Afrikaans#Orthography

The name of the language comes directly from the Dutch word {{lang|nl|Afrikaansch}} (now spelled {{lang|nl|Afrikaans}}){{refn|The changed spelling rule was introduced in article 1, rule 3, of the Dutch "orthography law" of 14 February 1947. In 1954 the Word list of the Dutch language which regulates the spelling of individual words including the word Afrikaans was first published.{{Cite web |title=Wet voorschriften schrijfwijze Nederlandsche taal |url=https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0002027/1997-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205160501/https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0002027/1997-02-21 |archive-date=5 February 2021 |access-date=2023-03-10 |publisher=Royal Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations |date=21 February 1997 |language=nl }}|group="n"}} meaning 'African'.{{cite web |title=Afrikaans |url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=afrikaans&ref=searchbar_searchhint |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Douglas Harper |access-date=24 January 2020}} It was previously referred to as 'Cape Dutch' ({{lang|nl|Kaap-Hollands}} or {{lang|nl|Kaap-Nederlands}}), a term also used to refer to the early Cape settlers collectively, or the derogatory 'kitchen Dutch' ({{lang|nl|kombuistaal}}) from its use by slaves of colonial settlers "in the kitchen".

The Afrikaans language arose in the Dutch Cape Colony, through a gradual divergence from European Dutch dialects, during the course of the 18th century.{{cite web |url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/afrikaans.htm |title=Afrikaans |work=Omniglot |access-date=22 September 2010 }}{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/8437/Afrikaans-language |title=Afrikaans language |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=22 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831105055/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/8437/Afrikaans-language|archive-date=31 August 2010 |url-status=live }} As early as the mid-18th century and as recently as the early-20th century, pre-standardized Afrikaans was still viewed by the many in Southern Africa as 'kitchen Dutch' ({{langx|af|kombuistaal|links=no}}), lacking the prestige accorded an officially recognised language like Dutch and English, at that time. In the 19th century Boer republics, proto-Afrikaans was not yet widely seen by the Afrikaner population itself, nor by its leaders, as a separate language to standard Dutch. Dutch was expressly the sole and only legally recognised language at that time. Other early epithets, in Southern Africa, setting apart {{lang|nl|Kaaps Hollands}} ('Cape Dutch', i.e. Proto-Afrikaans) as putatively beneath official Dutch language standards included {{lang|nl|geradbraakt}}, {{lang|nl|gebroken}} and {{lang|nl|onbeschaafd Hollands}} ('mutilated, broken, or uncivilised Dutch'), as well as {{lang|nl|verkeerd Nederlands}} ('incorrect Dutch').{{cite book|last1=Alatis |last2=Hamilton |first3=Ai-Hui |last3=Tan |year=2002 |title=Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics 2000: Linguistics, Language and the Professions: Education, Journalism, Law, Medicine, and Technology |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Georgetown University Press |isbn=978-0-87840-373-8 |page=132}}{{cite book |editor-first=Keith |editor-last=Brown |editor-first2=Sarah |editor-last2=Ogilvie |year=2008 |title=Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World |location=Oxford |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-08-087774-7 |page=8}}

{{Infobox language

| name = {{vanchor|Hottentot Dutch}}

| region =

| era =

| familycolor = pidgin

| family = Dutch-based pidgin

| iso3 = none

| glotto2 = hott1234

| glottorefname2 = Hottentot Dutch

| isoexception = historical

}}

Historical linguist Hans den Besten theorises that modern Standard Afrikaans derives from two sources:{{cite book |first=Hans |last=den Besten |year=1989 |chapter=From Khoekhoe foreignertalk via Hottentot Dutch to Afrikaans: the creation of a novel grammar |editor-last=Pütz |editor-last2=Dirven |title=Wheels within wheels: papers of the Duisburg symposium on pidgin and creole languages |pages=207–250 |location=Frankfurt-am-Main |publisher=Peter Lang}}

• Cape Dutch, a direct transplantation of European Dutch to Southern Africa, and
• 'Hottentot Dutch',{{cite web |editor1-last=Hammarström |editor1-first=Harald |editor2-last=Forke |editor2-first=Robert |editor3-last=Haspelmath |editor3-first=Martin |editor4-last=Bank |editor4-first=Sebastian |year=2020 |title=Hottentot Dutch |work=Glottolog 4.3 |url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/hott1234 }} a pidgin that descended from 'Foreigner Talk' and ultimately from the Dutch pidgin spoken by slaves, via hypothetical Dutch-based creole languages.

So Afrikaans, in his view, is neither a creole nor a direct descendant of Dutch, but a fusion of two transmission pathways.

File:Stuttafords Huisgenoot.jpg used in a 1916 South African newspaper before Afrikaans replaced it for use in media]]

Most of the first settlers whose descendants today are the Afrikaners were from the United Provinces (now Netherlands),{{cite book |title=Area Handbook for the Republic of South Africa |last=Kaplan |first=Irving |pages=46–771 |year=1971 |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED056947.pdf }} with up to one-sixth of the community of French Huguenot origin, and a seventh from Germany.{{cite encyclopedia |year=1933 |title=Cape Colony |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|editor=James Louis Garvin}}

African and Asian workers, Cape Coloured children of European settlers and Khoikhoi women,{{Cite book |last=Clark |first=Nancy L. |title=South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |author2=William H. Worger |isbn=978-1-138-12444-8 |edition=3rd |location=Abingdon, UK |language=en |oclc=883649263}} and slaves contributed to the development of Afrikaans. The slave population was made up of people from East Africa, West Africa, Mughal India, Madagascar, and the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia).{{cite book |last=Worden |first=Nigel |title=Slavery in Dutch South Africa |year=2010 |pages=40–43 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521152662 }} A number were also indigenous Khoisan people, who were valued as interpreters, domestic servants, and labourers. Many free and enslaved women married or cohabited with 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.{{sfnp|Thomason|Kaufman|1988|pp=252–254}} 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."{{sfnp|Thomason|Kaufman|1988|p=256}}

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 (alongside the already established Dutch).

In 1875 a group of Afrikaans-speakers from the Cape formed the {{lang|af|Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaaners}} ('Society for Real Afrikaners'), and published a number of books in Afrikaans including grammars, dictionaries, religious materials and histories.

Until the early 20th century Afrikaans was considered a Dutch dialect, alongside Standard Dutch, which it eventually replaced as an official language.{{cite web |title=Afrikaans Language Courses in London |url=http://www.keylanguages.com/new_english/afrikaans.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812185524/http://www.keylanguages.com/new_english/afrikaans.html |archive-date=12 August 2007 |access-date=22 September 2010 |publisher=Keylanguages.com }} Before the Boer wars, "and indeed for some time afterwards, Afrikaans was regarded as inappropriate for educated discourse. Rather, Afrikaans was described derogatorily as 'a kitchen language' or 'a bastard jargon', suitable for communication mainly between the Boers and their servants."{{cite web |last1=Kaplan |first1=R. B. |last2=Baldauf |first2=R. B. |title=Language Planning & Policy: Language Planning and Policy in Africa: Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa }} {{registration required}}{{better source needed |date=July 2019 }}

File:The Afrikaans Language Monument 23.JPG}}]]

In 1925 Afrikaans was recognised by the South African government as a distinct language, rather than simply a vernacular of Dutch. On 8 May 1925, that is 23 years after the Second Boer War ended, the Official Languages of the Union Act, 1925 was passed—mostly due to the efforts of the Afrikaans-language movement—at a joint sitting of the House of Assembly and the Senate, in which the Afrikaans language was declared a variety of Dutch.{{cite web |url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/afrikaans-becomes-official-language-union-south-africa |title=Afrikaans becomes the official language of the Union of South Africa |date=2011-03-16 |website=South African History Online |access-date=2017-03-17 }} 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.

