Learn where Afrikaans is spoken
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Intro |
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| Michael: Where is Afrikaans spoken? |
| Dewan: And how many varieties of Afrikaans are there? |
| Michael: At AfrikaansPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following scenario: Karina Small and Emma Botha are college students meeting for the first time. Upon hearing Emma speak Afrikaans, Karina asks, "Where did you learn Afrikaans?" |
| Karina Small: Waar het jy Afrikaans geleer? |
| Dialogue |
| Karina Small: Waar het jy Afrikaans geleer? |
| Emma Botha: In Suid-Afrika. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Karina Small: Waar het jy Afrikaans geleer? |
| Michael: "Where did you learn Afrikaans?" |
| Emma Botha: In Suid-Afrika. |
| Michael: "In South Africa." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson, you will be learning where Afrikaans is spoken, and how many varieties there are of Afrikaans. |
| Dewan: Afrikaans |
| Michael: is actually a Dutch word meaning “African.” This is because Afrikaans originated in Africa, or South Africa, to be precise. It is still spoken the most in South Africa, where it is one of the 11 national languages. Among these languages, Afrikaans is the third most commonly spoken in the country, with a large proportion using it as their first language. |
| In Namibia, Afrikaans is the home language of the majority, and it is an official language there too. It is also spoken, but on a much smaller scale, in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mauritius. |
| Outside of Africa, it is spoken to varying degrees in America, Argentina, and Canada. Other places include New Zealand, Australia, England, and Wales. |
| Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch. It is an official and recognized language in its own right, but one can easily recognize its Dutch roots because of the similarities between the two languages. |
| There are three dialects of Afrikaans which all originate in South Africa. These are: |
| Dewan: Kaapse Afrikaans, Oranjerivierafrikaans |
| Michael: and |
| Dewan: Oostelike Grensafrikaans |
| Michael: In English, these are: “Cape Afrikaans, Orange River Afrikaans, and Eastern Border Afrikaans.” These dialects came into being some time after The Great Trek, or |
| Dewan: Die Groot Trek |
| Michael: The Great Trek is the name given to the journey that Dutch colonists undertook in the 1830s in which they traveled toward the central region of South Africa, and left the coast and British rule behind. |
| It is believed that, some time after this journey, the three different dialects began to develop. The dialect referred to as Orange River Afrikaans is spoken in the northern areas of South Africa around Upington and the Orange River wine district. It would have developed as a result of settlers moving north from the Cape who came into contact with other communities and cultures on the way. It has Khoi influences, as well as influences from the regions of Namaqualand and Griqualand. Orange River Afrikaans is known for its distinctive pronunciation. For instance, the standard pronunciation of the Afrikaans word for “money” is |
| Dewan: geld, |
| Michael: but, in Orange River Afrikaans, it is pronounced |
| Dewan: gjeld |
| Michael: Another example of how pronunciation differs in this variant of Afrikaans is in the pronunciation of the Afrikaans word for “church.” In standard Afrikaans, it is |
| Dewan: kerk |
| Michael: but, in Orange River Afrikaans, it is pronounced |
| Dewan: kjerk |
| Michael: Settlers also traveled east in the direction of Natal, and it is from here that the Eastern Border Afrikaans dialect developed. It has Xhosa influences and the Eastern Cape, even today, is home to many communities of Xhosa people. This dialect would eventually develop into what is now often referred to as “standard Afrikaans.” |
| Now, let’s look at |
| Dewan: Kaapse Afrikaans |
| Michael: or “Cape Afrikaans.” This is spoken in the Western Cape region of South Africa and has many variations. It is, in some ways, more closely related to Dutch than it is to Afrikaans. Perhaps, the strongest feature of this dialect is the way speakers pronounce the letter “J.” In so-called standard Afrikaans, a |
| Dewan: J |
| Michael: sounds like an English “Y.” You can hear it in the Afrikaans word for the plural “you,” for instance. It sounds like this in standard Afrikaans: |
| Dewan: julle |
| Michael: That very first consonant you heard is actually spelled with a “J,” but, as you heard, it sounds like an English “Y.” Now, listen to the same word in Cape Afrikaans: |
| Dewan: djulle |
| Michael: A very distinct difference. The latter pronunciation is actually closer to Dutch. Another feature of this dialect is the way that certain diminutive endings are pronounced. For instance, in standard Afrikaans, the word for “little one” is |
| Dewan: kleintjie. |
| Michael: Note the pronunciation of the ending. Could you please repeat that, Dewan? |
| Dewan: -tjie |
| Michael: Now, listen to how the same word is pronounced in Cape Afrikaans: |
| Dewan: kleintjie. |
| Michael: The Cape Afrikaans pronunciation is, once again, closer to the Dutch pronunciation. |
| Many people who hear Cape Afrikaans for the first time find it fascinating because it is a very expressive dialect, making use of very earthy, guttural sounds. |
| And there you have it. Afrikaans is spoken the most in South Africa, although it can be heard in various places all over the world and, in South Africa, there are three different Afrikaans dialects. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. Do you remember how to say "Where did you learn Afrikaans?" |
| Dewan as Karina Small: Waar het jy Afrikaans geleer? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Dewan as Karina Small: Waar het jy Afrikaans geleer? |
| Dewan as Karina Small: Waar het jy Afrikaans geleer? |
| Michael: And do you remember how to say "In South Africa?" |
| Dewan as Emma Botha: In Suid-Afrika. |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Dewan as Emma Botha: In Suid-Afrika. |
| Dewan as Emma Botha: In Suid-Afrika. |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: Interestingly, one of the first examples of written Afrikaans was in Arabic! This is because there was already a large Malay, Muslim population in South Africa in the 1800s and, in 1815, Afrikaans replaced Malay as the official language for teaching in Muslim schools at the time. One of the first examples of Afrikaans can therefore be found in a work written by Abu Bakr in the mid 1800s. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Dewan: Totsiens! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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