English (South African)
Germanic
South African English (~5M native, ~30M total speakers) is a non-rhotic variety and one of South Africa's 11 official languages. It is marked by the KIT split (central [ɪ] vs front [i]), raised TRAP and DRESS vowels, and very monophthongal long vowels, alongside loanwords from Afrikaans and Bantu languages.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in English (South African)
Water
water
/ˈwɔːtə/
Fire
fire
/faɪə/
Sun
sun
/sʌn/
Moon
moon
/muːn/
Star
star
/stɑː/
Mother
mother
/ˈmʌðə/
Father
father
/ˈfɑːðə/
I
I
/ɑɪ/
You
you
/juː/
Name
name
/naɪm/
Eye
eye
/aɪ/
Hand
hand
/hænd/
Heart
heart
/hɑːt/
Love
love
/lʌv/
Tree
tree
/tɹiː/
House
house
/haʊs/
Dog
dog
/dɒɡ/
Cat
cat
/kæt/
Eat
eat
/iːt/
Drink
drink
/dɹɪŋk/
One
one
/wʌn/
Two
two
/tʉː/
Hello
hello
/həˈləʊ/
Thank you
thanks
/θæŋks/
Good
good
/ɡʊd/
Cuckoo
cuckoo
/ˈkʊkuː/
Computer
computer
/kəmˈpjʉːtə/
Sushi
sushi
/ˈsɵʃi/
At sign (@)
at
/æt/
Words compared
Compared with related Germanic languages
| Meaning | English (South African) | English | English (Ghana) | English (Welsh) | English (Estuary) | English (West Country) | English (Kenyan) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːʔə/ | water /ˈwɔːtɚ/ | water /ˈwɑːtə/ |
| Fire | fire /faɪə/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /fɑɪə/ | fire /faɪɚ/ | fire /faɪə/ |
| Sun | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ |
| Moon | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ |
| Star | star /stɑː/ | star /stɑːɹ/ | star /staː/ | star /staː/ | star /stɑː/ | star /stɑːɹ/ | star /staː/ |
| Mother | mother /ˈmʌðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðɚ/ | mother /ˈmɔðə/ |
| Father | father /ˈfɑːðə/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ | father /ˈfaːðə/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ | father /ˈvɑːðɚ/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ |
| I | I /ɑɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /ɑɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ |
| You | you /juː/ | you /juː/ | you /juː/ | you /juː/ | you /juː/ | you /juː/ | you /ju/ |
| Name | name /naɪm/ | name /neɪm/ | name /neɪm/ | name /neːm/ | name /næɪm/ | name /neɪm/ | name /neːm/ |
| Eye | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /ɑɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ |
| Hand | hand /hænd/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hand/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hand/ | hand /hænd/ |
| Heart | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /haːt/ | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /hɑːʔ/ | heart /hɑːɹt/ | heart /hɑːt/ |
| Love | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ |
| Tree | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /triː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ |
| House | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /hæʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ |
| Dog | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɔɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɔɡ/ |
| Cat | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kʰat/ | cat /kæʔ/ | cat /kat/ | cat /kæt/ |
| Eat | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːʔ/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ |
| Drink | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /drɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ |
| One | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ |
| Two | two /tʉː/ | two /tuː/ | two /tuː/ | two /tuː/ | two /tuː/ | two /tuː/ | two /tu/ |
| Hello | hello /həˈləʊ/ | hello /həˈləʊ/ | hello /həˈloː/ | hello /həˈləʊ/ | hello /həˈlʌʊ/ | hello /hɛˈloʊ/ | hello /həˈlo/ |
| Thank you | thanks /θæŋks/ | thank you /θæŋk juː/ | thanks /θæŋks/ | thanks /θaŋks/ | thanks /θæŋks/ | thanks /θaŋks/ | thank you /tæŋk juː/ |
| Good | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ |
| Cuckoo | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | — | — | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ |
| Computer | computer /kəmˈpjʉːtə/ | computer /kəmˈpjuːtə/ | — | computer /kəmˈpjuːtər/ | — | — | computer /kɔmˈpjuːta/ |
| Sushi | sushi /ˈsɵʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuːʃi/ | — | sushi /ˈsuːʃi/ | — | — | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ |
| At sign (@) | at /æt/ | at /æt/ | — | — | — | — | — |
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