Afrikaans and English are the only Indo-European languages among the many official languages of South Africa. Although Afrikaans is very similar to Dutch, it is clearly a separate language, differing from Standard Dutch in its sound system and its loss of case and gender distinctions.
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Is Afrikaans widely spoken in South Africa?
With about seven million native speakers in South Africa, or 13.5% of the population, it is the third-most-spoken language in the country. Estimates of the total number of Afrikaans speakers range between 15 and 23 million.
| Afrikaans | |
|---|---|
| Native speakers | 7.2 million (2016) 10.3 million L2 speakers in South Africa (2002) |
Is Afrikaans a dying language in South Africa?
About the Afrikaans Language. The Afrikaans language is one of South Africa’s official languages and a large proportion of the local population uses it as their first or second language.Some believe that Afrikaans is a dying language, however, it remains spoken all over the country and respected for its origins.
Does South Africa speak English or Afrikaans?
The most common language spoken as a first language by South Africans is Zulu (23 percent), followed by Xhosa (16 percent), and Afrikaans (14 percent). English is the fourth most common first language in the country (9.6%), but is understood in most urban areas and is the dominant language in government and the media.
Are there still Afrikaners in South Africa?
It originated from the Dutch vernacular of South Holland, incorporating words brought from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Madagascar by slaves.
Afrikaners.
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 2.8–3.5 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| South Africa | 2,710,461 (2011) |
| Namibia | 92,400 (2003) |
Is Afrikaans a white language?
Afrikaans was constructed as a “white language”, with a “white history” and “white faces”.
Is Afrikaans a beautiful language?
“Afrikaans is helluva nice language,” he says. “It is so expressive and flows so beautifully.Olga Sema, a Motswana who traverses the country for the ATKV to promote Afrikaans among non-mother tongue communities, says the “perception around the world is that Afrikaans is the language of the apartheid oppressors”.
Can a Dutch person understand Afrikaans?
Although Afrikaans is a daughter of Dutch, Dutch speakers might take some time to understand the language but they can understand Afrikaans.One of the major differences between the two languages lies in grammar and morphology of Afrikaans. The spelling is also different from the Dutch standard.
Is it hard to learn Afrikaans?
Afrikaans is actually quite simple to learn, and many language learners consider it one of the easiest languages to master. Most Germanic languages have two or even three genders, but Afrikaans, like English, uses a singular gender. The verb conjugations were removed, simplifying the language even further.
Why did the Afrikaners hate the British?
Some Afrikaners don’t like to speak English.The English were also losing because they were getting very bad sunburns from the hot South African sun. They didn’t take this into account when they came to fight a war in South Africa. This is why some Afrikaners call English Whites Rooineks (Rednecks).
Do blacks in South Africa speak Afrikaans?
Most black South Africans do not speak Afrikaans, although many learn it at school. For older generations, the language still symbolises the brutality of apartheid regime and a time they would rather forget.
How close is Afrikaans to Dutch?
90 to 95%
As an estimated 90 to 95% of Afrikaans vocabulary is ultimately of Dutch origin, there are few lexical differences between the two languages; however, Afrikaans has a considerably more regular morphology, grammar, and spelling.
Are Afrikaners friendly?
Afrikaners are, by nature, a friendly, loyal, and gregarious—but also no-nonsense—bunch of people. The latter may be due to their Dutch heritage, a nation known for its straightforward manner.They’re usually trusting, and their nature is to be generous and helpful when they can be.
Do South Africans speak English?
Most South Africans speak English, which is fairly ubiquitous in official and commercial public life. The country’s other lingua franca is Zulu.The Sotho languages – Tswana, Sotho sa Leboa and Sotho – also have much in common. Many of South Africa’s linguistic groups share a common ancestry.
What religion are Afrikaans?
Afrikaner religion comes from Protestant practices of the seventeenth-century Reformed Church of Holland. The British brought English-speaking ministers to South Africa in the early 1800s. Next, French settlers brought the ideas of Swiss reformer John Calvin (1509–1564) to South Africa.
Where do Coloureds come from?
Coloureds (Afrikaans: Kleurlinge or Bruinmense, lit. ‘Brown people’) are a multiracial ethnic group native to Southern Africa who have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including Khoisan, Bantu, European, Austronesian, South Asian, or East Asian.
Where did the Afrikaners originally come from?
Afrikaners predominantly stem from Dutch, French and German immigrants who settled in the Cape, in South Africa, during the second half of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th. Although later European immigrants were also absorbed into the population, their genetic contribution was comparatively small.
What are idioms in Afrikaans?
Afrikaans Idioms To English
- Moenie die hoender ruk nie. Direct translation: Do not shake the chicken.
- So ń bek moet jem kry. Direct translation: That mouth should get jam.
- Dis ń feit soos n koei.
- Wors in die hondestal soek.
- ń Klap van die windmeul weg hê
- Die aap uit die mou laat.
- Die koeël is deur die kerk.
- Twee rye spore loop.
What is the longest word in the Afrikaans language?
Afrikaans Tweedehandsemotorverkoopsmannevakbondstakingsvergaderingsameroeperstoespraakskrywerspersverklaringuitreikingsmediakonferensieaankondiging
Afrikaans. Tweedehandsemotorverkoopsmannevakbondstakingsvergaderingsameroeperstoespraakskrywerspersverklaringuitreikingsmediakonferensieaankondiging is the longest word in Afrikaans. It has 136 letters!
How do you say my love in South Africa?
Valentine’s Day: How to say “I love you” in all 11 official languages of South Africa:
- Afrikaans: Ek is lief vir jou or ek het jou lief.
- English: I love you (for those who were struggling).
- Ndebele: Niyakutanda.
- Sepedi: Ke a go rata.
- Sesotho: Ke a go rata.
- Siswati: Ngiyakutsandza.
- Tshonga: Ndzakurhandza.
What language is Afrikaans closest to?
Dutch
In this article, Afrikaans was compared to three West Germanic standard languages (Dutch, Frisian and German). Unsurprisingly, Afrikaans was found to be most closely related to Dutch. When Afrikaans was compared to 361 Dutch and Frisian dialects, the South-Hollandic varieties were found to be closest to Afrikaans.
