Zimbabwean English
[2] Migration from Britain, especially after World War II, introduced and reinforced many features of dialects from Southern England and to a lesser extent those from the East Midlands and Scotland, which had an impact on local speech.
Similarly, bilingual Afrikaner institutions such as the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa and Eaglesvale Senior School switched to an English-only or English-dominant format, in response to government scrutiny.
Only 3.5%, mainly the white, Indian, Asian, coloured (mixed race) and foreign-born minorities, consider English their native language.
This influence remains to a lesser degree in cultivated forms of Zimbabwean English especially as spoken by older Anglo African speakers.
[16] Robert Mugabe, Brendan Taylor, Pommie Mbangwa, Dave Houghton and journalists Peter Ndoro and Sophie Chamboko are notable speakers of a cultivated accent.
This is largely due to the prestige of English in society, their limited education and the aspiration of parents for their children to move into the middle classes or pursue opportunities abroad.
Indeed, contrary to outside expectations, a number notable of white Zimbabweans, especially those under 45 exhibit features of a general accent, albeit with a hint of nasality.
[20] Speakers of the general dialect tend to have at least a high school education and speak English fluently and natively and are perfectly bilingual.
[2][18] The aspirational nature of this group, has led to younger speakers becoming more susceptible to influences from other Englishes, particularly pop-culture references from American English (what's up, you guys, chill out, like) that are derided by cultivated speakers who overwhelmingly prefer British conventions and more traditionally minded Zimbabweans who dismiss individuals with such affectations as so called salads (stupid Africans who like (ie copy) American dressing (trends)).
[21] Lesser influences include Jamaican patois from the popularity of reggae and dancehall with lower middle class youths and British slang and London English accents due to the growth of Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom.
[21] Speakers of this general Zimbabwean accent include: Evan Mawarire, Hamilton Masakadza, Marc Pozzo, Heath Streak, Morgan Tsvangirai and Petina Gappah.
[21] Unlike older generations, younger white Zimbabweans tend to have learnt Shona and Ndebele at school and have friends from different backgrounds and nationalities.
Examples of speakers of the modern, sub-dialect include Kirsty Coventry, Kyle Jarvis (who retains some cultivated features), Tom Curran, Don Armand, and Dave Ewers.
This influence is due to the fact that the earliest Coloured communities were formed mainly by those who had emigrated as workers and servants of white South African settlers from the Cape Colony and Orange Free State.
[23] This situation is largely comparable to the status of Cape Flats English which also experiences neglect from the mainstream press and is derided as non-standard.
It is especially evident in what are called "discrete communities", such as the historically Coloured suburbs of Braeside, Arcadia, Hillside, Cranborne and St. Martins in Harare.
[24] Additionally, like other Zimbabweans, the country's economic crisis, has prompted many to leave the country, leading to a growing diaspora abroad, notably so in the UK (Milton Keynes, Luton, Reading), Cape Town, South Africa and Australia (Perth, Brisbane, Sydney), reducing the dialect almost exclusively to Harare and Bulawayo.
