Kroondal German is an undescribed, matrilectal, sixth-generation variety of German spoken by about 400 people living in Kroondal village in the North West Province of South Africa. A free open access eBook on this language was published recently:
Sheena Shah, Theresa Biberauer & Erika Herrmann. 2024. Sixth-generation contact German in South Africa: The case of Kroondal German. London: EL Publishing. download here
Employing a comparative approach, this eBook describes and analyses phonological, morphosyntactic and lexical properties of Kroondal German, and considers the different factors that have shaped it, including the northern German roots introduced by its missionary founders, the speakers’ extensive exposure to Standard German, and their daily contact with Afrikaans and South African English. The description is informed by extensive data from a range of spoken and written sources, as well as WhatsApp exchanges, and native-speaker acceptability judgements. The eBook includes audio recordings, maps, and illustrations.
A video about this community entitled The German-speaking South Africans of Kroondal – Die deutschsprachigen Südafrikaner von Kroondal is now available on YouTube.
