Rethinking norms in the Outer Circle: The case of Namibian English

Abstract

Abstract The article revisits Schneider and Schröder’s (2021) assessment of Namibian English (NamE) as a ‘non‑postcolonial’ variety that has moved from a phase of diffuse normative input into a yet uncompleted Phase 3 (‘nativization’) and that – due to ‘ethnic variation’ – remains well short of displaying the ‘homogeneity’ expected of Phase 4 (‘endonormative stabilization’). The article examines the historical record and draws on both perceptual and linguistic datasets collected across Namibian ethnolinguistic groups. The historical record suggests that early NamE was likely not distinct from South African English (SAE), at least in its high‑status varieties, during a period in which SAE moved through Phase 2 into the end of Phase 3. This creates the expectation that, in its high‑status varieties, NamE orbits around inherited SAE models. However, based on the datasets, (urban) NamE seems to have somewhat drifted away from SAE and moved into Phase 4 by displaying some distinctive pragmatic markers and a distinctive high‑status phonetic variety, both with considerable cross‑ethnic diffusion. Importantly, this transition into Phase 4 does not preclude ethnic variation nor continued alignment with SAE’s historically normative varieties in some sections of the population. The article finally argues that transitions into Phase 4 are best established by examining the role of English in local accommodation practices and stratified patterns of variation across gender and social class, likely to reveal the location of (endogenous or exogenous) high‑status norms on the social spectrum and degrees of consensus around them.