Afrikaans

## Overview

**Afrikaans** is a West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and, to a lesser extent, Botswana and Zimbabwe. It evolved from the Dutch vernacular of South Holland(Hollandic dialect) spoken by the mainly Dutch settlers of what is now South Africa, where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the course of the 18th century. Hence, it is a daughter language of Dutch, and was previously referred to as "Cape Dutch" (a term also used to refer collectively to the early Cape settlers) or "kitchen Dutch" (a derogatory term used to refer to Afrikaans in its earlier days). However, it is also variously described as a creole or as a partially creolised language. The term is ultimately derived from Dutch '**Afrikaans-Hollands'** meaning "African Dutch".

Although Afrikaans has adopted words from other languages, including German and the Khoisan languages, an estimated 90 to 95% of the vocabulary of Afrikaans is of Dutch origin. Therefore, differences with Dutch often lie in the more analytic morphology and grammar of Afrikaans, and a spelling that expresses Afrikaans pronunciation rather than standard Dutch. There is a large degree of mutual intelligibility between the two languages—especially in written form.

With about 7 million native speakers in South Africa, or 13.5% of the population, it is the third-most-spoken language in the country. It has the widest geographical and racial distribution of all the 11 official languages of South Africa, and is widely spoken and understood as a second or third language. It is the majority language of the western half of South Africa—the provinces of the Northern Cape and Western Cape—and the first language of 75.8% of Colored South Africans (4.8 million people), 60.8% of White South Africans (2.7 million); 4.6% of Asian South Africans (58,000 people), and 1.5% of Black South Africans (600,000 people).

In addition, many native speakers of Bantu languages and English also speak Afrikaans as a second language. It is taught in schools, with about 10.3 million second-language students. One reason for the expansion of Afrikaans is its development in the public realm: it is used in newspapers, radio programs, TV, and several translations of the Bible have been published since the first one was completed in 1933.

In neighbouring Namibia, Afrikaans is widely spoken as a second language and used as a *lingua franca*, while as a native language it is spoken in 10.4% of households, mainly concentrated in the capital Windhoek, Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and the southern regions of Hardap and ǁKaras. It, along with German, was among the official languages of Namibia until the country became independent in 1990, 25% of the population of Windhoekspoke Afrikaans at home. Both Afrikaans and German are recognised regional languages in Namibia, although only English has official status within the government.

Estimates of the total number of Afrikaans speakers range between 15 and 23 million.

## History

### Origins

The Afrikaans language arose in the Dutch Cape Colony, through a gradual divergence from European Dutch dialects, during the course of the 18th century. As early as the mid-18th century and as recently as the mid-20th century, Afrikaans was known in standard Dutch as a "kitchen language" (Afrikaans: *kombuistaal*), lacking the prestige accorded, for example, even by the educational system in Africa, to languages spoken outside Africa. Other early epithets setting apart '**Kaaps Hollands'** ("Cape Dutch", i.e. Afrikaans) as putatively beneath official Dutch standards included '**geradbraakt'**, '**gebroken'** and '**onbeschaafd Hollands'** ("mutilated/broken/uncivilised Dutch"), as well as '**verkeerd Nederlands'** ("incorrect Dutch").

An estimated 90 to 95% of Afrikaans vocabulary is ultimately of Dutch origin, and there are few lexical differences between the two languages. Afrikaans has a considerably more regular morphology, grammar, and spelling. There is a degree of mutual intelligibility between the two languages, particularly in written form.

Afrikaans acquired some lexical and syntactical borrowings from other languages such as Malay, Khoisan languages, Portuguese, and of the Bantu languages, and Afrikaans has also been significantly influenced by South African English. Dutch speakers are confronted with fewer non-cognates when listening to Afrikaans than the other way round. Mutual intelligibility thus tends to be asymmetrical, as it is easier for Dutch speakers to understand Afrikaans than for Afrikaans speakers to understand Dutch.

In general, mutual intelligibility between Dutch and Afrikaans is better than between Dutch and Frisian or between Danish and Swedish. The South African poet writer Breyten Breytenbach, attempting to visualize the language distance for anglophones once remarked that the differences between (Standard) Dutch and Afrikaans are comparable to those between the Received Pronunciation and Southern American English.

### Development

A relative majority of the first settlers whose descendants today are the Afrikaners were from the United Provinces (now Netherlands and Flanders), though up to one-sixth of the community was also of French Huguenot origin, and a seventh from Germany.