The Afrikaans Language Monument is on a hill overlooking Paarl in the Western Cape Province. Officially opened on 10 October 1975,{{cite web |url=http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/2005/05111709451003.htm |title=Speech by the Minister of Art and Culture, N Botha, at the 30th anniversary festival of the Afrikaans Language Monument |date=10 October 2005 |publisher=South African Department of Arts and Culture |language=af |access-date=28 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604111627/http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/2005/05111709451003.htm |archive-date=4 June 2011}} it was erected on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Society of Real Afrikaners,{{cite journal |last=Galasko |first=C. |date=November 2008 |title=The Afrikaans Language Monument |journal=Spine |volume=33 |issue=23 |doi=10.1097/01.brs.0000339413.49211.e6 }} and the 50th anniversary of Afrikaans being declared an official language of South Africa in distinction to Dutch.

In May 2022, Afrikaans was recognized as an indigenous language of South Africa.{{cite web |url=https://www.politicsweb.co.za/politics/anc-forced-to-recognise-afrikaans-khoi-and-san-lan#google_vignette |title=ANC forced to recognise Afrikaans, Khoi and San languages – Leon Schreiber |work=politicsweb.co.za |date=11 May 2022 |access-date=31 March 2025}}

File:Pretoriase kunsmuseum 1.jpg in Arcadia, Pretoria, with its name written in Afrikaans, Xhosa and Southern Ndebele.]]

The earliest Afrikaans texts were some doggerel verses from 1795 and a dialogue transcribed by a Dutch traveller in 1825. Afrikaans used the Latin alphabet around this time, although the Cape Muslim community used the Arabic script. In 1861, L.H. Meurant published his {{lang|af|Zamenspraak tusschen Klaas Waarzegger en Jan Twyfelaar}} (Conversation between Nicholas Truthsayer and John Doubter), which is considered to be the first book published in Afrikaans.{{Cite book |last1=Tomasz |first1=Kamusella |title=The Social and Political History of Southern Africa's Languages |last2=Finex |first2=Ndhlovu |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-137-01592-1 |pages=17–18 }}

The first grammar book was published in 1876; a bilingual dictionary was later published in 1902. The main modern Afrikaans dictionary in use is the {{lang|af|Verklarende Handwoordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal}} (HAT). A new authoritative dictionary, called {{lang|af|Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal}} (WAT), was under development {{as of|2018|post=.}} The official orthography of Afrikaans is the {{lang|af|Afrikaanse Woordelys en Spelreëls}}, compiled by {{lang|af|Die Taalkommissie}}.

{{refimprove|section|date=February 2024}}

{{Main|Bible translations into Afrikaans}}

The Afrikaners primarily were Protestants, of the Dutch Reformed Church of the 17th century. Their religious practices were later influenced in South Africa by British ministries during the 1800s.{{cite web |title=Afrikaner |url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/afrikaner |website=South African History Online |publisher=South African History Online (SAHO) |access-date=20 October 2017 }} A landmark in the development of the language was the translation of the whole Bible into Afrikaans. While significant advances had been made in the textual criticism of the Bible, especially the Greek New Testament, the 1933 translation followed the Textus Receptus and was closely akin to the {{lang|nl|Statenbijbel}}. Before this, most Cape Dutch-Afrikaans speakers had to rely on the Dutch {{lang|nl|Statenbijbel}}. This {{lang|nl|Statenvertaling}} had its origins with the Synod of Dordrecht of 1618 and was thus in an archaic form of Dutch. This was hard for Dutch speakers to understand, and increasingly unintelligible for Afrikaans speakers.

C. P. Hoogehout, Arnoldus Pannevis, and Stephanus Jacobus du Toit were the first Afrikaans Bible translators. Important landmarks in the translation of the Scriptures were in 1878 with C. P. Hoogehout's translation of the {{lang|af|Evangelie volgens Markus}} (Gospel of Mark, lit. 'Gospel according to Mark'); however, this translation was never published. The manuscript is to be found in the South African National Library, Cape Town.

The first official translation of the entire Bible into Afrikaans was in 1933 by J. D. du Toit, E. E. van Rooyen, J. D. Kestell, H. C. M. Fourie, and BB Keet.{{cite web |url=http://www.enigstetroos.org/bybelstudie.htm |title=Bybelstudies |access-date=23 September 2008 |last=Bogaards |first=Attie H. |language=af |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010173208/http://www.enigstetroos.org/bybelstudie.htm |archive-date=10 October 2008 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.bybelgenootskap.co.za/afr/bybelgenootskap/jongste_nuus.asp |title=Afrikaanse Bybel vier 75 jaar |access-date=23 September 2008 |date=25 August 2008 |publisher=Bybelgenootskap van Suid-Afrika |language=af |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609161131/http://www.bybelgenootskap.co.za/afr/bybelgenootskap/jongste_nuus.asp |archive-date=9 June 2008 |url-status=dead}} This monumental work established Afrikaans as {{lang|af|'n suiwer en ordentlike taal}}, that is "a pure and proper language" for religious purposes, especially among the deeply Calvinist Afrikaans religious community that previously had been sceptical of a Bible translation that varied from the Dutch version that they were used to.

In 1983 a fresh translation marked the 50th anniversary of the 1933 version. The final editing of this edition was done by E. P. Groenewald, A. H. van Zyl, P. A. Verhoef, J. L. Helberg and W. Kempen. This translation was influenced by Eugene Nida's theory of dynamic equivalence which focused on finding the nearest equivalent in the receptor language to the idea that the Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic wanted to convey.

A new translation, {{lang|af|Die Bybel: 'n Direkte Vertaling}} was released in November 2020. It is the first truly ecumenical translation of the Bible in Afrikaans as translators from various churches, including the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches, were involved.{{Cite web |title=Afrikaans Bible translation |url=https://www.bybelgenootskap.co.za/index.php/take-action/projects/19-projects/82-afrikaans-bible-translation |publisher=Bible Society of South Africa |access-date=2020-05-30 |archive-date=25 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725003816/https://www.bybelgenootskap.co.za/index.php/take-action/projects/19-projects/82-afrikaans-bible-translation |url-status=dead }}

• Indo-European languages
• Germanic
• West Germanic
• Low Franconian
• Dutch
• Afrikaans

Afrikaans descended from Dutch dialects in the 17th century. It belongs to a West Germanic sub-group, the Low Franconian languages.{{Cite book |last=Harbert |first=Wayne |title=The Germanic Languages |url=https://archive.org/details/germaniclanguage00harb|url-access=limited |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-521-80825-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/germaniclanguage00harb/page/n30 17] }} Other West Germanic languages related to Afrikaans are German, English, the Frisian languages, Yiddish, and the unstandardised language Low German.

[[File:South Africa Afrikaans speakers proportion map.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|The geographical distribution of Afrikaans in South Africa: proportion of the population that speaks Afrikaans at home.

{{colbegin|colwidth=30em}}

{{legend|#EDF8E9|0–20%}}

{{legend|#BAE4B3|20–40%}}

{{legend|#74C476|40–60%}}

{{legend|#31A354|60–80%}}

{{legend|#006D2C|80–100%}}

{{colend}}]]

[[File:South Africa Afrikaans speakers density map.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|The geographical distribution of Afrikaans in South Africa: density of Afrikaans home-language speakers.

