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Linguistics

Student's Name

Institution

Course

Date
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Part 1: Data

Respondent 1

Examples

1. For this essay, the category of individuals selected is people from outside the

United States.

2. My first respondent indicated that individuals, especially from Africa, speak with

an accent.

3. Also, they have a limited number of syllables and vowels.

4. Furthermore, as they speak, they demonstrate stressed pronunciation.

5. At the same time, they have distinctive features of their mother tongue, which

plays a crucial role in maintaining their unique, distinctive features as they speak.

6. Moreover, due to the unique history of the African people, they have specific

features that relate to lexis, morphology, syntax, and phonology.

7. Lastly, the respondent indicated that African English speakers could be described

as a typical ESL variety since they none native English speakers.

8. From the examples noted by the respondent, I was familiar with most of the

examples she stated, but I am unaware of the unique African history.

9. On the other hand, these examples do not relate to standardized English.

10. This is because standardized English has undergone extensive regularization and

is linked with language assessment, formal schooling as well as official

publications such as newspapers.

Terms
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1. Some terms related to the selected group include howzit, sharp sharp, eish, yoh,

yebo, and ubuntu.

2. The respondent described these words as positive and are often utilized by every

individual.

3. The young people in the community majorly utilize these words.

Respondent 2

Examples

1. The second respondent indicated that individuals outside the United States, for

instance, in Africa, speak with a consistent sound or accent.

2. At the same time, these people can utilize English and their native languages in

one sentence.

3. Moreover, they have common syllables with English compared to Asian

languages.

4. The response indicated that he has noted that Chinese natives often find it

challenging to pronounce Rs.

5. Also, the Japanese people find it challenging to pronounce Th.

6. On the other hand, I was familiar with the examples stated; one example related to

standardized English is African people's need for a lingual Franca.

Terms

1. The respondent indicated that he is familiar with several terms utilized by these

individuals, including Ag man, Aikona, Biltong, Babbelas, Bliksem, and Bobotie.

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2. I was unfamiliar with these terms since the respondent indicated that they are

often used in South Africa.

3. They are generally positive and are utilized by youths and young adults.

Respondent 3

Examples

1. The third respondent indicated that individuals from Africa pronounce English

words better than Asians

2. At the same time as they speak, their languages have common syllables with

English.

3. Many of them are bilingual and often utilize both English and native languages in

a single sentence.

4. Also, they speak with an accent.

5. They demonstrate stressed pronunciation.

6. I was familiar with the examples provided by the respondent.

7. Still, it does not relate to standardized English since the examples shown cannot

be utilized in formal schooling or publication.

Terms

1. Some of the terms shown by the respondent include sharp sharp, yoh, ubuntu,

bobotie, aikona, and eish.

2. I was unfamiliar with these terms since they are often used in African countries.

3. Young populations often utilize these terms.

Respondent 4
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Examples

1. The fourth respondent indicated that one of the prominent examples of how

people from outside the United States speak is that the Japanese have trouble

pronouncing words with ls.

2. The Chinese people find it challenging to pronounce words with Rs.

3. On the other hand, due to different tribes in Africa, people often speak the English

language due to the need for a lingual Franca for communication.

4. Further, the respondent indicated that many Africans speak with an accent and

often have few syllables.

5. One of the examples that I was familiar with was the African accent, but I was

unaware of the other examples.

6. Also, these examples do not relate to standardized English since it cannot be

utilized in publications.

Terms

1. The respondent indicated that she is familiar with south African terms due to her

love for south African documentaries.

2. Some of these terms include eina, braai, bra, eish, fundi, and gatvol.

3. I was unaware of these terms, but the respondent indicated that the general

population utilizes them.

4. These terms are generally positive.

Respondent 5

Examples
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1. The last respondent indicated that due to her roots in Africa, she understands that

most people speak with an accent.

2. Further, she indicated that they are bilingual, and as they speak, they utilize both

English and their native language in a single sentence.

3. Also, as they speak, many Africans have limited syllables and stressed

pronunciation.

4. Due to my interaction with my previous respondents, I was familiar with these

examples. However, these examples are not linked with standardized English

since they cannot be utilized in official publications.

Terms

1. Some of the terms that the respondent indicated include eish, yo, ubuntu, bobotie,

ag man, and sharp sharp.

2. These terms are generally positive and are often utilized by the general

population.

Part 2: Reflection

From the data collected, one obvious thing is that the respondent was familiar with the

use of the English language in African countries. At the same time, the respondent appreciated

the fact that one of the languages that many individuals commonly use, With over 50 languages

in the continent, English, played a critical role in allowing individuals to communicate. In other

words, the respondent acknowledged that English played a critical role as lingua franca hence

allowing individuals to communicate effectively with others people. At the same time, it is

critical to note that the respondents indicated that Africans utilize both English and their native
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languages as they speak, suggesting they are bilingual. From this observation, many literature

experts agree that bilingualism often strengthens one's cognitive capability; hence these

individuals often tend to be creative, open-minded, and creative. Furthermore, from the examples

indicated by the respondent, it is clear that the respondent was aware of the African accent as

they spoke. On the other hand, I was surprised that one of the respondents was aware that

Chinese English speakers had challenges pronouncing Rs. Moreover, due to their native

language, it is surprising that Japanese English speakers find it challenging to pronounce Ls. One

of the primary reasons for this observation is that these groups have not utilized their vocal

muscles in a particular manner in order to enunciate these syllables (Smith, 2020). Hence, they

have not developed particular neural pathways.

During the study, one explicit thing was that the respondents were aware of terms that

were often utilized by south African countries. Some terms that surprised me include Biltong,

Babbelas, and Bliksem, often utilized by native South African communities. After doing some

research on these terms, I noted that these terms are often created as a result of locals borrowing

words from one another. Since the respondents were my friends, I believe that they provided the

same terms and examples since most of them love watching African documentaries, especially

those from the south and eastern Africa. On the other hand, one of my respondents indicated that

the terms ubuntu, yoh, eish, and the young population utilizes sharp sharp. However, the last

respondent differed from this observation, indicating that the general population utilizes these

terms (Smith, 2020). I believe the primary reason for this observation lies around the

respondent's brain circuitry. This is because diverse neutral networking that maps one's mindset

reflects their cognitive models, which result in different actions, although the input is similar

(Bueti et al., 2008). Also, another contributing factor that results in differing opinions on the
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population, which often utilizes these terms, is the kind of documentaries the respondents watch.

Some of these terms are utilized by every individual, especially in rural areas, and educated

elderly individuals in urban areas rarely utilize these terms (Smith, 2020). In general, the data

provided by the respondent suggest that African English speakers possess specific features with a

number of linguistics and historical reasons related to syntax, lexis, morphology, and phonology.
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Reference

Bueti, D., Walsh, V., Frith, C., & Rees, G. (2008). Different brain circuits underlie motor and

perceptual representations of temporal intervals. Journal of cognitive

neuroscience, 20(2), 204-214. https://direct.mit.edu/jocn/article-abstract/20/2/204/4454

Smith, P. (2020). "How does a Black person speak English?" Beyond American language

norms. American Educational Research Journal, 57(1), 106-147.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0002831219850760