018 Vowels: Vowel Manipulation, Normalization, and Plotting in R (version 1.2–2) https://cran.r-project.org/package=vowels (accessedJune 13, 2018).
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Kirkpatrick, Andy
    ed. 2010 The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes. London: Routledge. 10.4324/9780203849323
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203849323 [Google Scholar]
  33. Kisler, Thomas, Florian Schiel, and Han Sloetjes
    2012 “Signal Processing via Web Services: The Use Case WebMAUS”. Talk presented atDigital Humanities Conference 2012, Hamburg University.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Kjæret, Kristin and Kristian Stokke
    2003 “Rehoboth Baster, Namibian or Namibian Baster? An Analysis of National Discourses in Rehoboth, Namibia”. Nations and Nationalism9: 579–600. 10.1111/1469‑8219.00128
     https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-8219.00128 [Google Scholar]
  35. Kortmann, Bernd, and Edgar Schneider
    eds. 2004 A Handbook of Varieties of English. Berlin: De Gruyter.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Limpricht, Cornelia
    2012a “Families and Farms: ‘Mixed’ Marriages in Rehoboth during German Colonial Times”. InCornelia Limpricht, ed.Rehoboth, Namibia: Past and Present. Windhoek: Solitaire Press, 146–196.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. 2012b “Out of Rehoboth – Her Story: Johanna-Susanna Mouton-Wahl and her Entanglement in German History.” InCornelia Limpricht, ed.Rehoboth, Namibia: Past and Present. Windhoek: Solitaire Press, 198–244.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. 2012c “Preface”. InCornelia Limpricht, ed.Rehoboth, Namibia: Past and Present. Windhoek: Solitaire Press, 6–7.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Limpricht, Cornelia and Hartmut Lang
    2012 “The Trek of the Rehoboth Basters”. InCornelia Limpricht, ed.Rehoboth, Namibia: Past and Present. Windhoek: Solitaire Press, 8–21.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Louw, Anna M.
    2010 “Language Maintenance and Shift among the Rehoboth Basters of Namibia ca. 1868–2008”. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Cape Town.
  41. Maho, Jouni F.
    1998 Few People, Many Tongues: The Languages of Namibia. Windhoek: Gamsberg Macmillan.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Melchers, Gunnel, and Philip Shaw
    2011 World Englishes (2nd ed.). Abingdon: Hodder Education.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Mesthrie, Rajend
    ed. 2008 Varieties of English. Vol. 4: Africa, South and Southeast Asia. Berlin: De Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110208429
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110208429 [Google Scholar]
  44. 2012 “Second-Language Varieties: English in Africa – A Diachronic Typology”. InAlexander Bergs, and Laurel Brinton, eds.English Historical Linguistics: An International Handbook. Vol.2. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2092–2106.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. “Namibia”. n.d.The World Factbook. Washington: Central Intelligence Agency https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/wa.html (accessedNovember 19, 2018).
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Pütz, Martin
    1995 “Attitudes and Language: An Empirical Investigation into the Status and Use of English in Namibia”. InMartin Pütz, ed.Discimination through Language in Africa? Perspectives on the Namibian Experience. Berlin: De Gruyter, 245–284. 10.1515/9783110906677.245
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110906677.245 [Google Scholar]
  47. Schiel, Florian
    1999 “Automatic Phonetic Transcription of Non-Prompted Speech”. InOhala, John J., ed.Proceedings of the XIVth International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS 99). San Francisco, 607–610.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Schneider, Edgar
    2011 English around the World: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Schreier, Daniel, Peter Trudgill, Edgar W. Schneider, and Jeffrey P. Williams
    eds. 2010a The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511676529
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511676529 [Google Scholar]
  50. 2010b “Introduction”. InDaniel Schreier, Peter Trudgill, Edgar W. Schneider, and Jeffrey P. Williams, eds.The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1–14. 10.1017/CBO9780511676529.002
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511676529.002 [Google Scholar]
  51. Schröder, Anne and Klaus P. Schneider
    2018 “Variational Pragmatics, Responses to Thanks, and the Specificity of English in Namibia”. English World-Wide39: 338–363. 10.1075/eww.00017.sch
     https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.00017.sch [Google Scholar]
