Cape Town Coloured Accent: Breaking Down Every Sound

Of course, we all know that not all Cape Town Coloureds speak with the same Cape Flats English accent. In different parts of Cape Town and in different socio-economic tiers, the English accent of Coloureds varies from a posh accent to one of slang-filled colloquialisms that incorporate a whole lot of Afrikaaps / Kaaps.
However, even the most posh-sounding among Cape Town Coloured people will more often than not understand exactly what someone with a heavy slang-laden Cape Flats English accent is saying.

Interestingly, Patricio doesn’t mention that Cape Town Coloureds also engage in code-switching.
Cape Town happens to be a growing hub for international call centres, and it is partly because there are many Coloureds who are eloquent and articulate in formal settings, yet very easily revert to their Cape Flats English accent or to Afrikaaps / Kaaps among friends and family.

You can read about and watch a video of a young Cape Flats woman who deliberately chose to speak in Cape Flats English in her video because it would resonate with young people her age, despite being perfectly capable of speaking formal English, in our article:
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We do think it’s cool that Patricio has a way of breaking down English accents from all over the world without criticising any of those accents.

Can we trust Patricio to talk about the Coloured Accent knowledgeably?

Patricio is a linguist, polyglot, and content creator from London, United Kingdom. He creates videos exploring diverse English accents worldwide, such as Multicultural London English (MLE), Cockney, Caribbean English, and West African English, as well as tips for learning languages like Spanish and Portuguese.

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