The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1903-06-11
lBOER LANGUAGES.
the Different Kinds of Dutch Spoken
In South Africa.

The Different Kinds of Dutch Spoken
In South Africa.
1t seems strange thing to say, but
there are three Dutch languages in
South Africa. The earliest Dutch set
tiers at the Cape were largely Dutch
sailors and others belonging to the low
er orders Of Amsterdam, Rotterdam
and other Dutch seaports. Their Ian.
guaga was low Dutch dialect to be-
gin with, and although the sprinkling
ct Dutch officers at the Cape did their
best to preserve the language of the
Netherlands they could not prevent
the dialect of the settlers from still
further degenerating into a mere colo
quail patois. Its degeneration was
doubtless largely brought about hv do
nestle servants and slaves-Hotten-
tots, Malays and Mozambique Kaffirs-
who spoke it very imperfectly and in
troduced into it many strange words
and idioms. This, then, is the genesis
OF what is variously known as Cape
Dutch" Kitchen Dutch" Patriot
Dutch "Afrikaans' and "Afrikander
Taal' Its basis is Dutch, but the
nouns have lost their declensions: and
the verbs their conjugations, while
grammatical gender and syntax gener.
ally have gone by the board To the
educated Hollander of today it is 1T
erary atrocity, and he cannot away
with it, but to the Afrikander it is his
mother tongue, tie language Of his
hop"p and his childhood. the exponent
OF all that he knows OF. rhumor and
pathos. It is full of expressive idious,
pithy proverbs and pawky expressions,
like those so dear to the lowland Scot.
and yet it is not a language, for it has
30 literature 81" ...r.. ~ E
The second of the three Dutch Ian
guages referred to might be called "ec:
clesiastical Dutch" or, if you like. At
rican Dutch. 1t is the language of Hol-
land as that language was written
about 200 years ago. 1t is the language
Of the Dutch Bible and very much re-
sembles our own authorized version in
its simplicity and directness of style
It is the language of the Dutch psalm
and Gesang books and of tile devotion
al works of old Dutch divines, which
make up the balance of the Dutch
farmers literature. In it are also writ
ten many tracts and a few devotiona i
works by living ministers of the Dutch
, Reformed church. TO the Boer WHEREBY
err you fird him it is the language Of
his cturth and Of his religion. This Us
the, Dutch 4angIage which the leaders
of the Dutch Aflikander party are de-
& terlutned to preserve. 1t Is never spor
ken by ,Afrikapders among themselves,
however. and it is never written gram
natically by them in their correspond
ence. The Boer has no fear that his
2: ""HGiS- taal,"": Gaze, Dutch, will die out,
but fears that lis children will forget
or neglect to lean the language of his
church and Of his fofefathers.- L.
u.s. The third Dutch language might be
called modern literary or, thigh Dutch
/ that. is, the language, written and
spoken by educated Hollanders of tpr
day. 1t is ford, involved in constitute
Non and very artificial in style1as com
! pared with the language Of the Dutch
Riblee5 Its I prpnnlnciatiion has q all 90
changed considerably in the, interydb
ard even an educated Dutch speaking
Afrikandef listening to a 'volubIe Hdl-
lander can hardly make head or tail
Of what he is saying.z7Scotsman. :!