South African English

South African English (SAfrE, SAfrEng, SAE, en-ZA) is the set of English dialects spoken by South Africans. There is considerable social and regional variation within South African English. Three variants (termed "The Great Trichotomy" by Roger Lass) are commonly identified within White South African English (as in Australian English), spoken primarily by White South Africans: "Cultivated", closely approximating England's standard Received Pronunciation and associated with the upper class; "General", a social indicator of the middle class; and "Broad", associated with the working class, and closely approximating the second-language Afrikaner variety called Afrikaans English. At least two sociolinguistic variants have been definitively studied on a post-creole continuum for the second-language Black South African English spoken by most Black South Africans: a high-end, prestigious "acrolect" and a more middle-ranging, mainstream "mesolect." Other varieties of South African English include Cape Flats English, originally associated with inner-city Cape Coloured speakers, and the Indian South African English of Indian South Africans. Further offshoots include the first-language English varieties spoken by Zimbabweans, Zambians, Swazilanders and Namibians.

South Africa

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost sovereign state in Africa. It is bounded on the south by 2,798 kilometers of coastline of southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans, on the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, and on the east by Mozambique and Swaziland, and surrounding the kingdom of Lesotho. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area, and with close to 53 million people, is the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere.

South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures, languages, and religions. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the constitution's recognition of 11 official languages, which is among the highest number of any country in the world. Two of these languages are of European origin: Afrikaans developed from Dutch and serves as the first language of most white and coloured South Africans; English reflects the legacy of British colonialism, and is commonly used in public and commercial life, though it is fourth-ranked as a spoken first language.

South African wine

South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 with Constantia, a vineyard near Cape Town, being considered one of the greatest wines in the world. Access to international markets has unleashed a burst of new energy and new investment. Production is concentrated around Cape Town, with major vineyard and production centres at Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester. There are about 60 appellations within the Wine of Origin (WO) system, which was implemented in 1973 with a hierarchy of designated production regions, districts and wards. WO wines must be made 100% from grapes from the designated area. "Single vineyard" wines must come from a defined area of less than 5 hectares. An "Estate Wine" can come from adjacent farms, as long as they are farmed together and wine is produced on site. A ward is an area with a distinctive soil type or climate, and is roughly equivalent to a European appellation.

History

The roots of the South African wine industry can be traced to the explorations of the Dutch East India Company which established a supply station in what is now Cape Town. A Dutch surgeon, Jan van Riebeeck, was given the task of managing the station and planting vineyards to produce wines and grapes intended to ward off scurvy amongst sailors during their voyages along the spice route. The first harvest and crushing took place in 1659, seven years after landing in 1652. The man succeeding Van Riebeeck as governor of the Cape of Good Hope, Simon van der Stel, sought to improve the quality of viticulture in the region. In 1685, Van der Stel purchased a large 750 hectares (1,900 acres) estate just outside Cape Town, establishing the Constantia wine estate. After Van der Stel's death, the estate fell into disrepair but was revived in 1778 when it was purchased by Hendrik Cloete.

South West African 2-8-0

Error in template * unknown parameter name (Template:Infobox_locomotive): 'framesize'

The South West African 2-8-0 of 1911 was a steam locomotive from the Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika era.

In 1911 eight tender locomotives with a 2-8-0 Consolidation type wheel arrangement were placed in service by the Lüderitzbucht Eisenbahn (Lüderitzbucht Railway) in Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika (German South West Africa). After the First World War the territory came under South African administration and all eight locomotives came onto the roster of the South African Railways. They were not classified or renumbered but were referred to as the Eight-Coupled Tenders.

Manufacturer

In 1911 eight Cape Gauge tender locomotives with a 2-8-0 wheel arrangement were delivered to the Lüderitzbucht Eisenbahn in Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika (now Namibia). They were built by Orenstein & Koppel between February and April 1911 and numbered in the range from 151 to 158. These locomotives had larger boilers than the Eight-Coupled Tank locomotives that were delivered from the same manufacturer between 1907 and 1910, but their cylinders, frames and motion were interchangeable with those of the tank engines. The locomotives were equipped with dust shields over the coupled wheels and valve gear to protect the moving parts from blown sand in the Namib desert.

List of dialects of the English language

This is an overview list of dialects of the English language. Dialects are linguistic varieties which may differ in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. For the classification of varieties of English in terms of pronunciation only, see Regional accents of English.

Dialects can be defined as "sub-forms of languages which are, in general, mutually comprehensible". English speakers from different countries and regions use a variety of different accents (systems of pronunciation), as well as various localized words and grammatical constructions; many different dialects can be identified based on these factors. Dialects can be classified at broader or narrower levels: within a broad national or regional dialect, various more localized sub-dialects can be identified, and so on. The combination of differences in pronunciation and use of local words may make some English dialects almost unintelligible to speakers from other regions.

The major native dialects of English are often divided by linguists into three general categories: the British Isles dialects, those of North America, and those of Australasia. Dialects can be associated not only with place, but also with particular social groups. Within a given English-speaking country, there will often be a form of the language considered to be Standard English – the Standard Englishes of different countries differ, and each can itself be considered a dialect. Standard English is often associated with the more educated layers of society.