This book was first published in 1992. This digitally printed paperback version came out in 2006, affording scholars a further opportunity to read this interesting account of the evolution of a new variety of English: South African Indian English (SAIE). A detailed historical background of when, who, and why Indian indentured laborers arrived in South Africa is provided.

The first five chapters examine the rise of spoken SAIE used by Indian workers on the sugarcane plantations of Natal. The study used 150 speakers from various parts of Natal between 1987 and 1988, with Mesthrie using Bickerton's polylectal continuum: basilect (furthest removed from the colonial language) and acrolect (closest to the colonial language), with mesolect in the mid-range.

These chapters include detailed analyses of syntactic and nonsyntactic variations and relative clauses as used in SAIE, peppered with good examples throughout. Nonsyntactic variation examines and discusses social patterning, morphology, phonetics, and lexical variation, with an excellent section on SAIE slang, which shows the influence of Indian languages, Zulu, and Afrikaans on SAIE.

The concluding two chapters present perspectives from SLA and pidgin and creole studies to further assist our understanding of the characteristics of SAIE. Mesthrie suggests possibilities for future research. It would have been useful to add a comparative study of Ebonics with SAIE, as the two have much in common. In the high-tech age in which we live, Mesthrie could also have considered including a CD with samples from actual speakers of SAIE to enhance the value of this volume. The work has the potential of appealing to a large audience, but the reader should be aware of the very technical terminology used throughout.