Engleish, Our Engleish: Common errors in South African English and how to solve them | Usage & Writing Guides
John Linnegar
Pharos
With this book in hand, South Africans no longer have to revert to British or American sources for good guidance on South African English language matters. Written by a South African for South Africans, John Linnegar excellently illustrates the grammar errors typically committed by South Africans and the influence of Afrikaans on English in South Africa. Do we write alot, a lot or allot? And what about all right or alright?
Do we use a comma in English like we would in Afrikaans? And why is it correct to say “I bought myself a dress” and not “I bought me a dress?” This handy illustrated reference companion divides nicely into two main sections: general grammatical issues and ‘common confusables’, an alphabetical list of problematic alternatives.
The model followed in the book is to state the problem or the ‘rule’, illustrate it with good examples, then, where justified, to give one or two examples of incorrect usage, to drive home to readers what they must definitely avoid in South African English.
