230172 Englishes in Southern Africa (S) (WiSe 2014/2015)

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, comprising the following five countries: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland. The linguistic map of this region is complex and has attracted the interest of linguists from various backgrounds. From an Anglicist perspective, the language situation and the varieties of English in South Africa are certainly among the best described, but more recently the development of English in the other countries, most notably in Namibia, have also come into focus. In this class, we will look at the historical/colonial background of the region, take into consideration language policy and language planning or educational issues as well as the contemporary linguistic make-up of the region’s countries. In addition, we will explore linguistic practices, such as code-switching and code-mixing strategies, and describe the linguistic features of the Englishes spoken in this part of the world. The latter will include – among other things – the analysis of hitherto unpublished and publicly unavailable data from Namibia collected in the framework of an ongoing research project at Bielefeld University. Eventually, we may also look at the use of English (and other languages) in various forms of cultural expression, such as music, literature, and the media.

Please note: Dr. Kunze is offering a class on "South African Fiction" which is related in content and we recommend participation in both classes.