  52. Schröder, Anne and Frederic Zähres
    . fc. “English in Namibia: Multilingualism and Ethnic Variation in the EIF-Model”. InSarah Buschfeld, and Alexander Kautzsch eds. Modelling World Englishes: A Joint Approach towards Postcolonial and Non-Postcolonial Varieties. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Schröder, Anne, Frederic Zähres, and Alexander Kautzsch
    . fc. “The Phonetics of Namibian English: Investigating Vowels as Local Features in a Global Context”. InAnne Schröder ed. The Dynamics of English in Namibia. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Simo Bobda, Augustin
    2000 “The Uniqueness of Ghanaian English Pronunciation in West Africa”. Studies in the Linguistic Sciences30: 185–198.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Stell, Gerald
    2014a “Social Identities in Post-Apartheid Intergroup Communication Patterns: Linguistic Evidence of an Emergent Nonwhite Pan-Ethnicity in Namibia?” International Journal of the Sociology of Language230: 91–114.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. 2014b “Uses and Functions of English in Namibia’s Multiethnic Settings”. World Englishes33: 223–241. 10.1111/weng.12082
     https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12082 [Google Scholar]
  57. 2016 “Trends in Linguistic Diversity in Post-Independence Windhoek: A Qualitative Appraisal”. Language Matters47: 326–348. 10.1080/10228195.2016.1229360
     https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2016.1229360 [Google Scholar]
  58. Thomas, Erik R.
    2011 Sociophonetics: An Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978‑1‑137‑28561‑4
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-28561-4 [Google Scholar]
  59. Tonchi, Victor L., William A. Lindeke, and John J. Grotpeter
    2012 Historical Dictionary of Namibia (2nd ed.). Lanham: The Scarecrow Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. Trudgill, Peter and Jean Hannah
    2017 International English: A Guide to Varieties of English Around the World (6th ed.). London: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315192932
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315192932 [Google Scholar]
  61. Van Rooy, Bertus
    2008 “Black South African English: Phonology”. InRajend Mesthrie, ed.Varieties of English. Vol. 4: Africa, South and Southeast Asia. Berlin: De Gruyter, 177–187.
     [Google Scholar]
  62. Van Rooy, Bertus and Gerhard van Huyssteen
    2000 “The Vowels of BSAE: Current Knowledge and Future Prospects”. South African Journal of Linguistics18: 15–33. 10.1080/10118063.2000.9724563
     https://doi.org/10.1080/10118063.2000.9724563 [Google Scholar]
  63. Wallace, Marion
    2011 A History of Namibia. London: C. Hurst & Co.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. Watermeyer, Susan
    1996 “Afrikaans English.” InVivian De Klerk, ed.Focus on South Africa. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 99–124. 10.1075/veaw.g15.08wat
     https://doi.org/10.1075/veaw.g15.08wat [Google Scholar]
  65. Wells, John C.
    1982 Accents of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511611759
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611759 [Google Scholar]
  66. Williams, Jeffrey P., Edgar W. Schneider, Peter Trudgill, and Daniel Schreier
    2015 Further Studies in Lesser-Known Varieties of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781139108652
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139108652 [Google Scholar]
  67. Wissing, Daan
    2018 “Afrikaans Phonology: The Rounded and Unrounded Mid-Central Vowels”. Taalportaal www.taalportaal.org/taalportaal/topic/pid/topic-14613250407051826 (accessedAugust 31, 2018).
     [Google Scholar]
  68. Wolf, Hans-Georg
    2010 “East and West African Englishes: Differences and Commonalities”. InAndy Kirkpatrick, ed.The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes. London: Routledge, 197–211.
     [Google Scholar]
  69. Zähres, Frederic
    2016a “Vowels in Namibian English: Investigating the nurse-work Vowel Split”. M.A. Thesis, Bielefeld University.
  70. 2016b “A Case of Code-Switching in Namibian Keyboard-to-Screen Communication”. 10plus1: Living Linguistics2: 31–46.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/eww.00046.sch
Loading
Ethnic variation in the phonology of Namibian English
English World-Wide 41, 193 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.00046.sch
/content/journals/10.1075/eww.00046.sch
/content/journals/10.1075/eww.00046.sch
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): acoustic phonetics; Baster English; English in Namibia; ethnic variation; Namibian English; phonetics; phonology; Rehoboth Basters; Southern African Englishes; World Englishes

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error