, TWO ESSAYS PROVIDED
THE PRIVILEGED STATUS OF ENGLISH AND THE EVOLUTION OF SOUTH
AFRICAN BLACK ENGLISH AFTER 1994
INTRODUCTION
Language in South Africa has never been a neutral communicative tool; it has always
been deeply entangled with power, identity, resistance, and access. In the post-
apartheid era, English has emerged as the dominant language of governance,
commerce, and global engagement, despite South Africa’s official recognition of
eleven languages. This reality has generated scholarly debate about whether
English’s dominance represents linguistic empowerment or continued inequality. Two
influential contributions to this debate are Silva’s (1997) discussion of English’s
privileged position in South Africa and Schneider’s (2007) analysis of the diversity and
ongoing evolution of South African Black English (SABE).
Silva (1997:160) argues that English secured its privileged post-1994 status due to its
global reach, its adoption by liberation movements, and its central role in commerce
and industry. Schneider (2007:128), while acknowledging the political prominence of
English, challenges any notion of a single, stable South African English by
emphasising the internal diversity and dynamic evolution of Black English varieties.
This essay compares these two perspectives and argues that Silva correctly
explains why English achieved hegemonic status, but Schneider more
accurately captures how English actually functions on the ground. I contend that
English in South Africa is best understood not as a uniform elite language but as a
contested, locally reshaped resource that simultaneously enables participation and
reproduces inequality.
SILVA’S EXPLANATION OF ENGLISH’S PRIVILEGED STATUS
Silva’s (1997) analysis is grounded in a historical and sociopolitical understanding of
language. He argues that English did not become dominant in post-apartheid South
Africa by coincidence, but because it had already acquired symbolic and practical
THE PRIVILEGED STATUS OF ENGLISH AND THE EVOLUTION OF SOUTH
AFRICAN BLACK ENGLISH AFTER 1994
INTRODUCTION
Language in South Africa has never been a neutral communicative tool; it has always
been deeply entangled with power, identity, resistance, and access. In the post-
apartheid era, English has emerged as the dominant language of governance,
commerce, and global engagement, despite South Africa’s official recognition of
eleven languages. This reality has generated scholarly debate about whether
English’s dominance represents linguistic empowerment or continued inequality. Two
influential contributions to this debate are Silva’s (1997) discussion of English’s
privileged position in South Africa and Schneider’s (2007) analysis of the diversity and
ongoing evolution of South African Black English (SABE).
Silva (1997:160) argues that English secured its privileged post-1994 status due to its
global reach, its adoption by liberation movements, and its central role in commerce
and industry. Schneider (2007:128), while acknowledging the political prominence of
English, challenges any notion of a single, stable South African English by
emphasising the internal diversity and dynamic evolution of Black English varieties.
This essay compares these two perspectives and argues that Silva correctly
explains why English achieved hegemonic status, but Schneider more
accurately captures how English actually functions on the ground. I contend that
English in South Africa is best understood not as a uniform elite language but as a
contested, locally reshaped resource that simultaneously enables participation and
reproduces inequality.
SILVA’S EXPLANATION OF ENGLISH’S PRIVILEGED STATUS
Silva’s (1997) analysis is grounded in a historical and sociopolitical understanding of
language. He argues that English did not become dominant in post-apartheid South
Africa by coincidence, but because it had already acquired symbolic and practical
