A Dictionary Of South African English On Historical Principles : Signed By Nelson Mandela

"IF THESE DESCRIPTIONS SOMETIMES SEEM UNCOMFORTABLY LIKE RACIAL LABELS, THIS IS BECAUSE THE GROUP AREAS ACT ENSURED THAT FOR OVER FORTY YEARS PEOPLE WERE GEOGRAPHICALLY SEGREGATED ALONG RACIAL LINES; SEPARATE DEVELOPMENT ENSURED THAT VARIETIES OF ENGLISH DEVELOPED SEPARATELY, THE VOCABULARY OR ENGLISH USAGE OF EACH GROUP BEING ONLY PARTIALLY UNDERSTANDABLE TO OTHERS." Signed Limited edition of the first dictionary of South African English, a project that took 25 years to complete. One of only 100 copies signed by Nelson Mandela. This splendid example, number 69, is a Quarto in the ORIGINAL blue morocco with gilt titles to the spine and front panel. Marbled endpapers. Fine in fine ORIGINAL slipcase. Long out-of-print; now rare and highly desirable. Mandela s Dictionary provides a historical record of the development of English in a multi-lingual and multicultural society. The result of the most extensive and detailed research ever undertaken into the history of English in South Africa, A Dictionary of South African English on Historical Principles documents the English language as it has developed within all of the country s communities. Coverage extends from the sixteenth century up to 1995, providing fascinating information about South African history, as well as revealing the unique character of the country s multilingual and multicultural society. This authoritative historical record features 47 000 citations illustrating 5 000 entries which cover all forms of the written word, historical and contemporary, as well as the spoken word of broadcasting and everyday conversation. The entries include words derived from the many languages which have influenced English in South Africa, namely Dutch, Afrikaans, and the Malayo-Indonesian, Indian, Khoisan, Nguni and Sotho languages. Many everyday words are defined, such as indaba, bakkie, robot and brinjal. The language of the townships is featured (mellow yellow, spaza and stokvel) as well as local music vocabulary (kwela, mbaqanga and sakkie-sakkie), mining terms (cocopan, cheesa-stick, mine-dump and blue-ground), and entries on the official language of apartheid such as group areas, endorse out and immorality. Noted in the dictionary's preface, A Dictionary of South African English was ".begun in 1969 during the height of the apartheid era. The dictionary records the vocabulary of English in South Africa over 300 years: from the late sixteenth to the late twentieth century. The work was completed at the end of 1994, the year of the country's first democratic elections." The signed limited edition was published as a gift to supporters of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. A splendid, highly collectible example. Book #P2434. $2188. We specialize in Rare Ayn Rand, history, and science.