{{colbegin|small=yes|colwidth=10em}}

{{legend|#ffffcc|<1 /km²}}

{{legend|#ffeda0|1–3 /km²}}

{{legend|#fed976|3–10 /km²}}

{{legend|#feb24c|10–30 /km²}}

{{legend|#fd8d3c|30–100 /km²}}

{{legend|#fc4e2a|100–300 /km²}}

{{legend|#e31a1c|300–1000 /km²}}

{{legend|#bc0026|1000–3000 /km²}}

{{legend|#800026|>3000 /km²}}

{{colend}}]]

File:Distribution of Afrikaans in Namibia.png

Besides South-Africa, Afrikaans is also widely spoken in Namibia. Before independence, Afrikaans had equal status with German as an official language. Since independence in 1990, Afrikaans has had constitutional recognition as a national, but not official, language.{{cite book |last=Frydman |first=Jenna |editor-last=Bokamba |editor-first=Eyamba G. |chapter=A Critical Analysis of Namibia's English-only language policy |title=Selected proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference on African Linguistics – African languages and linguistics today |year=2011 |publisher=Cascadilla Proceedings Project |location=Somerville, Massachusetts |isbn=978-1-57473-446-1 |pages=178–189 |url=http://www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/40/paper2574.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/40/paper2574.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |last=Willemyns |first=Roland |title=Dutch: Biography of a Language |year=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-985871-2 |page=232 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xo2MGkyEfbMC }} There is a much smaller number of Afrikaans speakers among Zimbabwe's white minority, as most have left the country since 1980. Afrikaans was also a medium of instruction for schools in Bophuthatswana, an Apartheid-era Bantustan.{{cite web |title=Armoria patriæ – Republic of Bophuthatswana |url = http://www.geocities.com/haigariep/BopE.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091026202203/http://www.geocities.com/haigariep/BopE.html |archive-date=26 October 2009 |url-status=dead}} Eldoret in Kenya was founded by Afrikaners.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/lifestyle/society/Eldoret-the-town-that-South-African-Boers-started-/3405664-1323654-7f6ldnz/index.html|title=Eldoret, the town that South African Boers started|last=Kamau|first=John|website=Business Daily|date=25 December 2020 }}

There are also around 30,000 South-Africans in the Netherlands, of which the majority are of Afrikaans-speaking Afrikaner and Coloured South-African descent.{{Cite web |title=Cbs.nl statline |url=https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/nl/dataset/37325/table?fromstatweb}} A much smaller and unknown number of Afrikaans speakers also reside in the Dutch Caribbean.

Contrary to popular belief, the majority of Afrikaans speakers today are not Afrikaners or Boers, but Coloureds.{{Cite web |date=2014-05-01 |title=Afrikaans se môre is bruin {{!}} Rapport |url=http://www.rapport.co.za/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Afrikaans-se-more-is-bruin-20130323 |access-date=2024-11-07 |archive-date=1 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501095350/http://www.rapport.co.za/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Afrikaans-se-more-is-bruin-20130323 |url-status=bot: unknown }}

In 1976, secondary-school pupils in Soweto began a rebellion in response to the government's decision that Afrikaans be used as the language of instruction for half the subjects taught in non-White schools (with English continuing for the other half). Although English is the mother tongue of only 8.2% of the population, it is the language most widely understood, and the second language of a majority of South Africans.[http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/public_sector/govt_info_available_online_in_all_official_languages.html Govt info available online in all official languages – South Africa – The Good News] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032342/http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/public_sector/govt_info_available_online_in_all_official_languages.html |date=4 March 2016 }} Afrikaans is more widely spoken than English in the Northern and Western Cape provinces, several hundred kilometres from Soweto. The Black community's opposition to Afrikaans and preference for continuing English instruction was underlined when the government rescinded the policy one month after the uprising: 96% of Black schools chose English (over Afrikaans or native languages) as the language of instruction.{{sfnp|Phaswana|2003|p=120}} Afrikaans-medium schools were also accused of using language policy to deter Black African parents.{{cite conference |last=Lafon |first=Michel |title=Asikhulume! African Languages for all: a powerful strategy for spearheading transformation and improvement of the South African education system |editor1-last=Lafon |editor1-first=Michel |editor2-last=Webb |editor2-first=Vic |editor3-last=Wa Kabwe Segatti |editor3-first=Aurelia |book-title=The Standardisation of African Languages: Language political realities |date=2008 |publisher=Institut Français d'Afrique du Sud Johannesburg |page=47 |url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00449090/document |access-date=30 January 2021 |via=HAL-SHS}} Some of these parents, in part supported by provincial departments of education, initiated litigation which enabled enrolment with English as language of instruction. By 2006 there were 300 single-medium Afrikaans schools, compared to 2,500 in 1994, after most converted to dual-medium education. Due to Afrikaans being viewed as the "language of the white oppressor" by some, pressure has been increased to remove Afrikaans as a teaching language in South African universities, resulting in bloody student protests in 2015.{{cite web |url=http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/world/article/South-Africa-Protesting-students-torch-6853287.php |title=South Africa: Protesting students torch university buildings |author=Lynsey Chutel |agency=Associated Press |work=Stamford Advocate |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160305040206/http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/world/article/South-Africa-Protesting-students-torch-6853287.php |archive-date=5 March 2016 |date=25 February 2016 }}{{cite web |url=http://diepresse.com/home/politik/aussenpolitik/4933544/Studentenunruhen_Konflikte-zwischen-Schwarz-und-Weiss |title=Studentenunruhen: Konflikte zwischen Schwarz und Weiß |trans-title=Student unrest: conflicts between black and white |work=Die Presse |date=25 February 2016 }}{{cite web |url=http://de.euronews.com/2016/02/26/suedafrika-unerklaerliche-gewaltserie-an-universitaeten/ |title=Südafrika: "Unerklärliche" Gewaltserie an Universitäten |trans-title=South Africa: "Unexplained" violence at universities |work=Euronews |date=25 February 2016 |access-date=28 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160227101650/http://de.euronews.com/2016/02/26/suedafrika-unerklaerliche-gewaltserie-an-universitaeten/ |archive-date=27 February 2016 |url-status=dead }}

Under South Africa's Constitution of 1996, Afrikaans remains an official language, and has equal status to English and nine other languages. The new policy means that the use of Afrikaans is now often reduced in favour of English, or to accommodate the other official languages. In 1996, for example, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reduced the amount of television airtime in Afrikaans, while South African Airways dropped its Afrikaans name {{lang|af|Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens}} from its livery. Similarly, South Africa's diplomatic missions overseas now display the name of the country only in English and their host country's language, and not in Afrikaans. Meanwhile, the constitution of the Western Cape, which went into effect in 1998, declares Afrikaans to be an official language of the province alongside English and Xhosa.Constitution of the Western Cape, 1997, Chapter 1, {{avoid wrap|section 5(1)(a)}}

The Afrikaans-language general-interest family magazine {{lang|af|Huisgenoot}} has the largest readership of any magazine in the country.{{cite web |url=http://www.superbrands.com/za/pdfs/HUISGENOOT.pdf |access-date=21 March 2012 |url-status=dead |title=Superbrands.com |archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924111839/http://www.superbrands.com/za/pdfs/HUISGENOOT.pdf}}

When the British design magazine Wallpaper described Afrikaans as "one of the world's ugliest languages" in its September 2005 article about the monument,{{Cite news |date=5 December 2005 |first=Donwald |last=Pressly |title=Rupert snubs mag over Afrikaans slur |url=http://business.iafrica.com/news/657706.htm |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=Business Africa |archive-date=16 February 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216042054/http://business.iafrica.com/news/657706.htm |url-status=dead }} South African billionaire Johann Rupert (chairman of the Richemont Group), responded by withdrawing advertising for brands such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Montblanc and Alfred Dunhill from the magazine.[http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/afrikaans-stars-join-row-over-ugly-language-1.261058 Afrikaans stars join row over 'ugly language'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127210538/http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/afrikaans-stars-join-row-over-ugly-language-1.261058 |date=27 November 2011 }} Cape Argus, 10 December 2005. The author of the article, Bronwyn Davies, was an English-speaking South African.

