Towards a norm in South African Englishes

In this article, we investigate the perception and application of the norm in South African English with specific reference to Black South African English. In terms of the model of three phases for the development of an indigenised norm proposed by Gill (1999), we hypothesise that South African English is in the liberation and expansion phase. Our notion of language standards and the context of the acquisition of Black South African English are presented as contextualisation of the problem. Thereafter, we attempt to test our hypothesis empirically. Three sets of data are presented and analysed. Firstly, the attitudes towards and perception of the norm by black teachers of English indicate that there are conflicting opinions about what the norm is, but there is general agreement that English must adjust itself to the new South African context. Secondly, the application of the norm is examined in a correction exercise, where the teachers display a high level of acceptance of standard English forms, but considerable disagreement about the acceptability of non‐standard forms. Thirdly, the data on the reception of the norm by the learners testify to confusion about the acceptability of various non‐standard forms. On the basis of these three sets of data, we conclude that Black South African English is indeed an emerging norm for South African Englishes, but one that has not yet been established securely.