South Africa 23

Listen to South Africa 23, a 68-year-old man from Bloemfontein and Johannesburg, South Africa. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 68

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 1937

PLACE OF BIRTH: Windburg, South Africa (but raised in Bloemfontein and Johannesburg)

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: Caucasian South African

OCCUPATION: broadcaster with the South African Broadcasting Association

EDUCATION: We can assume a degree in broadcasting or similar field.

AREA(S) OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

He has lived in many different parts of South Africa, and as a result, his English accent is not linked to any specific region.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

He displays good fluency, as he has gained extensive exposure to spoken English in his career.

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Karina Lemmer

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 10/2005

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

I was born in Windburg, in the Freestate. (Um) the earliest of my days I can recall is that we moved to Bloemfontein, and that’s where I started my school career. (Um) subsequently to that we moved to Springs, and I completed the whole of my primary and secondary schools (um) in Springs, in the eastern part of Johannesburg. (Um) it was exciting (um) a (um) very pleasant experience. We stayed in Selection Park. The primary school was in Daggafontien (um) so I had quite a way to go to get to the school. (Um) subsequent to that they built a primary school in Selection Park (um), which my sister had the pleasure of going to. I didn’t, but it was very pleasant. We lived in Natal in Richardsbay area for a while (um), two years to be exact. (Um) and then while, then, while I worked for the SABC on erecting these FM towers, we lived in a caravan in different parts of South Africa. (Um) it was the beginning of the erection of the FM masts, prior to that, in sixty-four, we only had the AM (um) stations to listen to, which were (um) accomplished a lot of noise. Especially in bad weather, the FM made complete difference to it, it was noise-free, and off course also the (um) the voice channel for TV. On the FM masts, the top sections were specifically designed to take the TV, so I was in the SABC when they started the FM and TV in South Africa.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Karina Lemmer

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 20/01/2007

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY:

Despite his exposure to English, certain typical patterns can be noted. Vowels display quality changes. This is especially notable in the /ɒ/ as in “dog” that becomes a /ɔ/. He also replaces certain final voiced consonants with voiceless counterparts. Example /had/ became /hat/. The trilled /R/ is pronounced in his speech in pre-vocalic positions. Occasionally it can be noted in final positions in words such as “for”; this is, however, inconsistent. Interestingly, he tends to trill the /R/ in certain post-vocalic positions when it is not a word-end. This occurs when longer vowels /ɑː/ and /ɜː/ are used in words such as “parts,” “park” and “work.”

COMMENTARY BY: Karina Lemmer

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 10/2005

The archive provides:

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