{{Main|Comparison of Afrikaans and Dutch}}

An estimated 90 to 95 percent of the Afrikaans lexicon is ultimately of Dutch origin,{{sfnp|Mesthrie|1995|page=214}}{{sfnp|Brachin|Vincent|1985|page=132}}{{sfnp|Mesthrie|2002|page=205}} and there are few lexical differences between the two languages.{{sfnp|Sebba|1997|p=161}} Afrikaans has a considerably more regular morphology,{{sfnp|Holm|1989|p=338}} grammar, and spelling.{{sfnp|Sebba|1997}} There is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between the two languages,{{sfnp|Baker|Prys Jones|1997|page=302}}{{sfnp|Egil Breivik|Håkon Jahr|1987|page=232}} particularly in written form.{{sfnp|Sebba|1997}}{{sfnp|Sebba|2007}}{{sfnp|Gooskens|2007|pp=445–467}}

Afrikaans acquired some lexical and syntactical borrowings from other languages such as Malay, Khoisan languages, Portuguese,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ciimg5gGqQC |title=Language Standardization and Language Change: The Dynamics of Cape Dutch |first=Ana |last=Deumert |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |date=2004 |page=22 |isbn=9027218579 |access-date=10 November 2008 }} German and Bantu languages.{{sfnp|Niesler|Louw|Roux|2005|pages=459–474}} Afrikaans has also been significantly influenced by South African English, especially in the Western Cape.{{cite web |url=http://www.lycos.com/info/afrikaans--standard-afrikaans.html |title=Afrikaans: Standard Afrikaans |publisher=Lycos Retriever |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120182430/http://www.lycos.com/info/afrikaans--standard-afrikaans.html |archive-date=20 November 2011 }} Dutch speakers are confronted with fewer non-cognates when listening to Afrikaans than the other way round.{{sfnp|Gooskens|2007|p=460}} Mutual intelligibility thus tends to be asymmetrical, as it is easier for Dutch speakers to understand Afrikaans than for Afrikaans speakers to understand Dutch.{{sfnp|Gooskens|2007|p=464}}

In general, mutual intelligibility between Dutch and Afrikaans is far better than between Dutch and Frisian{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8gIEN068J3gC |title=Receptive Multilingualism: Linguistic analyses, language policies and didactic concepts |last1=ten Thije |first1=Jan D. |last2=Zeevaert |first2=Ludger |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |year=2007 |page=17 |isbn=978-9027219268 |access-date=19 May 2010}} or between Danish and Swedish.{{sfnp|Gooskens|2007|p=463}} The South African poet writer Breyten Breytenbach, attempting to visualise 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.{{cite magazine |magazine=Salmagundi |number=128–129: Fall 2000 – Winter 2001 |date=29 September 2020|last=Linfield |first=Susie|title=An Interview with Breyten Breytenbach|pages=249–274|jstor=40549282}}

{{clear}}

Afrikaans is an official language of the Republic of South Africa and a recognised national language of the Republic of Namibia. Post-apartheid South Africa has seen a loss of preferential treatment by the government for Afrikaans, in terms of education, social events, media (TV and radio), and general status throughout the country, given that it now shares its place as official language with ten other languages. Nevertheless, Afrikaans remains more prevalent in the media – radio, newspapers and televisionOranje FM, Radio Sonder Grense, Jacaranda FM, Radio Pretoria, Rapport, Beeld, Die Burger, Die Son, Afrikaans news is run every day; the PRAAG website is a web-based news service. On pay channels, it is provided as second language on all sports, Kyknet – than any of the other official languages, except English. More than 300 book titles in Afrikaans are published annually.{{cite web |url=http://www.oulitnet.co.za/taaldebat/multilin.asp |title=Hannes van Zyl |publisher=Oulitnet.co.za |access-date=1 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081228004644/http://www.oulitnet.co.za/taaldebat/multilin.asp |archive-date=28 December 2008}} South African census figures suggest a decreasing number of first language Afrikaans speakers in South Africa from 13.5% in 2011 to 10.6% in 2022.{{Cite web |date=10 October 2023 |title=Census 2022: Statistical Release |url=https://census.statssa.gov.za/assets/documents/2022/P03014_Census_2022_Statistical_Release.pdf |access-date=12 October 2023 |website=statssa.gov.za |page=9}} The South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) projects that a growing majority of Afrikaans speakers will be Coloured.{{cite news|last=Prince |first=Llewellyn |title=Afrikaans se môre is bruin (Afrikaans' tomorrow is coloured) |url=http://www.rapport.co.za/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Afrikaans-se-more-is-bruin-20130323 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331034159/http://www.rapport.co.za/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Afrikaans-se-more-is-bruin-20130323 |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 March 2013 |access-date=25 March 2013 |newspaper=Rapport |date=23 March 2013 }} Afrikaans speakers experience higher employment rates than other South African language groups, though {{as of|2012|lc=y}} half a million were unemployed.{{cite news |last1=Pienaar |first1=Antoinette |last2=Otto |first2=Hanti |date=30 October 2012 |title=Afrikaans groei, sê sensus (Afrikaans growing according to census) |url=http://www.beeld.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Afrikaans-bly-groei-se-sensus-20121030 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102235326/http://www.beeld.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Afrikaans-bly-groei-se-sensus-20121030 |archive-date=2 November 2012 |access-date=25 March 2013 |newspaper=Beeld}}

Despite the challenges of demotion and emigration that it faces in South Africa, the Afrikaans vernacular remains competitive, being popular in DSTV pay channels and several internet sites, while generating high newspaper and music CD sales. A resurgence in Afrikaans popular music since the late 1990s has invigorated the language, especially among a younger generation of South Africans. A recent trend is the increased availability of pre-school educational CDs and DVDs. Such media also prove popular with the extensive Afrikaans-speaking emigrant communities who seek to retain language proficiency in a household context.

Afrikaans-language cinema showed signs of new vigour in the early 21st century. The 2007 film {{lang|af|Ouma se slim kind}}, the first full-length Afrikaans movie since {{lang|af|Paljas}} in 1998, is seen as the dawn of a new era in Afrikaans cinema. Several short films have been created and more feature-length movies, such as Poena Is Koning and {{lang|af|Bakgat}} (both in 2008) have been produced, besides the 2011 Afrikaans-language film {{lang|af|Skoonheid}}, which was the first Afrikaans film to screen at the Cannes Film Festival. The film {{lang|af|Platteland}} was also released in 2011.{{cite web|url=http://www.plattelanddiemovie.com/|title=Platteland Film|website=www.plattelanddiemovie.com}} The Afrikaans film industry started gaining international recognition via the likes of big Afrikaans Hollywood film stars, like Charlize Theron (Monster) and Sharlto Copley (District 9) promoting their mother tongue.

