Thursday, October 23, 2014

Sing-Song Wife

I wouldn't know how many wives sing at home. Mine does, and in three languages (or four). It is interesting that often, when she sings in Afrikaans, if one doesn't listen to the words but to the song, one hears Xhosa. She is closer to Xhosa ancestry, yet speaks Afrikaans. OBSERVATION: And she speaks what is called a World English (a regional English, called an "outer circle English"). See this very interesting note on her particular World English by linguists Rajend Mesthrie and Jeanne Hromnik (click on the image to enlarge). She and I have two languages in common, as I have about 100% comprehension of Afrikaans.

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