Standard English in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean English is the variety of the English language spoken in the Republic of Zimbabwe. It is the primary language used in education, government, commerce and media giving it an important role in society. Slightly under 5% of Zimbabweans are native or mother tongue speakers of the language although 89% of the population in the country can speak English fluently. Zimbabwean English is primarily a mixture of traits typical of British English and to a lesser extent South African English. Zimbabwean English evolved with the changing social, economic, and political conditions in which blacks and whites interacted in the country after the attainment of independence in 1980. The lower-middle and middle-class Zimbabweans are by far the largest speakers of Zimbabwean English and are generally the most prominent in the mainstream media, especially after the year 2000. Today English is the language of record in Zimbabwe. There are 43,909 (0.3%) mother-tongue speakers of the English language in Zimbabwe.