The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1902-10-22
LANGUAGE OF THE BOERS.
Kitchen Dutch" Ecclesiastical
Dutch" and "High Dutch.

It seems strange thing to say, but
there are three Dutch languages in
South Africa. The earliest Dutch
settlers at the Cape were largely Dutch
sailors and others, belonging to the
lower orders of Amsterdam, Rotter-
dam, and other Dutch seaports. Their
language was Low Dutch dialect to
begin with, and although the sprink-
ling of Dutch officials at the Cape did
their best to preserve the language Of
the Netherlands, they could not pre-
vent the dialect of the settlers from
still further degenerating into mere
colloquial patois. Its degeneration
was doubtless largely brought about
by domestic servants and slaves-Hot
tentots, Malays, and Mozambique
Kaffirs-who spoke it very imperfect
ly, and introduced into it many strange
!. words and idioms. This, then, is the
genesis of what is variously known as
0Cape Dutch,'' stKitchen Dutch,''
! Patriot Duteh,'' Afrikaans," and
the Afrikander Taal.'' Its basis
is Dutch, but the nouns have lost their
declensions and the verbs their conju-
cations, while grammatical gender
and syntax generally have gone by the
board. To tt educated Hollander of
today it is literary atrocity, and he
cannot away with it: but to the Afri-
kander it is his mother tongue, the Ian
guage of his home and his childhood,
the exponent Of all that he know offs
humor and pathos. It is full of ex-
pressive idioms, pithy proverbs, and
pawky expressions. like these so dear
to the Lowland Scot; and yet: it is
not language, for it has no litera-
ture.
The Rev. S. j. Du Toit, ex-superin.
tendent OF Education in the Trans
vaal, freebooter, and Spectator,
told his friends at the Paarl about
twelve years ago, when he was in
the heyday of his fortune that he
had vowed that. if God gave
him great wealth be would devote it
to the translation and publication of
the whole Bible in Afrikaans" as a
thank-offering. He was then on his
way to London to float some more
companies, and to set about the per-
Torrance Of his vow; but, alas :! a slump
followed the boom. as it usually does,
and Mr.. I,u Toit's fortune, which was
all in scrip, melted away like snow in
June, and SO it comes about thatsstbere
| is no Bible in the Afrikander Taal, :"
although il is spoken by more than
i quarter of million people. Such
Bible will never be published, for the
Dutch predikants have always set their
faces like flint against the proposal,
and the ordinary Boer feels that he re-
quires a language more dignihed
wherein to conduct his deyotions.
Tie second of the three Dutch Ian
guages referred to might be called
ecclesiastical Dutch,'' or if you like,
African Dutch. It is the language OF
Holland as that language was written
about 200 years ago. It is the lang
uage of the Dutch Bible, and very
much resem bles our own authorized
version in it's simplicity and directness
of style. It is the language Of the
Dutch Psalm and Gesang books, and
of the devotional works of old
Dutch divines, which make up the
balance of the Dutch farmers litera-
ture. In it are also written many
tracts and few devotional works by
living ministers of the Dutch Re-
formed Church. To the Boer wher-
ever You find him, it is the language Of
his church, and of his religion, and,
according to the teaching of Mr.. Bos-
man, inseparably bound up with
them. This is the Dutch language
which the leaders of the Dutch Afrik-
ander party are determined to preserve.
It is never spoken by Afrikanders
among themselves, however, and it is
never written dramatically by them
in their correspondence. The Boer
has no fear that his Huis-taal," Cape
Dutch. will die out, but he fears that
his children will forget or neglect to
learn the language of his church and
Of his forefathers.
The third Dutch language might be
called modern literary, or High
Dutch''-that is, the language written
and spoken by educated Hollanders of
today. 1t is forid, involved in con-
struction, and very artificial in style,
as compared with the language of the
Dutch Bible. Its pronunciation has
also changed considerably, in the in
terval, and even an educated Dutch
speaking Afrikander listening to a
voluble Hollander can hardly make
head or tail of what he is saying. 1t
is nevertheless the language which
DR.. Leyds DR.. Jorison, DR.. Mausvelt,
and the whole Hollander faction in
the Transvaal had been forcing upon
the burghers as their Landstaal''
for the last twenty years. Their over
bearing policy and the contempt that
they never concealed for the simple
Dutch of the Cape Afrikander alienat-
ed the sympathy and support that they
L