[File:South Africa 2011 English speakers proportion map.svg|thumb|Geographical distribution of English in South Africa: proportion of the population that speaks English at home. ]] [File:South Africa 2011 English speakers density map.svg|thumb|Geographical distribution of English in South Africa: density of English home-language speakers. ]]
South African English (
SAfrE,
SAfrEng,
SAE,
en-ZA) is the
set of English dialects spoken by
South Africans. There is considerable social and regional variation within South African English. Three variants (termed "The Great Trichotomy" by Roger Lass) are commonly identified within
White South African English (as in
Australian English), spoken primarily by
White South Africans: "Cultivated", closely approximating England's standard
Received Pronunciation and associated with the upper class; "General", a social indicator of the middle class; and "Broad", associated with the working class, and closely approximating the second-language
Afrikaner variety called
Afrikaans English. At least two sociolinguistic variants have been definitively studied on a
post-creole continuum for the second-language
Black South African English spoken by most
Black South Africans: a high-end, prestigious "
acrolect" and a more middle-ranging, mainstream "
mesolect." Other varieties of South African English include
Cape Flats English, originally associated with inner-city
Cape Coloured speakers, and the
Indian South African English of
Indian South Africans. Further offshoots include the
first-language English varieties spoken by
Zimbabweans,
Zambians,
Swazilanders and
Namibians.