African and Asian workers and slaves contributed to the development of Afrikaans. The slave population was made up of people from East Africa, West Africa, India, Madagascar, and the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia). A number were also indigenous Khoisan people, who were valued as interpreters, domestic servants, and laborers. Many free and enslaved women married, cohabited with, or were victims of sexual violence from the male Dutch settlers. M. F. Valkhoff argued that 75% of children born to female slaves in the Dutch Cape Colony between 1652 and 1672 had a Dutch father. Some consider this the origin of the ethnic group, the Cape Coloreds, who adopted various forms of speech utilizing a Dutch vocabulary. Sarah Grey Thomason and Terrence Kaufman argue that Afrikaans' development as a separate language was "heavily conditioned by nonwhites who learned Dutch imperfectly as a second language."

Beginning in about 1815, Afrikaans started to replace Malay as the language of instruction in Muslim schools in South Africa, written with the Arabic alphabet: see Arabic Afrikaans. Later, Afrikaans, now written with the Latin script, started to appear in newspapers and political and religious works in around 1850.

In 1875, a group of Afrikaans-speakers from the Cape formed the '**Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaanders'** ("Society for Real Afrikaners"), and published a number of books in Afrikaans including grammars, dictionaries, religious materials and histories. In 1925, Afrikaans was recognised by the South African government as a real language, rather than simply a slang version of Dutch proper.

### Recognition

Afrikaans was considered a Dutch dialect in South Africa until the early 20th century, when it became recognized as a distinct language under South African law, alongside Standard Dutch, which it eventually replaced as an official language.

Before the Boer Wars (1880–81 and 1899–1902), "and indeed for some time afterwards, Afrikaans was regarded as inappropriate for educated discourse. Rather, Afrikaans was described derogatorily as ‘a kitchen language’ or as ‘a bastard jargon', suitable for communication mainly between the Boers and their servants." 23 years after the Second Boer War ended in 1902, mostly due to the efforts of the Afrikaans Language Movement on 8 May 1925, the Official Languages of the Union Act No 8 of 1925 was passed at a joint sitting of the House of Assembly and the Senate, in which 'Dutch' was "declared to include Afrikaans". The Constitution of 1961 reversed the position of Afrikaans and Dutch, so that English and Afrikaans were the official languages and Afrikaans was deemed to include Dutch. The Constitution of 1983 removed any mention of Dutch altogether.

## Afrikaans excerpt from Wikipedia article "Afrikaans"

Met die einde van die amptelike beleid van rasseskeiding het die internasionale belangstelling in Suid-Afrika duidelik toegeneem, en ná dekades van sanksies en boikotte is daar sprake van 'n normalisering van die kulturele en politieke betrekkinge tussen die Lae Lande (Nederland en Vlaandere) en Suid-Afrika se Afrikaanssprekende gemeenskap. 'n Aantal universiteite in die buiteland, onder meer Gent in België, Keulen en Göttingen in Duitsland en Wene in Oostenryk, het Afrikaans as 'n taalvak binne die verband van die Neerlandistiek ingevoer. Die Adam Mickiewicz-universiteit in Poznań, Pole se Insituut vir Engelse Filologie het 'n Departement van Nederlands en Suid-Afrikaanse Studies en bied ook spesialisasie in Suid-Afrika en Afrikaans aan.

Skole vir sekondêre onderwys in Nederland kan kies om Afrikaans as 'n deel van die vak *Nederlands* te onderwys. Die ontwikkeling en geskiedenis van Afrikaans is 'n verpligte deel van die vak *Literatuurgeskiedenis* (as 'n deel van die geskiedenis van die Nederlandse taal in Suid-Afrika).

In die Verenigde State word Afrikaans as taalvak as deel van studies in Germaanse tale of Afrikastudies aangebied. Die *National African Language Resource Center (NALRC)* in Bloomington, Indiana het 'n brosjure oor Afrikaans vir voornemende studente aan die Universiteit van Wisconsin in Milwaukee, die Universiteit van Kalifornië in Los Angeles en die Brigham Young-universiteit in Provo, Utahgepubliseer.

Suid-Afrikaanse emigrante het in baie oorsese lande Afrikaanse gemeentes, klubs en ander instellings gestig, en tans is daar enkele honderdduisend sprekers van Afrikaans in die buiteland. In Julie 2008 is die eerste Afrikaanse radioprogram, OppieStasie, in Australië deur Erika von Kaschke (nee Jooste) op die gemeenskapsradiostasie, begin. Die program speel Afrikaanse musiek en verskaf inligting aan nuwe immigrante.