How to Do a South African Accent

“Firstly, identify which South African you are doing,” Coffey says. “There are at least four different versions of South African accents that belong to different social groups.” South Africa has 12 official languages, of which IsiZulu is the most common – although Afrikaans is most prominent in the country’s media – and a South African English accent will be slightly different for each. 

“There are native English speakers, and then there are people who speak English as a second language (ESL), such as people who originally spoke Afrikaans, Khosa, or another language,” Johnson says. “Start by learning the native speaker English, and then realise that the ESL speakers are targeting speaking that way, but it’s through the filter of their home language.” 

The way IsiZulu and isiXhosa languages use pitch to convey lexical and grammatical information, for example, will impact how native speakers speak English. Idris Elba discovered that while portraying Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013). “I couldn’t do it at the beginning, and you know why? Because I couldn’t understand what he’s doing to make him talk like that,” Elba told the Irish Examiner. “And it turns out it’s his traditional language, Xhosa.”

Coffey emphasises the importance of identifying an accent’s characteristic sounds. “Listen out for the key features of an accent,” she says. “Is it rhotic (does it have the ‘R’ sound using the tongue at the ends of words)? Does it drop its ‘H’ sounds at the start of the words or does it always say them? Does it replace the ‘th’ or ‘T’ sound at the start, middle, and ends of words?” 

Key features of the South African accent  

Tapped “R”
“A key feature of most South African accents is the tapped ‘R’ sound,” Coffey says. “It’s that very firm ‘R’ sound where you hit the roof of your mouth at the back of the alveolar ridge with the back of the blade of the tongue.” It’s like the rolled R common in Spanish, but without vibrating the tongue against your alveolar ridge.

Fricative “G”
Afrikaans uses a fricative ‘G’ sound that often carries over into English. You make it by raising the back of your tongue against the uvula in the back of your throat, which creates friction as air passes. Hence, “fricative.” 

Not every G becomes fricative. Listen for South Africans using this sound, and then replicate their usage now that you know how it’s made. 

“Ah” to “eh”
The kind of “ah” sound that received pronunciation (RP) English produces in words such as “ham” and “man” are pronounced in South African accents more like an “eh” sound, much like how we say the E in “let.” “There’s some tension in the tongue with some of the vowels,” Coffey says. “Like in ‘trap,’ which actually will feel like you are saying ‘trep’.”

• “Bat” becomes “bet”
• “Land” becomes “lend” 

“I” to “ee”
The “I” sound in “tin” and “pit” sound more like “ee” in South African accents. It’s the same sound RP English makes for the “ee” in “teen.” You’ll find the tongue moves toward the back of the mouth rather than producing sound from further forwards. 

• “Tin” becomes “teen”
• “Pit” becomes “peet” 

Yod-coalescence
Yod-coalescence is linguist-speak for two or more sounds merging into one. Consider this another type of sound to watch out for, since it occurs fairly often in South African English. 

• “Tune” is pronounced “tycoon” in RP English, but “choon” in South African
• “Duke” is pronounced “dyook” in RP English, but “juke” in South African 

1. Understand vocal posture.

“We need to understand how the accent works in relation to our own voice,” Coffey says. “Is it further forward? Further backward? Flatter? More jumpy? Smoother?” 

Much of this comes from your vocal posture, or the way your mouth and facial muscles are used to create words. “South African is quite a nasal accent between the nose and the hard palate,” Coffey says. “It is a flat accent – fairly tight, with some tension in the tongue and some of the vowels widening out at the back of the mouth. The direction of the accent is that it pings vertically at the front before falling toward the back of the mouth.” 

“A lot of things that you would learn for a basic RP/Standard British accent will help you with the sounds of a South African accent,” Johnson tells American actors. “The difference between words like ‘trap’ and ‘bath,’ and between words like ‘father,’ ‘lot,’ and ‘thought’ – those are all absolutely key.”

2. Pick up some slang and idioms.

Slang and idioms are part of what makes languages and accents unique, so learning and practising a few South African examples offers a good entry point for actors. 

South African slang includes:

• Lekker (pronounced “lakka”): Something cool or enjoyable
• Braai (pronounced “bry”): The act of grilling meat on an open fire

South African idioms include:

• Hang aan ‘n tak (hang onto a branch): Hold on a second
• Die aap uit die mou laat (let the monkey out of the sleeve): Spill the beans 

3. Exaggerate into it.

You’re probably aiming for subtle and authentic, but it’s generally easier to get your mouth around a new accent by exaggerating its sounds to an almost mocking degree before refining things down into something more realistic. 

“Never be afraid of being too big or going for a stereotype to begin with,” Coffey says. “We all have to start somewhere, and lots of accents really are big and bold and can feel very different to our own. It’s fine to start big. Then you have to dive into the character to live in its truth.”

4. Listen and repeat.

Finally, use your understanding of the South African accent by actively listening to native speakers, noting their pronunciation, and then attempting it yourself.

“Listen and repeat,” Johnson says. “Play a phrase of a dialect example (native speaker or a coach) and then repeat, trying to mimic them. It’s best if you find an example that you feel is a good fit for your character, the style, and the time period.”