SABC 3 announced early in 2009 that it would increase Afrikaans programming due to the "growing Afrikaans-language market and [their] need for working capital as Afrikaans advertising is the only advertising that sells in the current South African television market". In April 2009, SABC3 started screening several Afrikaans-language programmes.[http://www.screenafrica.com/news/industry/997616.htm SABC3 "tests" Afrikaans programming] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716024421/http://www.screenafrica.com/news/industry/997616.htm |date=16 July 2011 }}, Screen Africa, 15 April 2009 There is a groundswell movement within Afrikaans to be inclusive, and to promote itself along with the indigenous official languages. In Namibia, the percentage of Afrikaans speakers declined from 11.4% (2001 Census) to 10.4% (2011 Census). The major concentrations are in Hardap (41.0%), ǁKaras (36.1%), Erongo (20.5%), Khomas (18.5%), Omaheke (10.0%), Otjozondjupa (9.4%), Kunene (4.2%), and Oshikoto (2.3%).{{Cite web|url=http://www.nsa.org.na/files/downloads/Namibia%202011%20Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%20Main%20Report.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002064316/http://www.nsa.org.na/files/downloads/Namibia%202011%20Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%20Main%20Report.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Namibia 2011 Population & Housing Census Main Report|archive-date=2 October 2013}}

Some native speakers of Bantu languages and English also speak Afrikaans as a second language. It is widely taught in South African schools, with about 10.3 million second-language students.

Afrikaans is offered at many universities outside South Africa, including in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Russia and the United States.{{cite web |url=http://www.afrikaans.com/news-headlines/het-jy.../afrikaans-floreer-in-die-buiteland |title=Afrikaans floreer in die buiteland|trans-title=Afrikaans is flourishing abroad|website=Afrilaans.com}}{{Dead link|date=May 2019|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}{{cite web |title=Where outside of Southern Africa can you learn Afrikaans? |url=https://www.afrikaans.us/afrikaans/home-afrikaans/afrikaans-abroad-whos-who/ |website=Afrikaans Abroad –Afrikaans.US |first=Jacques |last=du Plessis |date=27 December 2020 |access-date=5 September 2024 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121053518/https://www.afrikaans.us/afrikaans/home-afrikaans/afrikaans-abroad-whos-who/ |url-status=dead }}

{{Main|Afrikaans grammar}}

In Afrikaans grammar, there is no distinction between the infinitive and present forms of verbs, with the exception of the verbs 'to be' and 'to have'.{{Cite book |last=Donaldson |first=Bruce C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bP2elQCb7T8C |title=A Grammar of Afrikaans |date=2011-05-12 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-086315-4 |pages=218 |language=en}}

In addition, verbs do not conjugate differently depending on the subject. For example,

Only a handful of Afrikaans verbs have a preterite, namely the auxiliary {{lang|af|wees}} ('to be'), the modal verbs, and the verb {{lang|af|dink}} ('to think').{{Cite journal |last=Conradie |first=C. Jac |date=1999 |title=Preterite Loss in Early Afrikaans |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/flin.1999.33.1-2.19 |journal=Folia Linguistica |volume=33 |issue=1–2 |doi=10.1515/flin.1999.33.1-2.19 |issn=0165-4004|url-access=subscription }} The preterite of {{lang|af|mag}} ('may') is rare in contemporary Afrikaans.

All other verbs use the perfect tense, het + past participle (ge-), for the past. Therefore, there is no distinction in Afrikaans between I drank and I have drunk. (In colloquial German, the past tense is also often replaced with the perfect.)

When telling a longer story, Afrikaans speakers usually avoid the perfect and simply use the present tense, or historical present tense instead (as is possible, but less common, in English as well).

A particular feature of Afrikaans is its use of the double negative; it is classified in Afrikaans as {{lang|af|ontkennende vorm}} and is something that is absent from the other West Germanic standard languages. For example:

: {{langx|af|Hy kan nie Afrikaans praat nie|lit=He can not Afrikaans speak not|links=no}}

: {{langx|nl|Hij spreekt geen Afrikaans.|links=no}}

: English: He can not speak Afrikaans. / He can't speak Afrikaans.

Both French and San origins have been suggested for double negation in Afrikaans. While double negation is still found in Low Franconian dialects in West Flanders and in some "isolated" villages in the centre of the Netherlands (such as Garderen), it takes a different form, which is not found in Afrikaans. The following is an example:

: {{langx|af|Ek wil nie dit doen nie.|links=no}}^* (lit. I want not this do not.)

: {{langx|nl|Ik wil dit niet doen.|links=no}}

: English: I do not want to do this.

^* Compare with {{lang|af|Ek wil dit nie doen nie}}, which changes the meaning to 'I want not to do this'. Whereas {{lang|af|Ek wil nie dit doen nie}} emphasizes a lack of desire to act, {{lang|af|Ek wil dit nie doen nie}} emphasizes the act itself.

The {{lang|dum|-ne}} was the Middle Dutch way to negate but it has been suggested that since {{lang|dum|-ne}} became highly non-voiced, {{lang|dum|nie}} or {{lang|dum|niet}} was needed to complement the {{lang|dum|-ne}}. With time the {{lang|dum|-ne}} disappeared in most Dutch dialects.

The double negative construction has been fully grammaticalised in standard Afrikaans and its proper use follows a set of fairly complex rules as the examples below show:

A notable exception to this is the use of the negating grammar form that coincides with negating the English present participle. In this case there is only a single negation.

: {{langx|af|Hy is in die hospitaal, maar hy eet nie.|links=no}}

: {{langx|nl|Hij is in het ziekenhuis, maar hij eet niet.|links=no}}

: English: He is in [the] hospital, though he doesn't eat.

Certain words in Afrikaans would be contracted. For example, {{lang|af|moet nie}}, which literally means 'must not', usually becomes {{lang|af|moenie}}; although one does not have to write or say it like this, virtually all Afrikaans speakers will change the two words to {{lang|af|moenie}} in the same way as do not is contracted to don't in English.

The Dutch word {{lang|nl|het}} ('it' in English) does not correspond to {{lang|af|het}} in Afrikaans. The Dutch words corresponding to Afrikaans {{lang|af|het}} are {{lang|nl|heb}}, {{lang|nl|hebt}}, {{lang|nl|heeft}} and {{lang|nl|hebben}}.

{{Main|Afrikaans phonology}}

File:Stem van Suid-Afrika.ogg}} ('The Voice of South Africa'), the former national anthem, read in poetic form]]

• As phonemes, {{IPA|/iː/}} and {{IPA|/uː/}} occur only in the words {{lang|af|spieël}} {{IPA|/spiːl/}} 'mirror' and {{lang|af|koeël}} {{IPA|/kuːl/}} 'bullet', which used to be pronounced with sequences {{IPA|/i.ə/}} and {{IPA|/u.ə/}}, respectively. In other cases, {{IPAblink|iː}} and {{IPAblink|uː}} occur as allophones of, respectively, {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/u/}} before {{IPA|/r/}}.{{sfnp|Donaldson|1993|pp=4–6}}
• {{IPA|/y/}} is phonetically long {{IPAblink|yː}} before {{IPA|/r/}}.{{sfnp|Donaldson|1993|pp=5–6}}
• {{IPA|/əː/}} is always stressed and occurs only in the word {{lang|af|wîe}} 'wedges'.{{sfnp|Donaldson|1993|pp=4, 6–7}}
• The closest unrounded counterparts of {{IPA|/œ, œː/}} are central {{IPA|/ə, əː/}}, rather than front {{IPA|/e, eː/}}.{{sfnp|Swanepoel|1927|p=38}}
• {{IPA|/œː, oː/}} occur only in a few words.{{sfnp|Donaldson|1993|p=7}}
• {{IPAblink|æ}} occurs as an allophone of {{IPA|/e/}} before {{IPA|/k, χ, l, r/}}, though this occurs primarily dialectally, most commonly in the former Transvaal and Free State provinces.{{sfnp|Donaldson|1993|pp=3, 7}}

