Zulu English
Zulu English is a variety of English, spoken almost exclusively in South Africa among the Zulu. The variety is heavily influenced by the phonology and lexicon of the Zulu.
Phonology
- The met–mate merger is a phenomenon occurring for some speakers of Zulu English where /eɪ/ and /ɛ/ are both pronounced /ɛ/. As a result, the words "met" and "mate" are homophonous as /mɛt/. [1]
- The cot–coat merger is a phenomenon occurring for some speakers of Zulu English where the phonemes /ɒ/ and /oʊ/ are not distinguished.[2]
- Confusion between /ʃ/ and /tʃ/ also occurs: it is reported that /tʃ/ is sometimes replaced by /ʃ/, so ship may be pronounced like chip. [3]
- Devoicing of certain obstruents, particularly /b/, /d/, /k/, /dZ/ and /z/. [4]
References
- ^ Wade, R., The structural characteristics of Zulu English. https://web.archive.org/web/20080517054614/
- ^ Wade, R., The structural characteristics of Zulu English. https://web.archive.org/web/20080517054614/
- ^ Wade, R., The structural characteristics of Zulu English. https://web.archive.org/web/20080517054614/
- ^ Wade, R., The structural characteristics of Zulu English. https://web.archive.org/web/20080517054614/
 | This Indo-European languages-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |