whose language is it anyway: afrikaans in south africa s

1. Whose Language is it Anyway?: Afrikaans in South Africa (Suid-Afrika) Courtney Godwin Carrington Skinner

2. Modern Afrikaans Spoken in South Africa (and also in Namibia) 6 million native speakers; 10 million secondary speakers West Germanic Indo-European language closely related to Dutch Diverged from Dutch in the 1700s, considered a distinct language by the late 19th century, named official language (alongside Dutch and English) in 1925; in 1961 Dutch no longer an official language Three main dialects (Northeastern forms basis of written standard)

3. Modern South Africa In 1961 South Africa became an independent republic Afrikaans is first language of 60% of South Africa’s Whites It is the first language of 90% of the “Coloured” or mixed race population Afrikaans is one of eleven official languages

5. History of ‘The Tavern of the Seas’ Dutch settlers first arrived in 1652 to set up a refreshment post for Dutch East India Company (VOC) on the way to the East Indies; a group of French Huguenots arrived in 1688 to escape religious persecution Slaves from other places in Africa (Madagascar, Angola), India, and Indonesia were brought in for labor Miscegenation and contact with other foreign tongues helps shape Afrikaans into a new language; development of “Coloured” Afrikaans speakers In 1814 the Cape Colony finally ceded to Great Britain from the Dutch

6. More History British settlers arrive; slavery abolished 1836- The Boers’ Great Trek: Dispersal of the language across South Africa Discovery of diamonds in 1867 The Boer Wars and Afrikaner Nationalism 1910- Union of South Africa established

7. Language Development A patois? “Bastard Dutch”? “Three Linguistic Traditions”- European, African, Asian Malay-Portuguese influence on the language Double negative influence from French Loan words from English, Khoi, Xhosa 95% of Afrikaans words and vocabulary are related to Dutch

8. Current Issues Apartheid began in 1948 with the rise of the white Nationalist Party; Apartheid meant separating the races and maintaining equality, but it soon became the domination of the White minority over the Black and Coloured majority Afrikaans was the language that became associated with the white government that suppressed many ethnicities in the country; anti-Afrikaans protests Apartheid ended in the early 1990s, with this came greater linguistic freedom Non-white Afrikaans speakers have attempted to assert their own identity

9. Future Outlook Afrikaans and the other indigenous languages of South Africa have equal status and will continue to play an important role in the social and political spheres of the country South Africa will continue to seek a balance among all of its varied languages and ethnicities, and heal the wounds of past wrongdoings

10. “ It’s too early to tell, but the pendulum is swinging away from where it was in the early 1990s. Immediately after apartheid, people did not see a future for Afrikaans in South Africa. Today we’re seeing a new role for Afrikaans, although a more modest role, alongside the other 10 official languages.” – Nelleke Van Deusen-Scholl

11. Bibliography Afrikaans." 13 Apr. 2006. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 10 Apr. 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaans>. "Afrikaner." 18 Apr. 2006. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 18 Apr. 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaners>. Kell, Gretchen. "New class at UC Berkeley explores Afrikaans, the language many wrongly associate exclusively with apartheid ." 2 Nov 1997. The Regents of the University of California. 18 Apr. 2006 <http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/ 97legacy /afrikaan.html>. Le May, G.H.L. The Afrikaners: An Historical Interpretation. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1995. "Promotion of indigenous languages requires collective effort." ANC Today: Online Voice of the African National Congress 5 (2005). 10 Apr 2006 <http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/ anctoday/2005/at33.htm>. Roberge, Paul T. "The Formation of Afrikaans." SPIL Plus 23 (1994). Schwerin, Alan, ed. Apartheid's Landscape and Ideas: A Scorched Soul. Rochester: University of Rochester, 2001. "Translation in Afrikaans Today." 2005. Applied Language Solutions. 10 Apr. 2006 <http://www.appliedlanguage.com/articles/translations_in_africaans_today.shtml>. Valkoff, Marius F. New Light on Afrikaans and "Malayo-Portuguese". Johannesburg: University of Witwatersrand, 1972.