• {{IPA|/ɔi, ai/}} occur mainly in loanwords.{{sfnp|Donaldson|1993|p=10}}

• All obstruents at the ends of words are devoiced, so that e.g. a final {{IPA|/d/}} is realized as {{IPA|[t]}}.{{sfnp|Donaldson|1993|pp=13–15}}
• {{IPA|/ɡ, dʒ, z/}} occur only in loanwords. {{IPA|[ɡ]}} is also an allophone of {{IPA|/χ/}} in some environments.{{sfnp|Donaldson|1993|pp=13–14, 20–22}}
• {{IPA|/χ/}} is most often uvular {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|χ}} ~ {{IPAplink|ʀ̥}}]}}.{{sfnp|Den Besten|2012}}{{cite web |title=John Wells's phonetic blog: velar or uvular? |url=http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2011/12/velar-or-uvular.html |date=5 December 2011 |access-date=12 February 2015 }} Only this source mentions the trilled realization.{{sfnp|Bowerman|2004|p=939}} Velar {{IPAblink|x}} occurs only in some speakers.
• The rhotic is usually an alveolar trill {{IPAblink|r}} or tap {{IPAblink|ɾ}}.{{sfnp|Lass|1987|p=117}} In some parts of the former Cape Province, it is realized uvularly, either as a trill {{IPAblink|ʀ}} or a fricative {{IPAblink|ʁ}}.{{sfnp|Donaldson|1993|p=15}}

File:Graham Maclachlan - Gevaar Slagysters.jpg

Following early dialectal studies of Afrikaans, it was theorised that three main historical dialects probably existed after the Great Trek in the 1830s. These dialects are the Northern Cape, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape dialects.{{refn|They were named before the establishment of the current Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape provinces, and are not dialects of those provinces {{lang|la|per se}}.|group="n"}} Northern Cape dialect may have resulted from contact between Dutch settlers and the Khoekhoe people between the Great Karoo and the Kunene, and Eastern Cape dialect between the Dutch and the Xhosa. Remnants of these dialects still remain in present-day Afrikaans, although the standardising effect of Standard Afrikaans has contributed to a great levelling of differences in modern times.{{Better source needed|date=April 2020}}

Oranjerivier-Afrikaans (Orange River Afrikaans) is a major variety, including the Oranjerivier Afrikaans spoken by whites and

Griqua Afrikaans spoken by Griqua as well as Namakwalands.

There is also a prison cant, known as Sabela, which is based on Afrikaans, yet heavily influenced by Zulu. This language is used as a secret language in prison and is taught to initiates.{{cite web |title=Afrikaans 101 |url=http://www.101languages.net/afrikaans/history.html |access-date=24 April 2010 }}

{{Main|Patagonian Afrikaans}}

Patagonian Afrikaans is a distinct dialect of Afrikaans is spoken by the 650-member South African community of Argentina, in the region of Patagonia.{{cite news |url=https://qz.com/africa/1522565/a-unique-afrikaans-dialect-is-making-a-comeback-in-patagonia/ |title=An almost-extinct Afrikaans dialect is making an unlikely comeback in Argentina |first1=Ryan |last1=Szpiech |first2=Andries |last2=W. Coetzee |first3=Lorenzo |last3=García-Amaya |first4=Nicholas |last4=Henriksen |first5=Paulina |last5=L. Alberto |first6=Victoria

|last6=Langland |newspaper=Quartz |date=14 January 2019 }}

{{Main|Namibian Afrikaans}}

Namibian Afrikaans is a variety of Afrikaans spoken in Namibia. The country was governed by South Africa until 1990, which had favoured Afrikaans. Before that, Dutch had been introduced when the Dutch occupied Walvis Bay and the surrounding area.[http://www.republikein.com.na/index.php Website van de Republikein, een krant in Namibisch-Afrikaans]

Due to the early settlement of a Cape Malay community in Cape Town, who are now known as Coloureds, numerous Classical Malay words were brought into Afrikaans. Some of these words entered Dutch via people arriving from what is now known as Indonesia as part of their colonial heritage. Malay words in Afrikaans include:{{cite web |url=http://www.safariafrica.co.za/tourist-information/afrikaans.htm |title=Afrikaans history and development. The Unique Language of South Africa |publisher=Safariafrica.co.za |access-date=2015-04-02 |archive-date=17 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917052132/http://www.safariafrica.co.za/tourist-information/afrikaans.htm |url-status=dead }}

• {{lang|af|baie}}, which means 'very'/'much'/'many' (from {{wikt-lang|id|banyak}}) is a very commonly used Afrikaans word, different from its Dutch equivalent {{lang|nl|veel}} or {{lang|nl|erg}}.
• {{lang|af|baadjie}}, Afrikaans for jacket (from {{wikt-lang|id|baju}}, ultimately from Persian), used where Dutch would use {{lang|nl|jas}} or {{lang|nl|vest}}. The word {{lang|nl|baadje}} in Dutch is now considered archaic and only used in written, literary texts.
• {{lang|af|bobotie}}, a traditional Cape-Malay dish, made from spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping.
• {{lang|af|piesang}}, which means banana. This is different from the common Dutch word {{lang|nl|banaan}}. The Indonesian word {{lang|id|pisang}} is also used in Dutch, though usage is less common.
• {{lang|af|piering}}, which means saucer (from {{wikt-lang|id|piring}}, also from Persian).
• {{lang|af|sosatie}}, a dish similar to shish kebab.

Some words originally came from Portuguese such as {{lang|af|sambreel}} ('umbrella') from the Portuguese {{lang|pt|sombreiro}}, {{lang|af|kraal}} ('pen/cattle enclosure') from the Portuguese {{lang|pt|curral}} and {{lang|af|mielie}} ('corn', from {{lang|pt|milho}}). Some of these words also exist in Dutch, like {{lang|nl|sambreel}} 'parasol',{{Cite web |url=http://www.etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/sambreel |title=Sambreel – (Zonnescherm) |publisher=Etymologiebank.nl |access-date=2015-04-02}} though usage is less common and meanings can slightly differ.

• {{lang|af|dagga}}, meaning cannabis
• {{lang|af|geitjie}}, meaning lizard, diminutive adapted from a Khoekhoe word
• {{lang|af|gogga}}, meaning insect, from the Khoisan {{lang|khi|xo-xo}}
• {{lang|af|karos}}, blanket of animal hides
• {{lang|af|kierie}}, walking stick from Khoekhoe{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3tAqIU0dPsC&pg=PA97 |title=One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost |publisher=University of California Press |year=2008 |editor-last=Austin |editor-first=Peter |page=97 |isbn=9780520255609 }}

Some of these words also exist in Dutch, though with a more specific meaning: {{lang|nl|assegaai}} for example means 'South-African tribal javelin'{{cite web |url=http://gtb.inl.nl/iWDB/search?actie=article&wdb=WNT&id=M004523 |title=ASSAGAAI |website=gtb.inl.nl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920072214/http://gtb.inl.nl/iWDB/search?actie=article |archive-date=20 September 2019 |access-date=2019-10-07 }} and {{lang|nl|karos}} means 'South-African tribal blanket of animal hides'.{{cite web |url = http://gtb.inl.nl/iWDB/search?actie=article&wdb=WNT&id=M030549 |title=Karos II : Kros |website = Gtb.inl.nl |access-date=2015-04-02 }}

