Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Zulu English

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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/.
  • The cot–coat merger is a phenomenon occurring for some speakers of Zulu English where the phonemes /ɒ/ and /əʊ/ are not distinguished.
  • Confusion between /ʃ/ and /tʃ/ also occurs: it is reported that /tʃ/ is sometimes replaced by /ʃ/, so ship may be pronounced like chip.
  • Devoicing of certain obstruents, particularly /b, d, k, dʒ, z/.

    • References

    Zulu English Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA