A Brief History And Origins Of Afrikaans
Author
Afrikaans is a fascinating language that grew from a mix of European, African, and Asian cultures.
It’s one of the youngest official languages in the entire world.
The language officially split from its mother language, Dutch, just over a century ago.
Today, millions of people speak Afrikaans across South Africa and Namibia.
Understanding the history of Afrikaans makes learning the language much more meaningful.
Table of Contents:
Dutch roots at the Cape of Good Hope
The story of Afrikaans begins in the year 1652.
The Dutch East India Company set up a small supply station at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
This station was a resting point for ships traveling between Europe and Asia.
The early settlers brought the 17th-century Dutch language with them.
Over time, this early version of Dutch began to change rapidly.
The settlers lived very far away from the Netherlands and lost touch with the strict grammar rules of standard Dutch.
They started speaking a much simpler and faster version of the language to communicate daily.
Influences from other languages
Afrikaans didn’t grow in complete isolation.
The Dutch colonists interacted daily with indigenous people and enslaved workers.
These constant interactions heavily shaped the local language over several decades.
The indigenous Khoisan people introduced new words to describe local African animals, landscapes, and plants.
Enslaved people brought from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Madagascar added many Asian vocabulary words to the mix.
Portuguese sailors and French settlers also left their mark on the language.
You can easily see this mixing of cultures in everyday Afrikaans vocabulary.
| Afrikaans Word | English Meaning | Origin Language |
|---|---|---|
| Baie | A lot / Very | Malay (banyak) |
| Piesang | Banana | Malay (pisang) |
| Kraal | Animal pen | Portuguese (curral) |
| Kierie | Walking stick | Khoisan (kirri) |
| Dagga | Cannabis | Khoisan (daxa) |
The birth of a new language
For a very long time, people just called this new language “Cape Dutch”.
It was largely considered an informal, spoken dialect of the working class.
Standard Dutch remained the official language for writing, religion, and the government.
This changed in the late 19th century when locals finally began to write in Afrikaans.
The first written Afrikaans materials actually used the Arabic alphabet.
Muslim scholars in the Cape wrote religious texts in Afrikaans using Arabic script to teach their students.
Later on, European descendants started a massive cultural movement to recognize Afrikaans as a distinct language.
In 1925, the South African government officially recognized Afrikaans as a real language separate from Dutch.
Modern Afrikaans today
Today, Afrikaans is spoken by over 7 million native speakers.
It’s a very diverse language with several distinct regional variations.
The Kaapse Afrikaans dialect is spoken in the Western Cape and features strong Malay and English influences.
The language is widely known for its straightforward grammar and lack of complex verb conjugations.
You don’t have to memorize difficult verb endings like you do in Spanish or French.
Ek praat Afrikaans.
Hy praat Afrikaans.
This simplicity makes Afrikaans one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn.
If you’re ready to start learning this unique and historic language, Talk In Afrikaans is the absolute best place to begin.
We provide simple, engaging, and highly effective lessons that’ll get you speaking Afrikaans on day one.