Loanwords from Bantu languages in Afrikaans include the names of indigenous birds, such as {{lang|af|mahem}} and {{lang|af|sakaboela}}, and indigenous plants, such as {{lang|af|maroela}} and {{lang|af|tamboekie(gras)}}.{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1970 |entry=Afrikaans |encyclopedia=Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa |publisher=NASOU |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HTzjAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Bantu+loan-words+in+Afrikaans%22 |editor-last=Potgieter |editor-first=D. J. |volume=1 |page=111 |isbn=9780625003280 }}

• {{lang|af|fundi}}, from the Zulu word {{lang|zu|umfundi}} meaning 'scholar' or 'student"',{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sIDFHOQrYgoC&q=umfundi%20zulu&pg=PA87 |title = A Zulu-Kafir Dictionary, Etymologically Explained... Preceded by an Introduction on the Zulu-Kafir Language |last=Döhne |first = J. L. |year = 1857 |publisher=Printed at G.J. Pike's Machine Printing Office |location = Cape Town |page = 87 }} but used to mean someone who is a student of/expert on a certain subject, i.e. He is a language {{lang|af|fundi}}.
• {{lang|af|lobola}}, meaning bride price, from (and referring to) lobolo of the Nguni languages{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=A8IzAAAAIAAJ&q=sakaboela |title=The Languages We Speak |author=Samuel Doggie Ngcongwane |publisher=University of Zululand |year=1985 |page=51 |isbn=9780907995494 }}
• {{lang|af|mahem}}, the grey crowned crane, known in Latin as Balearica regulorum
• {{lang|af|maroela}}, medium-sized dioecious tree known in Latin as Sclerocarya birrea{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=David |last2=Johnson |first2=Sally |title=Down to Earth: Gardening with Indigenous Trees |date=2002 |publisher=Penguin Random House South Africa |isbn=978-1-86872-775-9 |page=92 |language=en |url-access=subscription |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glO0vAEACAAJ}}
• {{lang|af|tamboekiegras}}, species of thatching grass known as Hyparrhenia{{Cite journal |last1=Strohbach |first1=Ben J. |last2=Walters |first2 = H.J.A. (Wally) |date=November 2015 |title=An overview of grass species used for thatching in the Zambezi, Kavango East and Kavango West Regions, Namibia |url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286447092 |journal=Dinteria |location=Windhoek, Namibia |pages=13–42 |number=35}}
• {{lang|af|tambotie}}, deciduous tree also known by its Latin name, Spirostachys africana{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZzASAQAAIAAJ&q=tambotie+ |title=South African Journal of Ethnology |volume=22–24 |publisher=Bureau for Scientific Publications of the Foundation for Education, Science and Technology |date=1999 |page=157 }}
• {{lang|af|tjaila}} / {{lang|af|tjailatyd}}, an adaption of the word {{lang|zu|chaile}}, meaning "to go home" or "to knock off (from work)".{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ThsMAQAAMAAJ&q=%22chaile%22+|title= TF|magazine=Toward Freedom |volume=45–46 |year=1996 |page=47 }}{{fcn|date=September 2024}}{{fcn|date=September 2024}}

The revoking of the Edict of Nantes on 22 October 1685 was a milestone in the history of South Africa, for it marked the beginning of the great Huguenot exodus from France. It is estimated that between 250,000 and 300,000 Protestants left France between 1685 and 1700; out of these, according to Louvois, 100,000 had received military training. A measure of the calibre of these immigrants and of their acceptance by host countries (in particular South Africa) is given by H. V. Morton in his book: In Search of South Africa (London, 1948). The Huguenots were responsible for a great linguistic contribution to Afrikaans, particularly in terms of military terminology as many of them fought on the battlefields during the wars of the Great Trek.

Most of the words in this list are descendants from Dutch borrowings from French, Old French or Latin, and are not direct influences from French on Afrikaans.

The Afrikaans writing system is based on Dutch, using the 26 letters of the ISO basic Latin alphabet, plus 16 additional vowels with diacritics. The hyphen (e.g. in a compound like {{lang|af|see-eend}} 'sea duck'), apostrophe (e.g. {{lang|af|ma's}} 'mothers'), and a whitespace character (e.g. in multi-word units like {{lang|af|Dooie See}} 'Dead Sea') is part of the orthography of words, while the indefinite article {{lang|af|ʼn}} is a ligature. All the alphabet letters, including those with diacritics, have capital letters as allographs; the {{lang|af|ʼn}} does not have a capital letter allograph. This means that Afrikaans has 88 graphemes with allographs in total.

In Afrikaans, many consonants are dropped from the earlier Dutch spelling. For example, {{lang|nl|slechts}} ('only') in Dutch becomes {{lang|af|slegs}} in Afrikaans. Also, Afrikaans and some Dutch dialects make no distinction between {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/z/}}, having merged the latter into the former; while the word for "south" is written {{lang|nl|zuid}} in Dutch, it is spelled {{lang|af|suid}} in Afrikaans (as well as dialectal Dutch writings) to represent this merger. Similarly, the Dutch digraph {{lang|nl|ij}}, normally pronounced as {{IPA|/ɛi/}}, corresponds to Afrikaans {{lang|af|y}}, except where it replaces the Dutch suffix {{lang|nl|–lijk}} which is pronounced as {{IPA|/lək/}}, as in {{lang|nl|waarschijnlijk}} > {{lang|af|waarskynlik}}.

Another difference is the indefinite article, {{lang|af|'n}} in Afrikaans and {{lang|nl|een}} in Dutch. "A book" is {{lang|af|'n boek}} in Afrikaans, whereas it is either {{lang|nl|een boek}} or {{lang|nl|'n boek}} in Dutch. This {{lang|af|'n}} is usually pronounced as just a weak vowel, {{IPA|[ə]}}, just like English "a".

The diminutive suffix in Afrikaans is {{lang|af|-tjie}}, {{lang|af|-djie}} or {{lang|af|-ie}}, whereas in Dutch it is {{lang|nl|-tje}} or {{lang|nl|dje}}, hence a "bit" is ʼn {{Lang|af|bietjie}} in Afrikaans and {{Lang|nl|beetje}} in Dutch.

The letters c, q, x, and z occur almost exclusively in borrowings from French, English, Greek and Latin. This is usually because words that had c and ch in the original Dutch are spelled with k and g, respectively, in Afrikaans. Similarly original qu and x are most often spelt kw and ks, respectively. For example, {{lang|af|ekwatoriaal}} instead of equatoriaal, and {{lang|af|ekskuus}} instead of excuus.

The vowels with diacritics in non-loanword Afrikaans are: á, ä, é, è, ê, ë, í, î, ï, ó, ô, ö, ú, û, ü, ý. Diacritics are ignored when alphabetising, though they are still important, even when typing the diacritic forms may be difficult. For example, {{lang|af|geëet}} ("ate") instead of the 3 e's alongside each other: *{{lang|af|geeet}}, which can never occur in Afrikaans, or {{lang|af|sê}}, which translates to "say", whereas {{lang|af|se}} is a possessive form. The acute's (á, é, í, ó, ú, ý) primary function is to place emphasis on a word (i.e. for emphatic reasons), by adding it to the emphasised syllable of the word. For example, sál ("will" (verb)), néé ('no'), móét ("must"), hý ("he"), gewéét ("knew"). The acute is only placed on the i if it is the only vowel in the emphasised word: wil ('want' (verb)) becomes wíl, but lui ('lazy') becomes lúi. Only a few non-loan words are spelled with acutes, e.g. dié ('this'), ná ('after'), óf ... óf ('either ... or'), nóg ... nóg ('neither ... nor'), etc. Only four non-loan words are spelled with the grave: {{lang|af|nè}} ('yes?', 'right?', 'eh?'), {{lang|af|dè}} ('here, take this!' or '[this is] yours!'), hè ('huh?', 'what?', 'eh?'), and appèl ('(formal) appeal' (noun)).

A few short words in Afrikaans take initial apostrophes. In modern Afrikaans, these words are always written in lower case (except if the entire line is uppercase), and if they occur at the beginning of a sentence, the next word is capitalised. Three examples of such apostrophed words are {{lang|af|'k, 't, 'n}}. The last (the indefinite article) is the only apostrophed word that is common in modern written Afrikaans, since the other examples are shortened versions of other words ({{lang|af|ek}} and {{lang|af|het}}, respectively) and are rarely found outside of a poetic context.{{cite web |url=http://www.101languages.net/afrikaans/grammar.html |title=Retrieved 12 April 2010 |website=101languages.net |date=26 August 2007 |access-date=22 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101015164510/http://101languages.net/afrikaans/grammar.html |archive-date=15 October 2010 |url-status=dead }}

Here are a few examples:

The apostrophe and the following letter are regarded as two separate characters, and are never written using a single glyph, although a single character variant of the indefinite article appears in Unicode, {{lang|af|ʼn}}.

For more on the pronunciation of the letters below, see Help:IPA/Afrikaans.

Psalm 23 1953 translation:

Die Here is my Herder, niks sal my ontbreek nie.

Hy laat my neerlê in groen weivelde; na waters waar rus is, lei Hy my heen.

Hy verkwik my siel; Hy lei my in die spore van geregtigheid, om sy Naam ontwil.

Al gaan ek ook in 'n dal van doodskaduwee, ek sal geen onheil vrees nie; want U is met my: u stok en u staf die vertroos my.

Psalm 23 1983 translation:{{multiref2

| 1 = {{citation|url=http://bybel.co.za/search/search-detail.php?prev=-3&book=PSA&chapter=23&version=0&GO=Wys|title=Psalm 23 – 1953 vertailing|trans-title=Psalm 23 – 1953 translation |language=af |work=Bybelgenootskap van Suid-Africa|trans-work=Bible companion from South Africa|access-date=11 May 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20200511184428/http://bybel.co.za/search/search-detail.php?prev=-3&book=PSA&chapter=23&version=0&GO=Wys |archive-date=11 May 2020|url-status=dead}}

| 2 = {{cite web|url=http://bybel.co.za/search/search-detail.php?prev=-2&book=PSA&chapter=23&version=1&GO=Wys|title=Psalm 23 – 1983 vertailing|trans-title=Psalm 23 – 1983 translation |language=af |work=Bybelgenootskap van Suid-Africa|access-date=11 May 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200511183723/http://bybel.co.za/search/search-detail.php?prev=-2&book=PSA&chapter=23&version=1&GO=Wys|archive-date=11 May 2020|url-status=dead}}

}}

Die Here is my Herder, ek kom niks kort nie.

Hy laat my rus in groen weivelde. Hy bring my by waters waar daar vrede is.

Hy gee my nuwe krag. Hy lei my op die regte paaie tot eer van Sy naam.

Selfs al gaan ek deur donker dieptes, sal ek nie bang wees nie, want U is by my. In U hande is ek veilig.

Lord's Prayer (Afrikaans New Living Version translation):{{cite web |title=MATTEUS 6, NLV Bybel |url=https://www.bible.com/af/bible/117/MAT.6.NLV |website=Bible.com |publisher=YouVersion |access-date=7 June 2024 |language=af}}

Ons Vader in die hemel, laat u Naam geheilig word.

Laat u koninkryk kom.

Laat u wil hier op aarde uitgevoer word soos in die hemel.

Gee ons die porsie brood wat ons vir vandag nodig het.

En vergeef ons ons sondeskuld soos ons ook óns skuldenaars vergewe het.

Bewaar ons sodat ons nie aan verleiding sal toegee nie; maar bevry ons van die greep van die bose.

Want aan U behoort die koningskap,

en die krag,

en die heerlikheid,

vir altyd.

Amen.

Lord's Prayer (Original translation):{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Onse Vader wat in die hemel is,

laat U Naam geheilig word;

laat U koninkryk kom;

laat U wil geskied op die aarde,

net soos in die hemel.

Gee ons vandag ons daaglikse brood;

en vergeef ons ons skulde

soos ons ons skuldenaars vergewe

en laat ons nie in die versoeking nie

maar verlos ons van die bose

Want aan U behoort die koninkryk

en die krag

en die heerlikheid

tot in ewigheid.

Amen

{{Portal|Language|South Africa|Netherlands}}

• {{lang|af|Aardklop}} Arts Festival
• Afrikaans literature
• Afrikaans speaking population in South Africa
• Arabic Afrikaans
• {{lang|af|Handwoordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal}} (Afrikaans Dictionary)
• Differences between Afrikaans and Dutch
• IPA/Afrikaans
• {{lang|af|Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees}} (Arts Festival)
• Languages of South Africa
• {{slink|Languages of Zimbabwe|Afrikaans}}
• List of Afrikaans language poets
• List of Afrikaans singers
• List of English words of Afrikaans origin
• South African Translators' Institute
• {{lang|af|Tsotsitaal}}

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{{Refend}}

• Grieshaber, Nicky. 2011. Diacs and Quirks in a Nutshell – Afrikaans spelling explained. Pietermaritzburg. {{ISBN|978-0-620-51726-3}}; e-{{ISBN|978-0-620-51980-9}}.
• {{Citation |last=Roberge |first = P. T. |year=2002 |chapter=Afrikaans – considering origins |title=Language in South Africa |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, England |isbn=0-521-53383-X }}
• {{Citation |last=Thomas |first = C. H. |year= 1899 |chapter= Boer language |chapter-url = http://www.angloboerwar.com/books/60-thomas-origin-of-the-anglo-boer-war-revealed/1255-thomas-boer-language |title=Origin of the Anglo-Boer War revealed |publisher = Hodder and Stoughton |location= London, England }}

{{InterWiki |code = af }}

{{Wikivoyage|Afrikaans phrasebook|Afrikaans|a phrasebook}}

{{Wikibooks|Afrikaans}}

{{Wikiquote|Afrikaans}}

• [https://afrikaans.com afrikaans.com]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120604085505/http://hablaa.com/afrikaans-english/ Afrikaans English Online Dictionary at Hablaa] (archived 4 June 2012)
• [http://www.majstro.com/dictionaries/Afrikaans-English/ Afrikaans-English Online Dictionary at majstro.com]
• [https://www.afrikaans.us/Afrikaans/ Learn Afrikaans Online]{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (Open Learning Environment)
• [http://www.fak.org.za/ Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (FAK)] – Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Associations
• [http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4326 Dutch Writers from South Africa: A Cultural-Historical Study, Part I] from the World Digital Library
• [http://www.ascleiden.nl/?q=content/webdossiers/afrikaans-literature-and-language Afrikaans Literature and Language Web dossier African Studies Centre, Leiden (2011)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518170007/http://www.ascleiden.nl/?q=content/webdossiers/afrikaans-literature-and-language |date=18 May 2013 }}

{{Clear}}

{{Germanic languages}}

{{Languages of Botswana}}

{{Languages of Namibia}}

{{Languages of South Africa}}

{{Languages of Swaziland}}

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Category:Analytic languages

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